The 2-130th AOB supports Helo-Aquatic Search & Rescue in North Carolina

Photo By Maj. Briana McFarland | Soldiers from Charlie Company, 1-131st Assault Helicopter Battalion and Det. 2, Charlie Company, 1-126 General Support Aviation Battalion participated in a training mission as members of the North Carolina Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART) – in partnership with the N.C. State Highway Patrol, N.C. Emergency Management and local first responders – from March 23-24 at the Salisbury armory and Army Aviation Flight Facility #2.  

SALISBURY, NC, UNITED STATES

04.12.2022

Story by Capt. Briana McFarland 

449th Combat Aviation Brigade

MORRISVILLE, N.C. – Soldiers from Charlie Company, 1-131st Assault Helicopter Battalion and Det. 2, Charlie Company, 1-126 General Support Aviation Battalion participated in a training mission as members of the North Carolina Helo-Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART) – in partnership with the N.C. State Highway Patrol, N.C. Emergency Management and local first responders – from March 23-24 at the Salisbury armory and Army Aviation Flight Facility #2.

The units are assigned to the 2-130th Airfield Operations Battalion and are a highly specialized team who trains monthly to ensure readiness for helicopter-based rescues, including swift water/flood, wilderness, urban and mountain rescues.

This training was especially unique because the N.C. National Guard State Army Aviation Officer (SAAO), Col. Benny Collins, invited leaders from eleven states – who hope to establish their own HART program – to observe the training, adopt and modify it to meet their individual state’s needs and requirements. These leaders consisted of SAAO’s, facility commanders, standardization pilots, flight instructors and emergency management offices. Additional leaders in attendance included representatives from National Guard Bureau, Directorate of Evaluations Standardization (DES). Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Copeland, the N.C. assistant adjutant general for sustainment, and 449th Combat Aviation Brigade Commander Col. Michele Harper.

According to the 2-130th AOB Commander, Lt. Col. Daniel McAuliffe, it’s training that’s extremely important and much needed.

“The NCHART training conducted with our state partners and Emergency Management is critical in ensuring that we can respond safely and effectively to wide-area flooding and mountain rescues in support of the citizens of North Carolina and our partner states in the accomplishment of our Domestic Operations mission,” McAuliffe said.

The states that observed the training consisted of the following: Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Virginia, Texas and Utah.

The NCHART program includes three different aircraft based on mission needs. The N.C. Army National Guard provides the UH-60 Blackhawk and UH-72 Lakota helicopters, while the N.C. State Highway Patrol provides the Bell-407. Candidates for HART technician positions are chosen based on stringent prerequisite training, as well as a rigorous physical fitness evaluation.

Charlie Company, 1-131st AHB and Det. 2, Charlie Company, 1-126th GSAB are assigned to the 2-130 Airfield Operations Battalion, 449th Combat Aviation Brigade, and headquartered in Salisbury, North Carolina.

• Date Taken: 04.12.2022
• Date Posted: 04.14.2022 21:38
• Story ID: 418377
• Location: SALISBURY, NC, US
• Hometown: MORRISVILLE, NC, US
• Hometown: SALISBURY, NC, US