Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Leticia Samuels | UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – Capt. James Burns, commander of Foxtrot Company, 227th...... read more read more
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – U.S. Army Capt. James Burns, Foxtrot Company, 227th Aviation Regiment “Godfathers” commander, stood at attention in front of the formation and uncased the company’s colors during a transfer of authority ceremony signifying the assumption of command from Capt. Trenton Conyers, commander of Bravo Company, 229th Aviation Regiment “Flying Tigers” on June 24, 2018.
The outgoing unit ceremonially cased its colors signifying a successful completion of a nine-month deployment while the incoming unit unfurled its colors assuming command and the start of its mission to enable U.S., Coalition and partner nations to defeat and destroy ISIS in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Spartan Shield.
“I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead the Godfathers in defeating ISIS,” said Burns.
“The Gray Eagles have amazing capabilities that make them uniquely suited to respond quickly to the needs of the ground force commander,” he said of the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
Foxtrot Company was the first gray eagle company established in the Army in 2011. They conduct attack and intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance operations, which detect and survey enemy movement and provide battle damage assessments directly to the ground force commander by utilizing the Gray Eagle.
“Our mission is to provide attack reconnaissance, and ISR support,” said Burns. “The Gray Eagles have the ability to stay on station for a long period of time and help the ground force commander. It’s a reliable asset up in the air that can provide near-real-time intelligence.”
Prior to a unit assuming full command, the two units conducted a transitional phase allowing the outgoing staff to train the incoming personnel on specific job duties and responsibilities. Burns said that Conyers emphasized effective communication.
“The biggest advice that he gave was to always be ready to communicate the Gray Eagle’s mission to higher,” said Burns. “This unit is a very high profile unit and a divisional asset so you [the unit] become a strategic asset. In aviation, you have to constantly be reading and studying – because there are always upgrades and changes – and be able to take all that information in, process it and regurgitate it in an understandable way and vision for people who aren’t aviators.”
Burns said something he wants to focus on is getting his soldiers more hands-on experience.
“A lot of the aircraft operators that I have are new,” said Burns. “I have some training objectives for them and this deployment will give them the opportunity to get that real-world experience when it comes to doing engagements and taking those nine-line cas [casualty] calls.”
Upon inception in 2011, this unit was used to improve deployability. It validated the currently used maintenance manual for UAS and completed more than 11,500 combat flight hours in various locations supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve.
“At the end of the day, the ground force commander has a mission that he wants to accomplish,” said Burns. “The Gray Eagle is perfectly positioned to do that.”
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 07.02.2018 09:56 |
| Story ID: | 283014 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 312 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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