Bellators DART to team building

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, UNITED STATES

02.24.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Bryan Lewis 

16th Combat Aviation Brigade

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - The 16th Combat Aviation Brigade’s return to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. from Afghanistan transitions the unit into a phase of equipment reset and training. Pilots and crew teams must fly and aircraft must move.

One company’s mission is to train and be ready to transport or salvage helicopters at a moment’s notice. Company B, 46th Aviation Support Battalion holds the sole responsibility of establishing a Downed Aircraft Recovery Team.

With the unit recently returning from a deployment to Afghanistan, Soldiers that have rotated out of the unit have left spaces on the team that must be filled.

“There are old guys that are leaving or being switched around in the (battalion),” said Sgt. 1st Class Crutcher, DART noncommissioned officer in charge for Afghanistan. “There are also aircraft that are going to other places for reset so our guys will be responsible for the transportation prep, and in some cases, go with the aircraft to its destination.”

Last week, the DART veterans introduced the new members to the hands-on portion of the training. Soldiers became familiar with tools such as the Jaws of Life and portable saws as well as the universal aircraft recovery kit, which allows a helicopter to be transported by sling loading under another helicopter.

Those who deployed to Afghanistan had a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with the new members.

“At the beginning of the deployment, we didn’t know how fatigued we were going to be or how the equipment was going to react during our first real-world mission. Now we can share our experiences with these guys and let them know what it’s really like and what problems they might run into,” Crutcher added.

The DART members will have plenty of opportunities in the near future to get mission experience with the addition of the 16th CAB’s newest unit, 4-6th Heavy Attack Reconnaissance Squadron, which will arrive to JBLM later this year with new aircraft, equipment and personnel.

• Date Taken: 02.24.2015
• Date Posted: 02.26.2015 14:11
• Story ID: 155486
• Location: JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WA, US