82nd CAB Pathfinders train for Personnel Recovery missions

Photo By Staff Sgt. April Campbell | Several 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade Pathfinder Company troops remove roof of a car after using the jaws of life and the sawzall to cut through the metal at a salvage yard in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 16. The Pathfinder Company troops of Company F, 2nd Aviation Assault Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, spent the morning at the salvage yard honing their skills with the tools they will need to conduct downed aircraft and personnel recovery. The Pathfinder troops are currently training for their deployment to Afghanistan with the aviators of 2-82 AASLT and Task Force Corsair during High Altitude Mountain Environmental Training at Fort Carson, Colo.  

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, UNITED STATES

05.17.2011

Story by Sgt. April Campbell 

82nd Combat Aviation Brigade

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Three vehicles left without roofs or doors, and the Paratroopers of the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade’s Pathfinder Company know their morning spent training at the salvage yard was worthwhile.

While practicing to hone their skills with the “Jaws of Life” and a sawzall does not qualify as typical training for most infantry soldiers, neither does the sling load training or aircraft familiarity training also conducted by the Pathfinders of Company F, 2nd Aviation Assault Battalion, 82nd CAB.

For these troops, who are currently training for their deployment to Afghanistan with the aviators of 2-82 AASLT and Task Force Corsair during High Altitude Mountain Environmental Training at Fort Carson, Colo., their standard infantry training must coincide with specialized training to conduct downed aircraft recovery and personnel recovery missions.

“Being at HAMET has been a good opportunity for us to conduct focused training,” said 1st Sgt. Patrick Smittle, the Pathfinder Company first sergeant.

To ensure the soldiers are physically able to do their jobs at a higher altitude, each day begins with a five-mile run followed by routine physical training.

“We’ve been conducting our normal PT at an altitude more similar to what we’re going to see during our deployment,” said Capt. Ric Jones, the Pathfinder Company commander.

Following their physical fitness training at their barracks, the Pathfinders are taking the opportunity in and around Fort Carson and Butts Army Airfield to conduct infantry training and sharpen their aircraft and personnel recovery skills.

With the 82nd CAB CH-47 Chinook helicopters on hand for HAMET, the Pathfinders have been able to practice the sling-load operations they will need to know to help with the removal of a downed aircraft or to help resupply soldiers throughout eastern Afghanistan.

Pvt. Chase McKissick, of Venus, Penn., serves as a sawgunner with the Pathfinders.

“I’ve been able to learn more about the aircraft and practice hooking up a sling-load to the Chinook helicopters,” McKissick said.

In addition to the Chinooks, the soldiers also have access to the UH-60M Black Hawks, the OH-58D Kiowa Warriors and the AH-64 Apaches.

“We’ve conducted familiarization on all the aircraft frames focused on how to get inside an aircraft if the passengers or pilots are unconscious,” Jones added. “The training also gives us the opportunity to learn about the sensitive items in the aircraft that may need to be destroyed.”

In order to actually use their tools and practice getting into a vehicle where the doors are jammed shut, the soldiers went to a local salvage yard in Colorado Springs, Colo., to practice on real cars.

“We’re continuing to refine our skills in understanding where to breach and where to cut,” Jones said.

While the leadership had been able to use the equipment before in the Fort Bragg area, this time, every soldier had the opportunity to use the “Jaws of Life”, a cutter and spreader tool, and sawzalls, small open-faced steel saws that vibrate up and down.

“Out here was the time for the non-commissioned officers to train the soldiers,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Hagberg, a platoon sergeant for 1st Platoon, Company F.

That training for the soldiers, who had been given classroom instruction on the tools at Fort Bragg, enabled the leadership to highlight the importance of rescuing the person who could be trapped inside a vehicle or helicopter.

“Our NCOs focused on using the equipment in a way that doesn’t further injure passengers,” said Spc. Chandler Staggs, a grenadier and rifleman with the Pathfinder Company.

To better simulate the crash scenario, the soldiers also practiced with a vehicle on its side.

“I had to learn the different techniques of holding the equipment when the vehicle wasn’t upright,” added Staggs, of Marion, Ind.

Once each of the soldiers had the opportunity to use the equipment at least once, they were split into teams of two and timed on how quickly they could remove a car door.

“We were able to practice communicating and working together to remove the doors,” McKissick said. “We had to make the most of the abilities each of us brought to the table and use the right guy for the right thing.”

As the Pathfinders continue training during TF Corsair’s rotation at HAMET, the unit plans to follow-up their salvage-yard training by bringing one of the cars to Fort Carson training grounds to conduct an on order personnel recovery mission where the troops air assault into the training area and extract a simulated dummy-patient from the vehicle.

• Date Taken: 05.17.2011
• Date Posted: 06.19.2011 16:35
• Story ID: 72381
• Location: COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO, US