Cooperation and Opportunity Increase Training Value on Camp Ripley

Photo By Anthony Housey | During annual training, Infantry Soldiers of the Minnesota National Guard’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion – 194th Armor are air inserted into a narrow landing zone on Camp Ripley August 19, 2022 by CH-47 Chinook aircrews of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion – 126th Aviation Regiment out of the Maryland National Guard Soldiers.  

MN, UNITED STATES

08.19.2022

Story by Anthony Housey 

Camp Ripley Training Center

August 20, 2022 (CAMP RIPLEY Minnesota) – Maryland National Guard Soldiers of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion – 126th Aviation Regiment arrived on Camp Ripley in early August to conduct training as they take steps moving closer to an up coming deployment.
“During our Advanced Echelon (ADVON) meeting on the morning of August 15th, Camp Ripley’s Command Sergeant - Major Marcus Erickson mentioned an infantry unit that would be interested in joint training with our unit,” said First Sgt. Jonathan B. DeLong who was coordinating between the unit and Camp Ripley’s Operations Cell.
B Co. 3-126th ECAB out of Aberdeen Proving Ground near Edgewood, Maryland contacted First Sgt. Aaron Rousselange of C Co., 1st Combined Arms Battalion -194th Armor to begin the planning phase of an Infantry troop movement mission with the units CH-47 Chinook helicopter on Friday August 19, 2022.
The option of joint training and conducting an exercise with non-organic units is a practice that more and more organizations have taken part in over the past decade. Current operations at home and overseas has shown the need for inter-operable units working collectively towards mission success. This can be seen in several examples over the past few years of the National Guard responding to natural disasters or reactions to civil unrest. The employment of mixed, integrated, or task organized units continues to validate the Guard’s adaptability and resourcefulness during domestic or international missions.
Furthermore, following the guidelines of the Army’s latest modernization policy which sets the wheels in motion for a fully cooperative, joint operations, multi-domain force is strongly encouraged by higher headquarters. The plan involves a familiarization between active, reserve component and National Guard organizations, as well as multi-branch interaction, to reduce any unnecessary breakdown between units operating in the same theater of operations. This familiarization is to increase cross cooperation and build ties for joint operations anywhere in the world.
On Camp Ripley, Training Year 2022 continues as a shinning example of this cooperation in training. Beginning with U.S. Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard units coming to Ripley for winter operations training during the months of December through February. Many of the training events that take place on Camp Ripley are built, supplied and executed by the specific unit arriving to conduct training. From there, the options are nearly unlimited as far as developing the training event using resources on Camp Ripley or adjacent units looking to advance their training experience as well.
One example is the early summer bridging of the Mississippi River by an engineer unit from Michigan. They utilized resources and armored units of the Minnesota National Guard’s 34th Infantry Division to conduct a higher headquarters led wet gap crossing mission during several unit’s annual training period. The engineers then reset and provided another crossing for a South Dakota Multi-launching Rocket Systems (MLRS) battalion to conduct their tactical advance into several firing position as they completed their own training event.
As the middle of August rolled by, both units began coordination for rehearsals and conducted a detailed briefing on the afternoon of the 19th incorporating the aircrew’s mission and posture as well as actions on the Landing Zone and the scheme of maneuver for the dismounted element once they leave the aircraft.
“Our plan is to be air inserted on a narrow hilltop where they will lower the ramp for us to exit the aircraft. From there, we will secure the area and then march west towards our objective,” added Rousselange.
The aviation maneuver is known as a “pinnacle landing,” which is when the Chinook balances on its back two wheels and the crew drops its ramp to have people load or unload the aircraft. This action is used when a wide surface landing zone is not available due to terrain and requires complete trust between the pilots and the crew directing them.
In the late afternoon of August 19, 2022, two CH-47s of the 3-126 conducted two flights each to transport the Soldiers of 1-194 to the Landing Zone. As part of their training the pilots did not fully land. Ensuring safety measures were in place the helicopter touch its ramp to the edge of the hill’s level surface and held in place. Under the guidance of the aviation crew chief, the troop exited the aircraft and established a hasty perimeter around the narrow landing zone. The force of the rotor wash made it necessary to hug the ground as the aircraft lifted off to make room for the next in-bound chalk (group) of troops. As the ground force moved down the hill, one by one the CH-47s landed enthusiastic Soldiers on the LZ safely and on time.
“It’s important to practice and train on the job we will be required to do. Terrain and odd conditions are something we have to be prepared to overcome,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Noble, CH-47 Instructor Pilot with 3-126.

• Date Taken: 08.19.2022
• Date Posted: 09.08.2022 12:21
• Story ID: 428829
• Location: MN, US