Written By 1st Lt. Dylan Maher, 4th Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment
The 2-4 General Support Aviation Battalion conducted an air assault with Nemesis Troop, 4th Squadron, 2d Cavalry Regiment in order to demonstrate their combined ready to fight capabilities at the Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, July 12, 2018. 2-4 GSAB recently deployed to Germany in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve and their teamwork with Nemesis Troop demonstrated interoperability and readiness, both critical merits to 2CR's mission in Europe. The training exercise at the HTA were the culmination of several days of operations by the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division and 4/2CR.
In the early hours, scouts from the Nemesis Troop conducted a foot march to Vilseck Army Air Field to establish their pick up zone. Four CH-47 Chinook helicopters air lifted the troop south to the HTA where Nemesis Troop coordinated simulated fires with the aviation planners to provide suppression of enemy air defenses in the vicinity of the landing zone. This provided junior leaders and Fire Support Officers with valuable training for future exercises.
Over the course of the operation, these same scouts conducted a four kilometer dismounted infiltration in order to observe several named areas of interest and paint a picture of the enemy situation on the ground. Based on Nemesis Troop’s reporting, higher headquarters issued an order for the Troopers to conduct a raid on a simulated enemy electronic warfare fixed site.
“We were reporting to two live command posts which allowed us to stress our squadron and battalion staffs into making critical decisions based on real time information from a living and breathing opposing force,” said Capt. Jean Navedo, commander, Nemesis Troop, 4/2CR. “The information my scouts were reporting, and what they were potentially missing, directly affected their mission.”
The operation also simulated casualty evacuation operations which allowed 2-4 GSAB to train their medical evacuation crews and test the capabilities of St. Marien Hospital in Amberg, Germany, where the casualties were received.
Capt. Theodore Ivanco, operations planner, 2-4 GSAB , began coordinating this exercise with the 2CR leadership prior to 4th CAB assuming responsibility as the Regionally Aligned Forces Combat Aviation Brigade. Simultaneous to the GSAB’s deployment to Europe, Ivanco and Navedo began planning their parts of the operation.
The goal of the training was to show that 2-4 GSAB could rapidly deploy and execute air operations in support of ground forces. Nemesis Troop’s training allowed them to learn valuable lessons associated with dismounted reconnaissance operations and further prepared them for the regiment's upcoming rotation at the HTA during Dragoon Ready 19, scheduled for October.