Lighthorse fuelers perfect field craft, prepare for NTC

Photo By Sgt. William Begley | Pvt. Christian Brantley, Troop E, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment stands ready to extinguish a fire while his team refuels an aircraft during an exercise on Fort Stewart the week of February 6-10. Brantley has been in the Army for six months. (Photo by Sgt. William Begley, 3rd CAB Public Affairs)  

SAVANNAH, GA, UNITED STATES

02.08.2017

Story by Sgt. William Begley 

3rd Combat Aviation Brigade

The Lighthorse fuelers of 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade took to the field to support all of the aircraft in Task Force Lighthorse during an exercise on Fort Stewart the week of February 6-10.
This exercise is helping to get the Soldiers ready for a rotation at the National Training Center in California later this year.
According to 1st Lt. Ashley Hanley of Troop E, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment her team is in charge of fueling and arming all of the aircraft while setting up and maintaining a command post.
“We have a convoy live fire exercise that we are doing tomorrow as well as a Combined Arms Live-Fire Exercise for the aircraft and their crews,” Hanley said.
Field time is when the tasks like setting up a tent for command post actually happen. Hanley said it’s important to be proficient at doing the tasks that Soldiers don’t do every day.
Sgt. Denver Yarbrough is a petroleum supply specialist for Troop E, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. He is in charge of a team of new young fuelers who recently joined the Army.
“We have a big mission out here. Whenever these aircraft need fuel, we’ve got to re-fuel them,” Yarbrough said.
Yarbrough has been in the Army for 10 years and has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan. His experience will be needed as he has two young Soldiers that work with him.
Pvt. Christian Brantley, Troop E, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment has been in the Army a grand total of six months. He recently arrived at his unit and this is his first time going to the field with them.
“It’s definitely different being out here at night. You can hear all of the animals out here killing other animals it’s something else,” Brantley said.
Brantley mentioned some of the wildlife he hopes he doesn’t encounter. Alligators.
“I haven’t seen anything yet but if I see one attacking on of my battle buddies I might just have to take him out,” Brantley said.
Alligators. They can come in different forms. They can be the four-legged reptilian kind or they can be the kind that makes setting up a tent and command post a challenge. That’s why it’s so important to learn to deal with the alligators now.
“Getting out to the field to practice what we do is incredibly important because things do go wrong and we can learn from our mistakes and we can get better,” Hanley said.

• Date Taken: 02.08.2017
• Date Posted: 02.09.2017 14:33
• Story ID: 223084
• Location: SAVANNAH, GA, US