CAB, 1-36 IN conduct large-scale air assault training

Photo By Sgt. Alexander Neely | A Soldier from 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade, 1st Armored Division assumes a fighting position after jumping from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter flown by 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, 1AD Combat Aviation Brigade, during hot-load training prior to an air assault outside the village of Shirvan, as part of an Iron Focus exercise on the Fort Bliss range complex, March 26, 2015. The air assault, featuring a dozen UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-47 Chinook and AH-64 Apache helicopters plus Gray Eagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles, forced out guerilla fighters who had overrun the village. 1AD’s Iron Focus 15 teams up ground and air assets from throughout the division for a notional two-week operation. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexander Neely, Combat Aviation Brigade)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

03.26.2015

Story by Sgt. Alexander Neely 

1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade

FORT BLISS, Texas - Utilizing all forms of its air assets, the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division along with Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade, successfully performed a complex air-assault training mission with a short planning curve March 26 during Iron Focus 15, an annual division-wide exercise held on Fort Bliss’ expansive training grounds.

The exercise required quick and synchronized planning by teams from the CAB’s 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment and 1-36 to determine the most efficient way to surprise guerrilla fighters who had overrun a village.

Relying on speed and sheer numbers in terms of aircraft and ground Soldiers, the 3-501 and 1-36 surprised the guerrilla forces by swooping in about a kilometer north of the notional village of Shirvan. After off-loading from UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters, ground troops used a bounding entrance into the village.

“Some of the best kind of training is the rare kind of training,” said Maj. Donald R. Kirk, operations officer for 3rd Bn. “It is rare we are able to get the ground and air forces together to train, so when we can it’s something all Soldiers and leadership appreciate.”

Given less than a day to fully plan the mission, Kirk and other 3rd Bn. planners determined that eight Black Hawks and a Chinook would drop the troops a half-mile away from the village. Overhead, Gray Eagle and Shadow unmanned aerial vehicles surveyed the area for air-defense and ground threats.

For security, the CAB enlisted AH-64 Attack helicopters from Company B, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade out of Fort Carson, Colorado, which prowled ahead of the ground Soldiers to address those threats.

“We want the Soldiers to understand the feeling of a deployed environment,” said Maj. James H. Scullion, the CAB’s operations officer. “The more efficient we train here, the better we will perform as Soldiers, a unit and an Army down range.”

Once safely on the ground, the infantry Soldiers from 1-36 were able to regain control of the village with a variety of tactical maneuvers.

The 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment was available, but ultimately not needed, to provide air medical evacuations for the mission.

While the air assault was considered a success, it was not without its difficulties during the planning stage.

“We normally have 96 hours to plan for an air-assault. However, due to exercise constraints, we were given less than 20,” said Scullion. “Yet, the Soldiers here were able to devise an incredible plan, one that gave everyone the best and safest training.”

During Iron Focus, the CAB has conducted deliberate attacks, route reconnaissance, resupply, security, VIP and troop transport and 24-hour medevac operations, mostly in support of 1st Stryker Brigade.

The training and combined-arms maneuvers required of the Soldiers are based on situations the military has faced in combat.

Iron Focus, led by 1st Armored Division, is a notional operation where over 7,500 Soldiers participate in a high-paced schedule of realistic situational training and live-fire exercises.

• Date Taken: 03.26.2015
• Date Posted: 03.28.2015 11:46
• Story ID: 158462
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US