USO, Team Bliss ‘take off’

Photo By David Poe | A warning sign is illuminated outside of a CH-47 Chinook aviation simulator on East Fort Bliss, Aug. 21. Guests from the USO and corporate partners came on post for the chance to walk in the footsteps of Soldiers in order to serve them better year round. (U.S. Army photo by David Poe)  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

08.21.2019

Story by David Poe  

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

Cosme Saenz, a program manager with AT&T in El Paso, said he always wanted to go to Hawaii, so the Army at Fort Bliss flew him there in a Chinook – sort of – and even let him take the stick – sort of. The Army veteran was part of a USO-requested tour of the Chinook and Apache flight simulator systems, virtual structures located near Biggs Army Airfield on East Fort Bliss, Aug. 21.

The tour, led by the Bliss garrison Public Affairs Office, brought USO executives, supporters, and corporate partners onto the installation to get a small taste of Army life in order to better relate to the Soldiers they serve every day. The group was met and briefed by Lt. Col. Warren Pittman, the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Bliss executive officer, who touted El Paso and the Borderplex as a great place to train and mobilize, but also to call home at the end of the duty day.

“We can [train with] PATRIOT missiles here … as well as offer high-altitude training – that’s hard to find at other Army installations,” he said. “And no offense to some of our other Army cities, I’ll take El Paso any day.”

After the welcome and the mission briefing, as well as a safety briefing before stepping into the simulation spaces, the guests were loaded into Chinook and Apache simulators and had turns in the virtual cockpits that are used to train 1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade pilots and crews, as well as other local and visiting aviation units conducting training at Bliss.

While the simulators may offer aviation units a higher-state of readiness due to the ability to “fly” 24-7, they also are budget-friendly; the Chinook simulators can be operated for less than $500 an hour of flight time – almost one-twentieth of the cost of getting an actual Chinook airborne for that same hour.

The guests said they were impressed by the realism of the simulators that portrayed the Apache as a “sleek sports car,” and the Chinook as a “slow, lurking bus” that had more predictable movements.

Yolanda Castillo, the USO coordinator for El Paso, said she felt the tour was a great chance to proverbially walk in the boots of today’s Soldiers, and the multi-million dollar helicopter aviation complex allowed her and the group to better appreciate that Soldiers, such as those from the Aviation Branch, are skilled specialists.

“It’s always good for us to learn and remember that Soldiers are amazingly talented and able – what better way than to see a bit of what it takes to get the mission accomplished,” she said. “They and their families deserve our support – I think the group got a taste of that today.”

If Saenz’s experience somewhere over Oahu – sort of – was any indication of the group’s opinion of the peek into Army life, the visit was a successful “flight.”

Now almost 15 years since he wore Army green, he said he was encouraged to now represent AT&T and offer what he can from his position in assisting Soldiers alongside the USO.

“We’re looking forward to seeing how we can help during their service and beyond,” he said.

“I’m impressed by how able the Army is today.”

• Date Taken: 08.21.2019
• Date Posted: 09.06.2019 15:25
• Story ID: 338727
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US