Photo By Airman 1st Class Gerald Ligeralde | U.S. Army Soldier Pfc. Avn May, 128th Aviation Brigade student, sits on a UH-60...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – For one group of Soldiers, the phoenix that’ll one day be etched in their patches may have been revived from the ashes, but for them to earn the right to wear the badge they must first be “Born Under Fire.”
The motto represents the first original unit during Operation Just Cause and the courageous actions they showcased. Despite crashes and setbacks, they rose out of the ashes and fought to victory. Today, the process of training the next generation of phoenixes is no different and it all begins at the 128th Aviation Brigade at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.
The brigade is part of the United States Army’s aviation branch and comprises three battalions responsible for the initial training of aviation maintenance personnel.
The 128th Aviation Brigade consists of the 1st Battalion-210th Aviation Regiment and 2nd Battalion-Aviation Regiment, which conduct all initial entry training for various aviation military occupational specialties including: Aircraft Electrician, Pneudraulics Repairer, and Avionic Mechanic.
While those battalions focus on the hands-on training, the 1st Battalion-222d Aviation Regiment is responsible for creating the culture necessary to shape Soldiers into members of the aviation branch. These instructors provide the Soldiers lessons on Army Values, warrior tasks, and battle drills.
Here, soldiers learn the skills they’ll need to play a crucial role in maintaining and sustaining the Army’s battle-ready fleet of rotary-wing aircraft.
Sgt. Marcellus Cole, 128th AB training instructor, says all three battalions must work together because what the students learn inside the classrooms is just as integral in helping shape the culture, as what they learn outside.
“Students with the 128th AB go through a series of tasks in classes specific to each one of their specialties,” says Cole. “They all learn their basic tool knowledge with their tool kits and special items that change depending on their specific aircraft. Students also go through ‘write up’ training to log what tools they use and what parts they are fixing and replacing.”
“We're here to train the next generation of aviators, and it's a very prideful branch of Army Aviation that is very unique,” says U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Day, 128th AB, senior training manager. “Army Aviation itself is also unique, and every day, we bring a sense of pride.”
In comparison to the Army’s almost 250 years as a service, the 128th AB history is short-lived but that hasn’t gotten in its way of establishing a culture rich in pride that resonates throughout the unit.
Day, who oversees all aspects of training, understands the culture within the brigade better than most.
“We’re all in this for a common goal and that’s to train the best maintainers that we possibly can, and with that, it breeds a lot of excitement into the culture,” says Day. “People are excited to come to work and excited to make changes.”
Most changes stem from lessons learned and are incorporated into curriculum, instruction, and physical training, to ensure they can maintain a high-level of lethality and efficiency.
“It’s really all about safety and preventative maintenance,” says Day. “We use new training and new preventative measures to educate the new generation.”
With such a high-stakes mission, failure could result in loss of life, so the brigade utilizes an intricate system of checks and balances to ensure the integrity of all of their maintenance actions.
“We have quality assurance personnel who help make sure that our instructors are doing the right thing,” says Day. “We also have standardization non-commissioned officers that are also ensuring we are always doing the right thing.”
Together, the teams work to keep performance at the highest level and create a sense of unity which Day believes is a key concept necessary to build a ready and lethal force.
“There’s a lot of good communication throughout this brigade,” says Staff Sgt. Michael Parish, 128th AB, 1-222D aviation regiment NCO. “The unity and camaraderie here have been excellent. Everyone here has been good at helping each other.”
As one group leaves and the next one arrives, one thing remains unchanged. All roads to Army aviation maintenance begins here and before Soldiers can graduate, they must first prove they have the skills and determination it takes to be “Born Under Fire.”
| Date Taken: | 04.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.01.2025 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 494194 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Born from the Ashes: Igniting the Next Generation of Aviation, by A1C Gerald Ligeralde, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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