Taking training to new heights

Photo By 1st Sgt. Luisito Brooks | Staff Sgt. Jaime Suarez, an infantryman with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division from Porterville, Calif. ties a knot in the rear guide rope of the Aerostat at Joint Security Station Muthana, Dec.19.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

12.23.2009

Story by Spc. Luisito Brooks 

4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division

BAGHDAD — It takes more than just hot air to get the Aerostat surveillance system up in the sky, it also requires many hours of training.

Soldiers from 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division have spent the last month learning from the ground up how to assemble, operate and perform minor maintenance on the system, here, at Joint Security Station Muthana.

The surveillance systems that are mounted on the Aerostat blimp have the ability to view objects or locations many kilometers away, during day or night.

"With this training [we] will able to operate the system ourselves and provide a aerial view across the area of operation," said Sgt. Perter Burkes, a infantryman from Austin, Texas. "The Aerostat is a pressurized flexible structure that's filled with helium and it looks like a blimp."

Part of the 28-day training on the $4 million piece of equipment required the Soldiers to spend two weeks in the classroom learning the ins and outs of the system.

"In the class we learned about each part of the system, how to put them together and operate it," Spc. Val Tapia, a fire support Soldier from Stockton, Calif. "The class was very helpful because we were able to ask all the questions we needed."

At the end of the classroom session of the course the Soldiers had to take a written exam to test their knowledge on the system.

"I studied very hard for the written test," said Spc. Roy Justin, a radar repair specialist from Castleton, N.Y. "I was very proud that I did excellent on the test."

Every Soldier that did well on the written exam continued on to the hands-on portion of the course.

"We inventoried each piece of the system and then basically put the entire thing together," said Tapia. "It took us two day to put it together."

The final portion of the course required each person to master how to launch and recover the Aerostat.

"It took a team of about eight people 15 to 20 minutes to launch and recover the system and each person on the team had to learn everyone else's position," said Tapia. "We launched and recovered the Aerostat at least 50 times, under the supervision of the civilian instructor, so that everyone would be confident no matter what position they were thrown in."

The Soldiers completing the Aerostat training course will provide a major asset to the area.

"The training was excellent," said Burkes. "Now that this team is almost done with the training, we will be able to provide the visual support that is very essential for the safety of our Soldiers."

• Date Taken: 12.23.2009
• Date Posted: 12.23.2009 02:17
• Story ID: 43071
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ