Helicopter soldiers arrive for training with NATO Allies

Photo By Sgt. David Nye | Soldiers with the 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion pack onto busses at Nuremberg Airport, Germany on March 13 as they arrive in Europe to take part in Operation Atlantic Resolve. OAR is part of ongoing training between the U.S. and NATO allies. These Soldiers will conduct and support aviation operations across six countries while utilizing 26 aircraft.  

GRAFENWOEHR, BY, GERMANY

03.14.2015

Story by Sgt. David Nye 

204th Public Affairs Detachment

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany - Aviation soldiers with the 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion from Hunter Army Air Field, Ga. arrived at Nuremberg Airport in Germany March 14 to participate in Operation Atlantic Resolve, an ongoing exercise in Eastern Europe.

“We're here to contribute to a strong Europe, assure our NATO allies and deter threats,” said Maj. Patrick Wilde, 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion Executive Officer.

The battalion will be tasked with missions over a large swath of Europe.

“We'll spread out,” said Wilde. “We are supporting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria.”

Managing six companies and a battalion staff across such a large area can be complicated.

“Mission command will be a major challenge,” Wilde said.
Despite the potential difficulty, soldiers in the battalion are eagerly anticipating the work with their European allies.

“I'm really excited to get to work with them,” said Spc. Sapna N. Patel, an information technology specialist with the battalion's headquarters and headquarters company.
“In aviation, it's really important that everything flows together,” she continued. “This will be a team-building experience and, also, I'll get more experience with my job.”

That on-the-job experience will be key to the soldiers in their future operations, Staff Sgt. Carlos M. Cruz, a platoon sergeant who supervises aircraft crew members with Bravo Company, 43rd AHB explained.

“We have a lot of brand new recruits we're pushing into training for familiarity with the aircraft and operations.”

The young soldiers will practice the key tasks they'll be called on to perform if deployed in combat, tasks that become more complicated when working with partnered forces.


“These guys make sure all the preflights get done, check that all the equipment for the mission is accounted for, that all the crew members are ready,” Cruz said.

The battalion will have about 400 soldiers deployed across Europe. They will be operating 26 helicopters on missions ranging from medical evacuation to air assault operations to airborne insertions.

• Date Taken: 03.14.2015
• Date Posted: 03.23.2015 10:42
• Story ID: 157773
• Location: GRAFENWOEHR, BY, DE