Photo By Scott Sturkol | Aviation Soldiers with the Iowa National Guard operate a UH-72A Lakota helicopter July...... read more read more
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Soldiers with the Iowa National Guard’s 248th Aviation Support Battalion and Detachment 1, Company A, 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Regiment held training July 14 at Fort McCoy’s Young Air Assault Strip on South Post as well as other areas on South Post.
The aviation Soldiers were not only utilizing the Forward Air Refueling Point (FARP) at Young airstrip but also were operating a UH-72A Lakota helicopter for training as well.
According to a fact sheet about the UH-72A at https://www.army.mil/article/137585/UH_72A_LAKOTA, the airframe “provides a flexible response to homeland security requirements such as search and rescue operations, reconnaissance and surveillance, and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) missions.”
The fact sheet also states the UH-72A Light Utility Helicopter “will conduct general support utility helicopter missions and execute tasks as part of an integrated effort with other joint services, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations.” The helicopter is to be deployed only to non-combat, non-hostile environments. The UH-72A is a variant of the American Eurocopter U.S.-produced EC-145.
Additionally, “the UH-72A is a twin-engine, single-main-rotor commercial helicopter. It has seating for two pilots and up to six passengers or two NATO standard litters. Two Turbomeca Arriel 1E2 engines, combined with an advanced four-blade rotor system, provide lift and speed in a wide range of operating conditions. The UH-72A can be configured with two NATO standard litters, passenger seating for a medical attendant and a crew chief. The UH-72A is equipped with modern communication and navigation avionics. It includes a three-axis autopilot and single pilot Instrument Flight Rules capability. The cockpit is compatible with night vision devices.”
The aviation Soldiers were among hundreds of Iowa-based troops completing annual training at Fort McCoy in July. Training like this often takes place at Young Air Assault Strip, too, according to officials with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security.
Built in late 1984 by members of the 618th Engineer Company, (Light Equipment), 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C., the airstrip was named after Pfc. Raphael Young, a member of the 618th who died in September 1984 while training on heavy equipment in advance of the mission to build the airstrip.
Looking back at the history of the airstrip’s construction, it was documented in the Oct. 18, 1984, edition of Fort McCoy’s The Triad newspaper in the article: “Engineers here to complete airstrip.”
The story, written by Crystal Laureano of the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office, states, “Almost 200 of them fell from the sky two weeks ago to embark on a monthlong mission of training and construction. They are members of the 618th Engineer Company, (Light Equipment), 82nd Airborne Division, from Fort Bragg, N.C., here to complete an assault airstrip begun by a sister unit last year and add a taxi-way.
“When completed, the assault airstrip will be capable of accommodating aircraft up to the size of a C-130, thus increasing training opportunities at Fort McCoy. The construction project is also a valuable training mission for 618th, says Capt. William N. Prokopyk, company commander. Because of their airborne status, most of their equipment at Fort Bragg is sectionalized. It can be broken down into pieces which are air dropped.
“The equipment they are using here, ‘exceeds the capability of our equipment, volume wise,’ said Prokopyk. There are a lot of new people in the unit, and Enii have not worked with the heavier equipment since advanced individual training, said Prokopyk.
“‘Even though we don’t have that equipment in an airborne unit, it is part of their skill qualification test,’ he added. Some of the equipment used are bulldozers, bucket loaders, and compactors. The equipment was drawn from the 416th Engineer Command and Fort McCoy’s Equipment Concentration Site.
“Since the runway was already laid out, and covered with gravel, they began by re-surveying and re-compacting the runway. They then moved soil and trees for the taxiway. Top soil had to be removed, and the land shaped with scrapers to bring the taxiway to the proper elevation, explained Prokopyk. Under the surface of the runway and taxiway are many layers of compacted green shale, which is mined by the 618th from a pit on post.
“Each layer must be compacted before another is applied. The surface will be compacted gravel,” the article states. “The more than 200 Soldiers here comprise a headquarters section, complete with dining facility personnel, maintenance, transportation and three engineer platoons. Surveyors and soil analysts from other units at Fort Bragg are attached to the unit for this mission.
“The Soldiers ‘work from first light to dark on a one day on, one day off schedule,’ said Prokopyk. Their day begins with a 4:30 a.m. wake-up and breakfast at 5 a.m. At 6 a.m., they board for the trip to the air assault strip construction site. At 7 a.m., after a preventative maintenance check on the equipment, they begin work. Construction continues until 7 p.m. with a half-hour break for lunch. Twice daily, each piece of equipment must be lubricated and fueled, said Prokopyk, which is performed by the maintenance section in an assembly line type procedure.
“The 618th Engineer Company are scheduled to complete the job by Oct. 26 (1984). The completed runway will be 60 feet wide, and 4,200 feet long, including two 300-foot overruns, said Prokopyk. The taxi-way will be essentially the same length and 30 feet wide.”
James Hubbard, chief of the Airfield Division at the Fort McCoy DPTMS, said in previous news articles that Young Air Assault Strip has and will continue to serve as an excellent training location for a wide variety of training.
“It’s a unique space,” Hubbard said. “A lot more people are starting to see that. When they know that, they tend they started using it more now.”
Over the years, the Air Force has landed A-10s, C-130s, C-17 Globemaster III planes, and Special Tactics Airmen at the strip; the Army has had many exercises in the location with UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinooks; and even the Navy has landed Sea Stallion helicopters there. And most recently, UH-72A Lakota helicopters have used the space.
“It’s a special place for training for special missions for units all throughout the Midwest,” Hubbard has said.
And besides the air assault strip itself, there’s since been facilities/training aids added to the area, including a retired C-130 Hercules parked there for loading training, storage and airfield operations buildings, and even a C-17 load trainer facility.
The 248th is headquartered at Davenport, Iowa, with detachments located in Boone and Waterloo. Detachment 1, Company A, 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Regiment operates from the Iowa Army National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility #2 in Waterloo.
Learn more about the National Guard by visiting https://www.nationalguard.mil. Learn more about the Iowa National Guard by visiting https://nationalguard.com/iowa.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2025 16:40 |
| Story ID: | 543663 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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