Photo By Spc. Jason Dangel | Ron Bailey, with the Camp Taji Fire Department, teaches Soldiers from Company B, 404th...... read more read more
By Sgt. Jason Dangel
Multi-National Division - Baghdad
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – In combat, a disabled aircraft can cause a myriad of problems on the battlefield. Trained professionals must be ready to respond to the urgent situation at a moment's notice, and have to literally be prepared for hundreds of different scenarios.
Members of the Disabled Aircraft Recovery Team from the Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad, are qualified to do just that.
The DART platoon, comprised of about 40 Soldiers from Company B, 404th Avn. Support Battalion, is trained to respond, access damage and determine whether or not an immobilized aircraft can safely be extracted from the battlefield. Training for this mission is a mission of its own.
During an extensive training exercise, Jan. 2, the "Iron Eagles" DART platoon fine tuned their fire fighting skills while dousing a controlled blaze with McCaw Compressed Air Foam backpack fire extinguishers on Camp Taji.
As the brigade's primary DART, learning how to efficiently suppress fires, among other tasks, are one of the various tools that make up the team's repertoire of aircraft recovery skills; a 24/7 mission they don't take lightly.
"This is the system we would utilize in case of an emergency such as if an aircraft were shot down or had to make a precautionary landing and is on fire," said Capt. Alfredo Reyes, DART platoon leader, from Pasadena, Texas. "If this were the case, we would be able to deploy with CAB assets and get to the site and extinguish the flames."
The McCaw CAF backpack, weighing in at 60 pounds, is a powerful extinguisher used for fire suppression, exposure protection, hazardous material clean-up as well as decontamination. The lightweight, rugged system can expel five gallons of water into as much as 350 gallons of pressurized foam for a distance of up to 40 feet.
During the two-hour block of instruction on fire fighting, the Soldiers were first briefed on the ins-and-outs of the McCaw CAF system with course instructor Ron Bailey, a member of the Camp Taji Fire Department, who served 13-years as a firefighter with the Navy.
After the class ended, the DART Soldiers, along with Camp Taji Fire Department personnel, made their way to a remote area where they learned how effective the extinguisher system is when it comes to fighting fires.
"You'll definitely be able to stay warm out here," said Bailey while igniting an old fuel tanker into a towering wall of fire during a particularly frigid morning in Iraq.
Then, in teams of two, the Soldiers took turns fighting the blaze until the flames were completely extinguished. Bailey ignited the fuel truck twice during the exercise, and both times it took the Soldiers about five minutes to fully extinguish the flames.
"This is real good training, and is probably the best training we've done since we've been out here," said Sgt. Robert Thibault, DART non-commissioned officer in charge, from Coventry, R.I.
"As far as real world scenarios, this is something that we will see if an aircraft goes down and catches on fire. It is important that all the Soldiers are trained and can execute this operation as the mission dictates."
Being trained and ready is something the platoon's leaders take seriously. Every Friday, Reyes and Thibault set aside the whole day to train their team on aircraft recovery, because they understand the importance of their critical combat mission.
Whether it's as simple as responding to a bird that has to make a precautionary landing due to a simple maintenance problem, or it is something as serious as an aircraft engulfed in flames, they both agree that the platoon's training must be wide-ranging and versatile to ensure mission success.
"We are ready for anything," Thibault added. "Throw any scenario at us, and we'll be able to react accordingly. As a DART, we can only be proactive to a certain degree. We have fully trained personnel and all the necessary equipment, but every mission is different. I'm fully confident that we can successfully accomplish any mission we encounter, and training events such as this puts us in a better position to do just that."
| Date Taken: | 01.05.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 01.05.2009 08:45 |
| Story ID: | 28460 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 139 |
| Downloads: | 101 |
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