Last Mission for “Guard Copter 368” [Image 43 of 44]

FORT DRUM AND MIDDLETOWN, SC, UNITED STATES

08.16.2016

Photo by Staff Sgt. Roberto Di Giovine 

South Carolina National Guard

S.C. National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Greg Castles Detachment 1, Co. B, 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command performs in-flights checks on a CH-47F Chinook helicopter while flying on the Hudson River, Aug. 18, 2016, Manhattan, New York, NY. Castles's CH-47F escorted its predecessor, CH-47D "Guard Copter 368" in its last mission. “368” is one of the few CH-47D originally built as “true D-models,” at the end of the First Gulf War. "368" served with Det. 1 for the last ten years, both in support of state operations and during the unit deployments to Afghanistan, in 2009 and 2013; during its service, “368” earned a reputation for reliability and sturdiness among the unit’s pilots, maintainers and crew-chiefs. Its last mission started on August 16, from SCARNG Army Aviation Support Facility n. 2, Greenville, SC, and included a stop at Fort Drum, NY, where Det.1 received the newer F-model Chinook, "793," from Company B, 3-10 GSAB “Colossal,” 10th CAB, 10th Mountain (Infantry Light) Division. 793 and 368 resumed the cross-country flight on Friday, Aug. 18, as a two-ship formation, and ended (for 368) at Summit Aviation, Middletown, New Castle County, DE, where 368 will be resold as an airworthy aircraft, through an auction, to either a foreign-military or a private operator. 793 is one of six CH-47F Chinook helicopters Det.1 is in the process of receiving from 3-10th GSAB, as a replacement for its (retiring) older aircrafts. (US Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Roberto Di Giovine/Released)

• Date Taken: 08.16.2016
• Date Posted: 08.25.2016 15:08
• Photo ID: 2817011
• VIRIN: 160819-Z-II459-178
• Resolution: 4044x2745
• Size: 4.5 MB
• Location: FORT DRUM AND MIDDLETOWN, SC, US