Taking back the skies: Black Hawks fly training mission in Lithuania

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Avery | German army Soldiers evacuate a casualty to Chock 4, a UH-60M Black Hawk being flown by Soldiers assigned to B Company, 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, during a joint training exercise at the General Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area, Pabrade, Lithuania, June 14, 2015, as part of exercise Saber Strike 2015. Saber Strike is a longstanding U.S. Army Europe-led cooperative training exercise. This year’s exercise objectives facilitate cooperation amongst the U.S., Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to improve joint operational capability in a range of missions as well as preparing the participating nations and units to support multinational contingency operations. There are more than 6,000 participants from 13 different nations. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. James Avery, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

PABRADE, LITHUANIA

06.14.2015

Story by Sgt. James Avery 

16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

PABRADE, LITHUANIA – As multinational land forces mass in the forests and open plains of Lithuania for exercise Saber Strike 2015, and their strength on the ground is greater than ever. In the skies over Pabrade today, though, air power defined multinational partnerships.

In the air above the training grounds at the Gen. Silvestras Zukauskas Training Area here, two Apache A-64 Longbow helicopters operated by A Company, 2-159th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade, guarded a German Reconnaissance platoon on the ground, awaiting pickup of simulated wounded by five UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters flown by B Company, 43rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.

As the Black Hawks touched down in a massive swirl of yellow sand and debris kicked up by the spinning rotors of the helicopters, crew chief Staff Sgt. Carlos Cruz slid the side door back on his Black Hawk, Chock 4, and, with hand and arm signals, gave the German medic the okay to come out into the open with her wounded Soldiers.

“Working with other units, especially multinational ones, is hard sometimes,” said Cruz, a native of Mangilao, Guam. “The language barrier slows things down sometimes, but we got there in the end. Everyone speaks ‘army.”

As soon as the German medic had her patients secured in the aircraft, pilot, Maj. Patrick Wilde pulled up on the elevator arm and Chock 4 lifted into the air. Patrick, the 43rd’s executive officer and detachment officer in charge for Saber Strike 2015, said that assets like his in the air, ready to go at a moments notice, was key to a sustainable partnership with our allied forces.

“Being able to bring our knowledge and expertise to our partners and allies is a huge step in continuing interoperability in the region,” said the Brevard, North Carolina, native. “We’re learning to work together as one team, and bring the fight as a much larger and more competent force.”

The Saber Strike exercise program is an ongoing USAREUR-led cooperative training effort focused on Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. This year includes participation from U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), U.S. Navy forces in Europe (NAVEUR), U.S. Marine Forces Europe and Africa (MARFOREUR/AF), the U.S. Army and Air National Guard, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, and United Kingdom. The exercise trains participants on command and control as well as interoperability with regional partners. All activities will feature joint, multinational training among the participating nations.

• Date Taken: 06.14.2015
• Date Posted: 06.15.2015 06:06
• Story ID: 166631
• Location: PABRADE, LT
• Hometown: MANGILAO, GU
• Hometown: BREVARD, NC, US