Photo By Sgt. Roland Hale | Spc. Shad Cabe, a Chinook crew-chief with the 2-1 GSAB, prepares the tail-gun of his...... read more read more
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BAGHDAD – The 2nd General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, an all-in-one aviation unit from Fort Riley, Kan., deployed this March to Camp Taji, Iraq. The unit is one of the Army’s last active-duty aviation battalions to deploy to Operation Iraqi Freedom and is playing a key-role in the reduction of U.S. forces this summer.
As the Army draws down in Iraq, nobody takes the brunt of the logistical monster more than this battalion’s aviators.
Three hours before take-off, July 7, one of the battalion’s crews gathered to prepare their aircraft for a night of punishment. For many of the crew it was their seventh mission that week – in just four months their unit moved over one million pounds of cargo. On this mission they would contribute 17,000 pounds to that total.
Their ride is the Chinook, the Army’s 13 ton, 3,750 horse power work-horse. It is the largest and fastest in the Army’s arsenal and can carry 28,000 pounds of cargo, 33 troops or 24 medical litters. In addition to two pilots, the massive helicopter has a crew of three enlisted crew-chiefs, whose duties range from securing cargo to directing the pilots through precision maneuvers.
After a briefing and a check of the aircraft’s systems, the crew set out for their first stop of the night. Under the cover of darkness, the crew took the bird to several stops around Baghdad, shuttling passengers and equipment between bases. The crew welcomed the cooled night air, as the aircraft often serves as an unintentional sauna during the mid-day Iraqi heat.
“Ninety-percent of the time we’re like a bus flying around Baghdad,” said Spc. Shad Cabe, a Chinook crew-chief on the flight, “but sometimes it can get exciting.”
During the mission, the crew spotted two bursts of tracer fire and an explosive flash that no one could identify. The Soldiers remember a much more violent time in Iraq – when air assaults were nearly as common as supply runs and every “mission complete” felt like an answered prayer. But now, Cabe said, the Chinooks are making their living with heavy lifting.
The Chinook uses three hooks on its fuselage to carry cargo, or sling-loads. On this night, Cabe guided the pilots to a hover above a 17,000 pound armored-truck, which ground crews attached to two of the Chinook’s hooks. Cabe then laid down to monitor the load through a hatch in the aircraft’s floor. The Chinook flew naturally with the added weight, but when the load swayed beneath it, the oscillations felt like a tug-of-war between the aircraft’s twin engines and the truck. The pilot’s calculations indicated their load pushed the aircraft to within a thousand pounds of its maximum weight.
Also special to the mission was the presence of Command Sgt. Maj. Jim Thomson, the senior non-commissioned officer of the Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Inf. Div. Even though his senior position entails primarily administrative work, Thomson has crewed about a dozen missions this deployment, he said.
Thomson added that at a senior level it’s easy to forget what the troops are doing daily. Crewing flights is the best way to keep in touch with their experiences and needs, he said. All but one of the crew onboard had flown with Thomson at least once before.
“With the responsible draw-down of forces in Iraq and a limited number of aviation assets available, these guys are flying day-in and day-out,” said Thomson. “It’s not how many times or how many missions they fly, but rather the contribution they’re making by moving people around.”
The missions will increase as the draw down progresses, meaning more long hours for crews like this. The Army is scheduled to reduce the number of troops serving in Iraq from 82,000 to 50,000 by Sept. 1. Their battalion alone moved 1,200 people that night.
| Date Taken: | 07.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.09.2010 08:56 |
| Story ID: | 52591 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 344 |
| Downloads: | 147 |
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