Photo By Sgt. Andrew McNeil | U.S. Army aviators assigned to the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division,...... read more read more
HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. — The high pitched whine of a jet engine mingled with the sound of spinning rotors cutting through the air. Dirt and debris was kicked up as a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter began to achieve lift.
The pilots assigned to 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, finished port operations as they flew the Black Hawk Aug. 21 from the Georgia Port Authority in Savannah to Hunter Army Airfield, following the brigade’s nine-month rotation in Europe supporting Operation Atlantic Resolve.
Atlantic Resolve provides units with the ability to build readiness, increase interoperability and enhance the bond between ally and partner militaries through multinational training events.
The brigade began port operations Aug. 17 as Soldiers unloaded the aircraft from a ship and staged them at the port.
Soldiers folded the rotor blades of the Black Hawks and AH-64 Apache helicopters back to make the helicopters more compact. This allowed Soldiers to fit more aircraft in tighter spaces.
“We unloaded the aircraft and now we are unfolding them to make them fully mission capable,” said Sgt. Christopher Smigel, a Soldier assigned to 4th Battalion, 3CAB, 3rd ID.
The CH-47 Chinook differs from the other two air frames, because it is so large the maintainers remove the rotor blades altogether and store them within the aircraft.
“After unfolding them, we push them to the landing zone where we are going to have them take off and keep the mission moving like a conveyor belt,” Smigel said.
The Soldiers continued port operations from Aug. 18 to 21, unfolding, inspecting and flying the aircraft out of the port. Maintainers, pilots, fuelers and other Soldiers worked multiple shifts during the day to complete the mission.
“This is a testament to our maintenance personnel,” said Capt. Tyler Lamb, commander of Company D, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. “The success of this mission is on the backs of our maintainers, and they are our secret weapon to getting this done.”
| Date Taken: | 08.21.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 08.24.2020 19:42 |
| Story ID: | 376706 |
| Location: | SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Hometown: | HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 178 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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