Red Bull Soldier excells in rare deployment position

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

11.24.2014

Story by Spc. Sebastian Nemec 

34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait – More times than not, you will see her on the flight line maintaining a helicopter that few even touch. She is setting up the communications in the aircraft to ensure her distinguished visitor passengers are able to communicate anytime, anywhere.

Sgt. Catherine Cagle, a Rockford, Minnesota, native, is the command and control console operator with B Company, 2-147th Assault Helicopter Battalion deployed with the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade. 2-147th AHB serves as the general support aviation battalion. Her passengers include one to four-star generals.

Cagle has a military occupational specialty that requires great professionalism and technical proficiency.

“Sgt. Cagle is an example of a Soldier who is technically proficient in her MOS, but is asked to work outside her MOS to support the organization and the mission,” said Lt. Col. Greg Fix, 2-147th AHB commander. “She demonstrated the ability to step into any operation and help leaders and peers.”

Prior to deployment, Cagle was performing common signal support systems specialist duties, such as working on radios and computers. She still does this, but instead in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with generals onboard.

“It’s a really rare job to get,” said Cagle referring to her work on this deployment. “It’s a completely different experience than what I would’ve gotten otherwise.”

She operates and maintains two command and control consoles for 2-147th AHB.

“With this specific console that I work on, there’s only 17 of them in the Army and I have two,” she said.

This position makes Cagle a crewmember, like the crew chiefs and pilots. As a crewmember, she had to do additional training.

“One area I was worried about was her inexperience being a crewmember on a UH-60 along with the requirement to become Shallow Water Egress Training (DUNKER) qualified,” said Fix. “For a young Soldier to take all of this on and succeed is amazing, 75 per cent would have given up at the thought of these requirements and the unknown, but not Sgt. Cagle.”

Cagle has impressed nearly everyone with her expertise, including the combat aviation brigade higher headquarters, U.S. Army Central.

“The ARCENT commander speaks directly with her in the aircraft and is never concerned about her performance or ability to get communications to any operations center,” said Fix.

Her flight experience has better prepared Cagle for her future goals as well.

“If all goes according to plan I’d like to go to flight school,” she said.

She has learned how a flight company like B Company operates, she said. Crew chiefs and pilots have a certain flow in how they work and Cagle has been able to see it in action, from preparing a flight to after the mission is complete.

Cagle is the only Soldier with the experience and skill required to perform her job here, and she continues to do it well.

“She has accomplished all we required and more,” said Fix.

• Date Taken: 11.24.2014
• Date Posted: 11.24.2014 10:38
• Story ID: 148640
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW
• Hometown: ROCKFORD, MN, US