Assault helicopter unit lends expertise to Bliss air assault school

Photo By Sgt. Alexander Neely | Two students of the Fort Bliss Air Assault Training Program prepare to rappel from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter of the 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division during a rappel training exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, April 21, 2015. The rappel training is one of the final tests for the air-assault students, and the Apocalypse assault helicopter battalion helps familiarize the trainees – many of whom have never flown on a helicopter before – with the Black Hawk. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Alexander K. Neely, Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs, 1st Armored Division)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

04.21.2015

Story by Sgt. Alexander Neely 

1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade

FORT BLISS, Texas - From movement tactics and hot- and cold-load training to rappel exercises, the 3rd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division is routinely providing its air crews’ expertise and UH-60 Black Hawks to the Fort Bliss Air Assault Training Program.

The “Apocalypse” Battalion, as 3rd Battalion also is known, coordinated to develop a rigorous and realistic air assault program with the Iron Training Detachment, a newly stood up 1st Armored Division unit of 30 highly-trained Soldiers.

“The instructors, the students, we all benefit from the helicopter being present during training,” said Sgt. First Class David Potter, an air traffic control operator for the Iron Training Detachment, Headquarters & Headquarters Battalion, 1st AD. “It’s one thing for the Soldiers to hear about the different tactics, it’s another to be able to actually utilize them on the helicopters.”

The course is designed to give troops a basic understanding of air-assault maneuvers, medical-evacuation operations and heavy lifting using helicopters.

Chief Warrant Officer 4 Brian Ellis, 3rd Bn.’s aviation standardization officer, said Apocalypse’s involvement in the training fulfills three of the top five priorities of Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Twitty, 1st Armored Division and Fort Bliss Commander. This includes providing tough, realistic training; building up leaders; and strengthening community relations.

“It’s excellent training that further develops the capabilities of the division and our battalion because it requires a higher level of proficiency and challenges our air crews,” said Ellis.

“But we are also developing junior leaders, based on what they learn in the course, which is something we haven’t done to this degree before. This is preparing us to better support the use of unconventional forces, should the need arise,” he said.

The 10-day school recently was completed by more than 100 Fort Bliss Soldiers, with the most recent graduation occurring April 22.

Air assault graduates also are certified to inspect “sling loads,” those heavy loads that are tethered underneath the aircraft for transportation.

“This increases the capability that Fort Bliss and the 1st Armored Division have to train Soldiers and get them ready to execute their missions, whether that's to deploy or going to (Army) training centers to get additional training,” said Capt. Mark Walden, the officer in charge of the Iron Training Detachment. “This gives us the additional capability to do this here.”

Besides supporting the air-assault school, Ellis said 3rd Bn. likely will provide air support for the Iron Training Detachment’s Desert Warrior training when that desert-survival course kicks off this summer.

• Date Taken: 04.21.2015
• Date Posted: 05.13.2015 17:30
• Story ID: 163228
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US