Apache aerial assault: NCNG’s 1-130th ARB train in Fort A.P. Hill

Photo By Brian Godette | Aviation Soldiers with the North Carolina National Guard’s 1-130th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion relay communications in the control tower as Soldiers conducted aerial gunnery training in their AH-64D Longbow Apache Attack helicopters during annual training held at Fort A.P. Hill, Va., April 21, 2015. The aviation Soldiers begun their two-week training completing tasks such as aerial weapons qualification, individual weapons qualification, physical fitness test, flight logistics, maintenance and refueling operations, among other Soldier tasks. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Brian Godette, 382nd Public Affairs Detachment/Released)  

FORT A.P. HILL, VA, UNITED STATES

04.22.2015

Story by Sgt. Brian Godette 

382nd Public Affairs Detachment

FORT A.P HILL, Va. – Preparation for combat starts with training, and the North Carolina National Guard’s aviation Soldiers assigned to the 1-130th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion engaged in their annual training from the air and ground at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, April 11-25, 2015.

The 1-130th began their two-week annual training focusing on a myriad of Soldier tasks that included combat lifesaving skills, the Army physical fitness test, and numerous individual and crew weapons qualifications.

A huge focus of the training however, correlated to the aerial gunnery qualification of the aviation battalion’s AH-64D, Longbow Apache Attack Helicopter, pilots and crew members.

“This is another way we prepare for combat,” said Maj. Benny Collins, operations officer with the 1-130th ARB. “Every MOS [military occupational specialty] in this battalion gets training when we do this, from the motor-pool to the pilots.”

The helicopter pads at the range, here, were in full use, hosting Apache after Apache taking off and landing in between their individual flight patterns. The flight patterns are common aerial practice for the pilots, who must maintain a certain amount of “flight time” each year to maintain their qualifications.

Scenarios which simulated a combat experience in which the Apaches would have to fire their weapon systems on a target was reviewed by master gunners after each pilot concluded their route.

“The master gunner is the one that grades everything, reviewing the tapes, making sure the procedures were followed, and how fast it takes [the pilot] to acquire the target and engage the target,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Harris, an Apache pilot assigned to the 1-130th ARB.

In the control tower, aviation Soldiers relayed communications to the pilots informing them of their scenario and clearing them for take offs and landings. Machine gun and rocket fire from the training rounds in the Apaches echoed throughout the sky as the helicopters flew by the tower.

“This is taking us back to basics with our weapon systems,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas Chappin, an Apache pilot assigned to the 1-130th ARB. “It’s like qualifying [recertifying] with your weapon every year.”

The aerial gunnery qualifications stretched into the dark hours of the night, hosting nighttime fire operations for the pilots. The nighttime operations provided training for not only the pilots, but the flight operations crew, the ammunition company, the aviation logisticians, the cooks, the medics and the maintenance teams, all who are instrumental within the Total Army concept of making the 1-130th a fluid force during times of world-wide and domestic operations.

We’re one of three helicopter assets to the North Carolina National Guard, employing nearly 1,000 Soldiers, said Chappin.

The mission we provide to the state of North Carolina (ground support), and the supplemental support we give to the active-duty component (full-spectrum) make it all the more important that we train and maintain our proficiency, Chappin said.

Command staff with the 1-130th ARB has been monitoring and evaluating the performance of the aviation Soldiers during the course of the annual training period, ensuring that skills needed to complete the mission remain of vital importance.

This training event was the building block to the battalion’s yearly training objectives to be the best National Guard attack reconnaissance battalion as well as prepared to answer the call of duty at the federal and state levels. The battalion’s next live-fire training exercise is scheduled for the month of August with other National Guard Apache and active-component units from the southeastern U.S.

• Date Taken: 04.22.2015
• Date Posted: 05.05.2015 09:51
• Story ID: 162246
• Location: FORT A.P. HILL, VA, US