Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Anita Stratton | Pathfinder students hook up a sling load to a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during the...... read more read more
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Supplies, personnel, and equipment are always needed to support U.S. Army operations. Pathfinders help ensure those deliveries reach their destination.
“The job of the Pathfinder is to guide aircraft into a drop zone; they find a path from air to ground for parachutes, personnel, and vehicles,” said Staff Sgt. Josh Cavalier, a Pathfinder instructor assigned to the Warrior Training Center in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Soldiers and Airmen from across the U.S. participated in the U.S. Army Pathfinder course at Camp Rilea in Warrenton, Oregon, May 26-June 9, 2017. The Service Members are trained in air-mobile operations through classroom instruction and hands-on practice.
Pathfinder students said the difficult tests and short study time made the course challenging and interesting.
Virginia National Guard Spc. Evan Robinson, assigned to B Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, was one of the few lower-enlisted Soldiers participating in the Pathfinder course. He said, “I was able to learn different operations I have never been a part of before. The best part of the training is understanding how operations are conducted and what is needed to perform each operation.”
The instruction part of the course relies heavily on math skills and memory.
“This course is the hardest I have been to. It is a good academic challenge; you need to know algebra, geometry, and trigonometry,” said Staff Sgt. Isaac Lund, with C Troop, 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team said. “Drop zone survey was the hardest section; the hardest test was the nomenclature test. You had to give the exact name in Army terms, verbatim; no short cuts.”
Instructors emphasized accuracy in communication is extremely important as a Pathfinder. Use of the proper calculations, terms, and symbols are necessary for understanding and mission success. The practical, hands-on applications are conducted in coordination with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
“Those taking the course will prepare, inspect, send and receive a military vehicle to and from a helicopter by conducting a live, verbally-initiated drop zone,” said Cavalier.
Assessing and coordinating a drop zone in the constantly changing weather can cause difficulty in landing accuracy. Drops landing outside the zone are inconvenient but not always difficult. The student who calls in the drop coordinates must retrieve their package wherever it lands.
Oregon Army National Guard Capt. Chris Basset, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 641st Aviation Regiment, and also a manager for the 249th Regional Training Institute at Camp Umatilla, ordered a drop, calculating for wind speed and direction. It landed in the Pacific Ocean.
“I compensated for wind drift, but the wind died down just as it was dropped and the package went straight vertical,” Basset said.
He said the courses are mentally difficult but keeping a “strong will and effort to get through is what it takes to succeed.”
Students said they appreciated the classroom instruction, familiarization of aircraft and their capabilities, and hands-on training by skilled instructors.
“We are set up for success. It is nice to have the assets to put together all we have learned in the classroom,” Basset said.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2017 00:09 |
| Story ID: | 237619 |
| Location: | WARRENTON, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 118 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Soldiers and Airmen train on air-mobile operations during Pathfinder course, by SFC Anita Stratton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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