MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU AIR BASE, Romania — Over a two-day training exercise, the Bravo "Bone Crusher" Battery and Charlie Battery, 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, attached to "Task Force 82", conducted sling-load operations and elevator drills with 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division at Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, Romania, Jan. 4-5, 2024, to increase readiness and proficiency in air assault operations.
Artillery Soldiers from the 3-320th FAR participated in the elevator drills, sharpening their skills to work alongside allied partners in Romania.
Sgt. 1st Class Lewis Goins, Platoon Sergeant from Charlie Battery, 3-320th FAR, spoke to the importance of this training and how it adds to the potency of his Artillery Soldier's capability.
“This gives us the ability to build combat power," said Goins. "It's just adding one more step to our proficiency and allowing our hookup teams to be able to safely get underneath an aircraft and hookup a triple 7 (M777 Howitzer) so that we can do long-range air assault missions, or an air assault raid.”
The Artillery Soldiers of the 3-320th FAR completed the elevator drills using two different aircraft over the two-day exercise; UH-60 Black Hawks from 3rd Attack Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment on Jan. 4, and CH-47 Chinooks from 2nd Support Helicopter Battalion on Jan. 5, both assigned to 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, demonstrates the unit's wide range of ability to always complete the mission and support our Allies and partners in the region.
First Lt. Teddy Evans, platoon leader for "Bone Crusher" Battery, added to the importance of demonstrating the unit's readiness.
This is important because we have to be prepared to conduct air assault operations at any moment, Evans stated. "Training while we are deployed is important because we need to show our Allied and partner nations that we are prepared to support them in any circumstance,” concluded Evans.
Task Force 82, from the 82d Airborne Division, leads critical aspects of the US military to assure Allies and partners, deter adversaries, and reinforces NATO security force assistance in the Black Sea region.
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