FORT BRAGG, N.C. – “Incoming! Incoming! Incoming!” the alarm sounded when the forward operating base began to take indirect fire. As the medics moved out to assess and treat the casualties, the remainder of the FOB seemed lifeless as soldiers found stayed inside the “hard shelter” of their company buildings.
That is, until moments after the last incoming round hit, when pilots and crewmembers rushed to start up their helicopters in response to a 9-line medevac request from soldiers at another FOB nearby.
Fortunately for the soldiers, both the incoming rounds and the injuries weren’t real, but simply one battle drill in a series of training exercises preparing them to react in a real combat environment.
That training lasted throughout February as the Saber soldiers of 1st Squadron, 17th Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, prepared for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk, La.
The JRTC rotation gave the unit an opportunity to employ its aircraft, including CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60M and HH-60M Blackhawks, AH-64 Apaches and OH-58 Kiowas, in support of the ground troops of the 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, in a simulated combat environment.
“We came together as a Task Force, Jan. 5, taking elements from every Battalion within the 82nd CAB and began deployment to JRTC less than 30 days later,” said Lt. Col. Jeffery Cheeks, commander, TF Saber and 1-17 ACR.
In order to meet the needs of the ground commanders during the deployment, 1-17 ACR, which consisted solely of the OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters, task organized with the other units of the 82nd CAB. Cheeks now commands many new pilots, crew members and maintenance personnel, and he is responsible for five different types of aircraft.
While TF Saber brought in many new soldiers to man the new aircraft, the 1-17 ACR staff headquarters remained largely the same.
“JRTC has given the staff an opportunity to better understand what individual aircrews need to execute the various missions,” Cheeks said.
One difference the TF came across during air assault training with 2nd HBCT, 4th Inf. Div., is the increased planning time and coordination needed to tactically move ground soldiers in and out of the battlefield.
“We are learning how 1-17 ACR works and showing them how we plan lift assets,” said Cpt. Gerardo Dominguez.
Dominguez serves as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot and the commander for Company C, 2nd Aviation Assault Battalion, 82nd CAB, now a part of TF Saber.
Unlike the Apaches and Kiowas, or the attack helicopters, the Chinooks and Blackhawks are primarily used to move people and equipment, which often involves landing, and the pilots and aircrews must begin coordinating very early with the ground commanders.
“Our planning process is very deliberate and starts 96 hours out,” Dominguez added.
For the organic 1-17 ACR staff, the training has been a chance to work with the company level experts from their new assets to better understand their mission requirements.
“When planning for an air assault mission, we’re learning what questions the lift pilots need answered from the ground force commander,” said Maj. Michael Bustos, the operations officer for TF Saber.
In addition to the Air Assault missions and the training for the Kiowa and Apache crews, such aviation operations as sling loads and medical evacuations and Forward Access Refueling Points were also incorporated into the month-long training.
To sum it up, during the month of February, TF Saber soldiers executed 97 missions during situational training exercise lanes, 112 missions during force on force training, 49 medevacs, eight indirect fire drills, and 42 flight hours during live fire. The troops also fired 299 rockets, 1,564 30mm rounds, 3,512 50cal rounds and 3,870 5.56mm M4 rounds, pumped more than 80,000 galons of fuel, and processed 90 aviation work orders.
While Task Force Saber completed their rotation and is now back at Fort Bragg, the training for the 82nd CAB and Task Force Pegasus will certainly continue.
“We want to take our lessons learned at JRTC back to the Brigade,” Cheeks said.