Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian Kummer | Soldiers from the California Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation...... read more read more
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FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - The California National Guard's 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, conducted aerial gunnery training with their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters at Fort Hunter Liggett, California, July 17-19.
The battalion is scheduled to deploy to Kuwait later this year. The 1-140th is part of the Cal Guard's 40th Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB), which plans to deploy more than 1,000 California Guard soldiers to Kuwait this fall. They will be joined by 40th CAB members from Utah.
"It is important for [the Soldiers] to know their job well," said Staff Sgt. Evelina Gamboa, a petroleum specialist with the battalion.
The 40th CAB deployed to Iraq in 2011, when it flew more than 19,000 missions and logged more than 121,000 flight-hours. More than 75 percent of the CAB soldiers slated to deploy this year are veterans of previous deployments.
"I am pleasantly surprised and thrilled from what I have seen [at the gunnery event] so far," said First Army Command Sgt. Major J. T. Hall.
The 43,000-acre Camp Roberts in San Luis Obispo and Monterey counties is the premier training facility in California for National Guard and Reserve military forces. Elements of the 40th CAB will also conduct pre-mobilization training at Camp Roberts in August. This event certified helicopter crews to safely and precisely engage threats on the ground with their M240B machine guns and night vision equipment during their deployment.
"Keep up the good fight, and learn everything you can about your job and the jobs of your fellow Soldiers. Put out 100%, and we will have a story we can be proud of," said Col. Jeffrey Holliday, commander of the 40th CAB.
| Date Taken: | 07.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.19.2015 05:16 |
| Story ID: | 170464 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 245 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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