Sgt. 1st Class Justin Baird explains the M134 minigun to a young visitor at the Washington DC Armory Oct. 9 during an Army outreach exhibit. Baird and the aircraft, MH-60M Black Hawk, are from Company ... VIEW ORIGINAL
Staff Sgt. Paul Gillman describes how ammunition is fed into an M134 minigun on a CH-47D Chinook at the Washington DC Armory Oct. 10 during an Army outreach exhibit. Minton and the aircraft are from Co... VIEW ORIGINAL
In most cases, the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment conducts its secret missions under cover of night around the world.
But there were three of its lethal, high-tech aircraft, parked outside the Washington DC National Guard armory on two sun-splashed days last weekend, with children and parents exploring every inch of the helicopters, and SOAR personnel answering questions.
"It's fun to reach out to the public, let them see who we are, what we do, instead of just what they see on the news," said Sgt. 1st Class Justin Baird, a crew chief with Company B, 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
U.S. Army Recruiting Command stages the exhibit with the assistance of U.S. Army Special Operations Command each year in the nation's capital in conjunction with the Army Ten Miler. There's many outreach opportunities with a race that draws 35,000 runners, more than 6,000 of them being Soldiers.
"This is good outreach for the Army, the recruiting mission and we engage active duty personnel who're thinking of going Special Forces," said Maj. Justin Middleton, Delta Company commander, Special Operations Recruiting Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"Our mission out here is to engage key leaders, congressional leaders, to show the capabilities of Army Special Operations Forces down range, what we do, what we bring to the fight. We're also here for the taxpayers to see ARSOF operators and equipment in person. They rarely get to see us except maybe at air shows."
Army Ten Miler runners were required to pick up race packets at the armory Oct. 9-10 before the Oct. 11 run. It's a semi-captive audience of very fit civilians and Soldiers and their family members. Washington DC residents also visited in the gorgeous weather.
Besides the 160th, units at the Armory included 7th Special Forces Group, Eglin Air Force Base, civil affairs and psychological operations groups from Fort Bragg, and the 55th Ordnance Company, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
"A lot of citizens don't know what EOD does so we get to talk to them about our specialized mission set," said Sgt. 1st Class Brie Kotula, an EOD recruiter for SORB. "They see the movie "The Hurt Locker" or stuff on TV. This lets us show them we just don't disable IEDs in Iraq and Afghanistan. We help local and state police departments with munitions disposal and sweeps."
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