Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Mary Katzenberger | Spc. Ronald M. Deschinny and Spc. Thomas R. Benbrook, unmanned aircraft systems...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT STEWART, Ga. – Spc. Ronald M. Deschinny, an OD green mechanical box in his hands, waits for the signal.
More than 100 feet in front of the soldier an unmanned aerial vehicle sits at the foot of a ramp, prepared for liftoff.
When the tower gives the command, Deschinny, an unmanned aircraft systems repairer with Company B, 4-3 Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, flips a switch to send the Shadow into the great blue yonder.
Deschinny and other UAV operators and systems repairers with Company B, 4-3 BSTB, flew their units’ intelligence assets—with new software upgrades—for the first time since redeploying from Iraq in June of 2011.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Randy K. Haddox, the unmanned aircraft systems technician for 4-3 BSTB, said that while most of his soldiers operated the Shadow in combat, becoming familiar with the changes the software upgrades present for UAV operation is vitally important.
“There are certain steps now in the checklist that [the soldiers] can’t accomplish unless they know what the software upgrades are and what they do for us in the system,” Haddox said. “It’s just like any other job in the Army except for the difference … [that] …aviation has come down with mandated standards that we have to abide by in order to stay current.”
Haddox, who has worked with UAVs since 1999, has deployed the birds throughout four combat tours. He said his unit’s UAV operators will be flying three to five hours a day, five days a week, to gain and sustain proficiency for the time they may be called upon to operate the intelligence assets in war.
“[UAVs give] the commander his eyes on the battlefield as things happen, and it allows us to reconnoiter … [areas] before the troops on the ground actually get to that point,” Haddox said. “It’s very important [that the soldiers] maintain their proficiency.”
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2012 15:04 |
| Story ID: | 82822 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, ‘Vanguard’ UAV operators upgrade flight skills, by SFC Mary Katzenberger, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
