"Ironhorse" troopers conduct air assault training

By MAJ Brian Carlin, 1st BCT PAO, 1st Cav DivDecember 16, 2008

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Sacramento, Calif. native, Sgt. Lonnie Friend, the assistant aviation operations sergeant for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, coordinates the arrival of UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters from Troop A, 3rd Battalion ,227th Aviation Regiment...
6 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sacramento, Calif. native, Sgt. Lonnie Friend, the assistant aviation operations sergeant for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, coordinates the arrival of UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters from Troop A, 3rd Battalion ,227th Aviation Regiment... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Sacramento, Calif. native, Sgt. Lonnie Friend, the assistant aviation operations sergeant for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, coordinates the arrival of UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters from Troop A, 3rd Battalion ,227th Aviation Regiment...
7 / 7 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sacramento, Calif. native, Sgt. Lonnie Friend, the assistant aviation operations sergeant for 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, coordinates the arrival of UH-60 "Blackhawk" helicopters from Troop A, 3rd Battalion ,227th Aviation Regiment... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Fort Hood, Texas- Just before sunset, scouts from the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment and the 2nd Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, gathered in a field near the Hargrove Platoon Military Operations/Urban Terrain facility to prepare to conduct a training raid on a time sensitive target.

This air assault raid was the culmination of six months of training with assistance from the Asymmetric Warfighting Group from Fort Meade, Md.

"For our platoon this is one last chance to iron out all the kinks and refine our (standard operation procedures) and give the guys that last bit of confidence before we deploy", said Capt. David Andros, a scout platoon leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, from Greensburg, Penn. "The new guys have come a really long way, and we can communicate now without really talking."

This training is different because it is more in depth and more standardized. It gives Soldiers the full picture of how to better conduct cordon and search missions, capture or contain high value targets, and conduct site sensitive exploitation.

"It is always good training to do it a few times, and then it's always good to do before we actually go in to do the real thing" said PV2 Elliot Redington, from Holister, Calif., a scout from HHC, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cav. Regt.

The training was developed based on successful lessons learned from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Ed Lynch, the senior trainer from the Asymmetric Warfighting Group out of Fort Meade, Md. Lynch and his team travel to military posts to advise, assist and coach units during training operations. The AWG team then joins the deployed Soldiers and stays with them during initial operations to ensure that they are properly employing the techniques.

Using the available sunlight, the Soldiers put on their gear and completed their pre-combat checks and inspections. Then, once the UH-60 Blackhawks landed, the teams rehearsed loading and unloading the aircraft under the supervision of the crew chiefs.

As the sun set, team leaders met with the pilots to conduct a hasty planning session.

With the addition of two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the A Troop, 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, the training on this night puts together all the aspects of many different training classes they have received. Those nested training events include: basic and combat marksmanship, cordon and search, site exploitation, and close quarters battle.

"It gives them a special forces type skill set that they normally would not get anywhere else" said Lynch.