These Things We Do That Others May Live

Photo By Capt. Frank Spatt | A U.S. Army Soldier prepares for flight on a UH-60M Blackhawk to rescue a simulated isolated personnel during a combat search and rescue training exercise. From October 11 to 21, 2022 the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division ROK/U.S. Combined Division conducted combat search and rescue training with the U.S. 7th Air Force. The goal of the training exercise was to increase interoperability between U.S. Army rotary wing and U.S. Air Force fixed wing assets in recovering isolated personnel. (U.S. Army Photo by Capt. Frank Spatt)  

SEOUL AIR BASE, 11, SOUTH KOREA

10.20.2022

Story by Capt. Frank Spatt 

2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

SEOUL AIR BASE, Republic of Korea—From October 11 to 21, 2022, the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division ROK/U.S. Combined Division conducted combat search and rescue training (CSAR) with the U.S. 7th Air Force throughout the Korean peninsula.

This training event is a joint training exercise aimed to enhance the combat search and rescue (CSAR) competencies between the U.S. 7th Air Force’s fixed wing and the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade’s rotary wing assets, fulfilling a semiannual training requirement in the Korean theater of operations.

“Combat search and rescue training is executing the ability to look for isolated personnel,” said Capt. Russell Cameron, Commander of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment. “In these scenarios, a downed pilot over land or water, day or night, when his or her exact position in unknown and a hasty recovery effort needs to be coordinated.”

Personnel recovery is a time intensive mission, where seconds matter in ensuring the safe return of personnel behind enemy lines.

“In order to launch a CSAR mission, the last known location is used by the available recovery assets and their respective mission planning cells,” said Cameron. “Any enemy threats in the vicinity of the isolated personnel are assessed as well as plans to safely ingress or egress after any threats are neutralized by strike and personnel recovery assets.”

Between the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, there are a plethora of assets used to safely locate and secure isolated personnel.

“Assets used by the Air Force are the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System, the A-10 Thunderbolt, F-16 Falcon and the HH-60 Pave Hawk. Each airframe is used for specific purposes,” said Cameron. “An A-10 can quickly arrive to the general isolated personnel’s (IP) area and begin narrowing the search area. The A-10s that were flying overhead are very efficiently used to search for and authenticate the IP, to clear enemy threats that allows rescue vehicles, such as rotary wing assets, entry into the area and to ultimately play the role of a rescue escort to protect the rescue vehicles before and after the IP is recovered.”

Conducting joint training with the U.S. Air Force is not a regular occurrence, which is why these semiannual training exercises are important.

“Conducting this type of training with the Air Force allows U.S. Army Aviation to integrate with their mission planning efforts and mission-launch abilities to become better synced at locating potential IPs within a quick timeframe when a life may be at stake,” said Cameron. “This training is also an opportunity to train and expand beyond our usual mission objectives or tasks.”

Unlike training in the United States, training in South Korea offers unique training experiences not found at other duty stations.

“Within a relatively small area, aircrews are able to train far out over open water scattered with several islands and beach inlets or over high mountains containing deep valleys and draws, both having some of the best scenic views that you can imagine.”

These types of joint training exercises are highly rewarding for everyone involved due to the rarity of the occurrence for joint training to be scheduled.

“Being part of a multiple-echelon effort to save a life is extremely rewarding. It’s great knowing that our aircrews are receiving high-quality training via several coordinated plans and efforts that equates to better mission-readiness, in addition to accomplishing the mission by rescuing the simulated downed pilots.”

• Date Taken: 10.20.2022
• Date Posted: 10.26.2022 01:15
• Story ID: 432013
• Location: SEOUL AIR BASE, 11, KR