4th CAB conducts UAS training

Photo By Sgt. Jonathan Thibault | An unmanned aerial system (UAS) from 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, lands during UAS training conducted at Camp Red Devil Training Area July 23.  

FORT CARSON, CO, UNITED STATES

07.23.2015

Story by Sgt. Jonathan Thibault 

4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs

FORT CARSON, Colo. - Preventing the endangerment of Soldiers and targeting enemies is a military leader's goal. Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) can help make that goal a reality.

UAS operators from 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, conducted unmanned aerial vehicle training at Camp Red Devil Training Area, July 23.

"We worked out of a ground station which allows two personnel to keep track of the UAS while it's in flight," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Johnson, UAS sergeant, Company A, 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, 4th CAB. "We work off of five different radios at a time and watch camera feeds from the UAS."

Johnson talked about the UAS' many lifesaving capabilities and enemy targeting potentialities.

"The UASs have the ability to perform reconnaissance to give us feeds that we can send to our aircraft," said Johnson. "This allows them to see the enemy without putting them in harm's way. It can also act as a targeting system which can help aircraft and troops on ground to zero in on enemy targets."

The UAS is a highly mobile system that can be moved across the battlefield with ease, said Johnson.

"We can set up a full UAS … in three to four hours," said Johnson. "We can put it away even faster. We are training to -- hopefully one day -- be able to jump from one location to another while managing the UASs in the air and land them safely at our new destination."

Spc. Steven Anderson, UAS operator and mission coordinator, helped deconflict airspace and setup UAS operational tasks for daily training.

"I act like an air traffic controller, but without the radar," said Anderson. "We don't direct the UASs in the air to change courses. We simply tell the operators where not to fly to keep incidents from happening. I also keep our tasks in order to make our missions more efficient."

Anderson explained the effects of weather on the UASs and the precautions they take to prevent accidents.

"Our systems are very automated to keep human error low," said Anderson. "We watch the weather very carefully. We don't want weather to affect our satellite systems and cause us to have lags in communication with the UASs."

Johnson said UAS operators go through thorough training that is in line with Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.

"We go through a year of UAS training," said Johnson. "At school, we learn basic map reading and digital imagery, and then we learn FAA rules from the FAA Ground School. Once that is successfully completed, we move on to actual simulated flights. When we get to our duty stations, we participate in a progression program. Operators progress to different levels once they complete landmark tasks that are observed by operators who have completed the progression program."

• Date Taken: 07.23.2015
• Date Posted: 08.03.2015 18:59
• Story ID: 172014
• Location: FORT CARSON, CO, US