1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs

By Sgt. Jeremiah WoodsApril 11, 2019

1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pfc. Anthony Garcia an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Repairer with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, conducts preflight checks on an RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle prior to takeoff during a surveilla... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – An RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle belonging to the the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, takes off from a launcher during a surveillance training mission on an airfield at Camp Trzebien, Poland April... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Spc. William Pruitt, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Operator with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division operates an RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle during a surveillance training mission on an airfield at ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pfc. Anthony Garcia and Pfc. Cody Rouse Unmanned Aircraft Systems Repairers, with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, steady an RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle mounted on a launcher prior to takeoff... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
1st Engineer Aviators take flight with UAVs
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, all of whom are Unmanned Aircraft Systems Repairers, reset the the launcher after launching an RQ-7 Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicle during a surveillance... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

TRZEBIEN, Poland -- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle aviators with Delta Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division flew training missions with the RQ-7 Shadow at Camp Trzebien, Poland April 5, 2019.

The Soldiers from Delta company have been training all week, launching and flying the RQ-7s, otherwise known as Shadows, to certify on the aviation systems.

Spc. Christopher McCoy, an Unmanned Aircraft Systems Repairer with the 1st Eng. Bat. was one of the soldiers being evaluated that day.

"I've been doing training all week, doing launch after launch, trying to find my deficiencies and correct them," said Spc. McCoy. "Today is my evaluation. Today will determine if I become a crew chief or not."

As an essential part of his career progression in the field of UAVs, becoming crew chief would mean that he will be in command of the flight mission when a UAV asset is requested.

"A crew chief is in charge and he has a crew of two people," said McCoy. "When he receives a UAV request, his crew is responsible for getting the bird up in the air by the time it is needed."

As part of his evaluation, Spc. McCoy needs to know the process of launching an aircraft from start to finish. This includes multiple maintenance and preflight checks, and leading his crew while they prepare radios, set up the launcher, and push the aircraft out, explained Spc. McCoy.

The ability to rapidly launch and operate the Shadow improves the effectiveness and survivability of units in the battlefield.

"It definitely saves lives," said McCoy. "It lets our troops on the ground get eyes where they can't see. It also helps with communications over radios."

Spc. McCoy and his crew are prepared to operate the Shadow aircraft, providing U.S. and allied forces with surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities that enable them to succeed at multinational exercises, and keep them ready to respond to any crisis.

The Devil Brigade is part of more than 6,000 U.S. regionally-allocated Soldiers in Germany, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania, on a nine-month rotation, in support of Atlantic Resolve.

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