Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Adrian Borunda | Five Soldiers with Detachment 1, B Co., 640th Aviation Support Battalion, extend their...... read more read more
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Nearly 60 soldiers from Detachment 1, B Co., 640th Aviation Support Battalion were welcomed home by friends, family and fellow soldiers Oct. 16 at Silverbell Army Heliport in Marana, Arizona.
This nine-month deployment to Kuwait in support of Operation Inherent Resolve was the detachment’s second deployment in the last 10 years. The unit’s main mission was to provide aircraft, field and sustainment-level aircraft and armament maintenance.
“I present this formation as evidence to anyone that [our guardsmen] as a fact that there is no mission that our soldiers in the Arizona Army National Guard are incapable of taking on,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael T. McGuire, the Adjutant General of the Arizona National Guard.
Detachment 1, based at Silverbell, went on to maintain the majority of the attack aviation AH-64 helicopters for the 82nd Airborne Division and the 10th Mountain Division in Kuwait for nine months.
“This captain and his leadership team and these soldiers and what they have accomplished have made each and every family member, each and every citizen of the great state of Arizona and each and every citizen of this great nation very proud of their service over the last nine months,” McGuire said.
This was Sgt. Danny Nezats, an attack helicopter repairer, first deployment in his six years of service with the National Guard.
“We did the heavy maintenance of Apaches, those repairs that are required after 500 hours of flight time,” Nezat said. “That’s almost a complete strip down of the engines, transmission, gear boxes and rotors.”
Nezat said his time in Kuwait has helped him improve his skills as a repairer which has helped him land an active guard reserve position at his unit.
Hard days and long hours were the norm for the detachment soldiers.
“We were always on the go, we were working six days a week and 12 hours a day,” Nezat said. “That’s not including time getting ready for work and time spent talking to family.”
Spc. Tim Kuch, an attack helicopter repairer, mentioned the easy communication back home made his first deployment less jarring.
“We could Face Time almost every night with family and that made transitioning home a little easier,” Kuch said.
The detachment has proven that the Arizona National Guard continues to be a leader in missions across the globe and at home.
| Date Taken: | 10.16.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2016 13:18 |
| Story ID: | 212588 |
| Location: | MARANA, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 231 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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