305th MISO Company wins historic charity plane pull

By Staff Sgt. April EvaroApril 25, 2012

Team 305th and Chuckie
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from the 305th PSYOP Co., Virginia Beach, Va., pull a World War 2 aircraft, the B17 Flying Fortress "Chuckie," in participation of the inaugural Hampton Roads Plane Pull charity event, April 21, 2012. The event's proceeds support the Promise... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Team 305th PSYOP and Chuckie
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Team 305th PSYOP poses with their first place trophy in the inaugural Hapmpton Roads Plane Pull competitive timed-trials event, April 21, 2012 in Virginia Beach, Va. The charity supports the Promise Places foundation to benefit the building of the fi... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Team 305th PSYOP Pulls for Charity
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from the 305th Psychological Operations Company, Virginia Beach, Va., pull a World War 2 aircraft, the B17 Flying Fortress "Chuckie," during participation in the inaugural Hampton Roads Plane Pull charity event, April 21, 2012. The event's p... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Team 305th PSYOP Pulls for Charity
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from the 305th PSYOP Co., Virginia Beach, Va., pull a World War 2 aircraft, the B17 Flying Fortress "Chuckie," in participation of the inaugural Hampton Roads Plane Pull charity event, April 21, 2012. The event's proceeds support the Promise... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Team 305th PSYOP Victory
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Team 305th PSYOP celebrates their victory in the inaugural Hapmpton Roads Plane Pull, April 21, 2012 in Virginia Beach, Va. The charity event supports the Promise Places foundation to benefit the building of the first Virginia Beach Assis House, whic... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- A team of 305th Psychological Operations Soldiers put their training to use in support of the Hampton Roads Plane Pull, a local charity event, April 21, 2012. The main event consisted of a competitive plane pull.

The plane was a 35,000 pound World War II B17 Flying Fortress known as "Chuckie," owned by Jerry Yeagan, the Military Aviation Museum Chief Executive Officer.

The event benefited the building of Promise Places' Assisi House. Promise Places provides opportunities and independence for the mentally disabled through community awareness and education. The goal of the Assisi House is to provide appropriate, non-institutional housing for adults with mild to moderate mental challenges.

305th PSYOP team saw this event as an opportunity to support a meaningful cause as well as a way to come together with their local community.

"I've always loved the Military Aviation Museum," said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Williams, the Operations Non-commissioned Officer of the 305th PSYOP Co. "When I realized that there was a need in the community and a way to give back through the museum I loved, I talked to Maj. Paul Creal, our commander, and he immediately jumped on board."

The Soldiers of the 305th volunteered their time, donated personal funds and effort to support the cause.

The event provided multi-faceted opportunities to use civilian and military training -- something the Army Reserve Soldiers are used to combining.

Outside of regular Army physical training, the 305th Soldiers admit they did not perform any special physical training in preparation for the event; they looked at this event as more of a way to give back to the community in a fun way.

"Our strategy was to have the shortest in the front (near the plane), the tallest in the back and to try not step on anyone's toes," said Sgt. 1st Class Elizabeth Springer, 305th Plans and Operations NCO PSYOP specialist.

While they may not have had a specific physical training plan in mind for the event, the 305th team saw this event as an excellent opportunity for PSYOP training.

Springer saw this event as an opportunity to practice her PSYOP skills outside of the typical training environment and get some real hands-on training with the local community.

"A big part of this job is comfortably being able to step out of that shell and talk to people and make a positive influence," said Springer. "Our participation in these events provides hands-on training for that."

The psychological operations specialist is primarily responsible for the analysis, development and distribution of intelligence used for information and psychological effect. To be an effective psychological operations Soldier, research and analysis methods must be skillfully honed and adapted to suit each culture the PSYOP Soldier comes in contact with.

"This type of community involvement fosters esprit de corps and boosts morale while showing Army Reserve pride and positivity of PSYOP to the local community," said Springer.

The Virginia Beach community really came together to support the cause for the inaugural event. There were seven teams all together, including one local Navy team. Friendly competition was in the air as each team awaited its turn to grab the rope and pull the plane.

The crowd cheered in support of each team as competitors tightened their grip on the rope, steadied their foothold on the runway and pulled with all their might.

With a team of Soldiers and Family members, the 305th dug deep and pulled "Chuckie" in lightning-fast speed of 6.2 seconds. "We had no intentions of winning today," said Springer. "We just wanted to come out and show our support and donate to the cause."

In total, the 305th PSYOP donated $200 to the grand total of nearly $10,000 to the Promise Places Assisi House.

For Spec. Scott Harris, community involvement is a big part of his job as a PSYOP Soldier as well as his civilian job as a DeVry University recruiter in Virginia Beach, Va., because he deals with the public on a day-to-day basis.

"When I came back into the military after a long break in service, I was really excited to be able to find an Army career where I could use my political science degree," said Harris. "Anytime I put on the uniform, I love it," said Harris.

"We (PSYOP) win wars through gaining the hearts and minds of the locals," said Harris. "You can't do that without getting out there and talking to people."

The 305th Psychological Operations Company is part of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs & Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) headquartered at Fort Bragg, N.C. Army Reserve CA and Military Information Support Operations forces are 5 percent of the U.S Army Reserve force, but comprise 20 percent of the Army Reserve deployments.

"We had such a great time today," said Williams. "We had a great turnout for a first event. I would love to see more community involvement in the PSYOP future."