U.S., Romanian Pilots Come Together Along Black Sea

Photo By Sgt. H. Marcus McGill | MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania – A Romanian IAR-330 Puma Helicopter positions itself to takeoff with UH-60 crews from Bravo Co., 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment to execute air assault training Jan. 20. Working together during the planning and execution process for missions offers a unique opportunity for better understanding of tactics among NATO allies and enhances interoperability and readiness as the U.S. and Romanian forces work together to deter possible security threats in the Black Sea region. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. H. Marcus McGill)  

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, ROMANIA

01.20.2021

Story by Sgt. H. Marcus McGill 

319th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, Romania – UH-60 crews from Bravo Co., 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, flew with Romanian counterparts from 572nd Puma Squadron on Jan. 20 to conduct a joint air assault training mission. It was the first time the two elements had flown with one another and exemplifies how rapidly American forces, along with its European allies, can effectively respond to any aggression around the globe.

Working together during the planning and execution process for such missions offers a unique opportunity for better understanding of tactics among NATO allies and enhances interoperability and readiness as the U.S. and Romanian forces work together to deter possible security threats in the Black Sea region.

“The big point of the mission was to plan together, to teach each other how we do things, and then really work together to help build that trust and rapport between the two units and the two countries,” said 1st Lt. Adam Kanavos, UH-60 Pilot, Bravo Co., 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment.

Two UH-60s and one Romanian IAR-330 Puma took off from here, quickly separated, and then linked back up at landing zones within a few kilometers of each other, where the troops would have been dropped had it been an actual air assault. After takeoff from there, they quickly split back up.

“This makes the flights smaller and less detectable. We split up the flight and then come back together in a mass combat power for the ground force,” said Kanavos, “It is really cool to see that all come together when we hit our landing zones at the exact same time. It really shows they are true experts and we can come together and execute even the first time we were working together.”

The mission took a week to plan and less than four hours to execute. However, the experience gained was invaluable for both the Romanian and U.S. Soldiers and the value is sure to last for quite some time.

“You know something is great when you see it come together and you can't help but smile. It's fun when it happens and our pilots got a lot of really good experience,” said Kanavos. “It was really good just to be in the same room and compare planning programs and gain a better understanding of each other's capabilities.”

5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment will soon end their time here and a new unit will quickly take their place. Kanovos says he hopes his team is able to have the next Soldiers prepared to come in and continue to work with the Romanians so that both sides can keep growing from such experiences.

While Kanavos, his fellow Soldiers, and their Romanian counterparts got a lot out of the training, he said it pretty much boils down to one thing for both the Romanian and American troops.

“The bottom line is being able to come together and fight together,” he said.

• Date Taken: 01.20.2021
• Date Posted: 01.25.2021 03:54
• Story ID: 387356
• Location: MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU, RO