FORT AP HILL, Va. - Rotor blades quicken their rotation as an AH-64 Apache Longbow Helicopter's engines come to life during the North Carolina Army National Guard's, 1-130th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion's first day of annual training, here April 13, 2015. This is the unit's second gunnery of the year with a third planned in August.
A tremendous team effort is required to enable the most lethal helicopter in our nation's inventory to fly. Nearly the entire battalion deployed for Apache live-fire gunnery; over 300 personnel, 13 Apaches and tons of resources and equipment to sustain the unit for 11 days in the field.
"I love this job to death," said Sgt. Brent Snow, an Apache crew chief. "My dad was an Army Aviator. I always wanted to be around them."
A 150-foot range tower overlooks the entire range and the unit's forward base of operations. From the tower, veteran aviators, brand new ones and instructor pilots choreograph the flight of each Apache. Each Apache team will fly six or seven gunnery tables. Each table or "training lane" requires Apache pilots to execute specific aerial maneuvers while firing at targets. The tables become more challenging as the gunnery exercise progresses.
"Nothing is rushed during live-fire," said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Rex Swetnam, a combat veteran aviator who deployed with the 1-130th to Afghanistan in 2002 and is the unit's safety officer. "We train to the standard here, not to time and I'm confident we'll accomplish our goals in a safe manner."
Radios crackled as leaders planned and controlled flight missions from the tactical operations center and range tower. Training scenarios from the tower are radioed to a hovering Apache: The enemy has been spotted in a building two kilometers from the Apache's location and they are cleared to engage with rockets and their 30mm gun. The Apache climbs and rolls left, speeding towards its target. With a roar, rockets launch. The Apache follows up with four bursts (approx. 100 rounds) from its 30mm gun. The target is destroyed and the Apache returns to base.
"Simulations are great, but nothing beats real world live-fire," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kurt Cunningham, a 1-130th combat veteran and instructor pilot.
It takes more than Apache pilots though to make live-fire gunnery a reality and successful training event.
A collection of tents, vehicles, and storage containers lined the woods near the Apaches forward operations base. The unit will run 24-hour operations for two weeks. Every company has their job to do.
At the forward area refueling point, next to the flight line, fuel handlers of Echo Company ensure every helicopter, vehicle, and generator is ready.
"Our team must accurately determine fuel requirements for the battalion," said Echo Company 1st Sgt. Stephen Caldwell. "If we screw up, the battalion doesn't move and the Apaches don't fly."
Further along the flight line, a platoon of armament specialist, also from Echo Company, move from aircraft to aircraft like bees in a rose garden safely loading each Apache with live rockets and 30mm rounds. Before this training is through, they will load over 20,400 30mm rounds and over 900 rockets.
Before and after each flight, aviation mechanics take data from the Apaches and record and analyze it for any errors requiring maintenance. Aviation mechanics are not the only "wrench-turners" working hard at the forward base. A team of ground mechanics are just as busy fixing anything that has a diesel motor and four wheels.
Between the range tower and the flight line, the battalion's 677th Firefighting Team stands ready with its state of the art fire truck and team of certified firefighters, emergency medical technicians and specialized equipment to extract aviators from a crashed helicopter. Located next to the firefighters is the unit's medical station prepared to respond.
At the base of the range tower, the 1-130th's flight operations center was busy providing aviators arriving at the range all the information they needed to prepare for their flight tables. There is even an around the clock weather station on site manned by North Carolina Air National Guard's 156th Weather Flight Team.
"Everyone works together as an always ready and responsive team during annual training and live-fire gunnery," said Lt. Col. Joe Bishop, commander of the 1-130th. "It's a big operation and we train just like our active duty counterparts. In fact, with three live-fire gunnery exercises planned for this year and having decades of experienced combat aviators and ground crews in this battalion, I can confidently state that the 1-130th is ready for any real-world mission it gets ordered to do."
In 1986, the 1-130th was the first reserve unit to receive the Apache Helicopter for service. The unit has mobilized for multiple real-world deployments prior to Sept. 11, 2001, and was the first reserve Apache battalion to deploy to Afghanistan in 2003 and to Iraq in 2009.
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