SAN SABA, Texas — Fort Cavazos leadership met with local ranchers to address concerns about aviation training in the western training area in a town hall Jan. 23 at the San Saba Civic Center.
“I want to say it is truly an honor and a privilege to be here with you all as we join in this meaningful dialogue,” said Col. Lakicia Stokes, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Cavazos commander. “I’d like to recognize the valuable contributions of our ranchers in the western training area. Your land, your partnership and your understanding play a central role and aid us to execute our mission of preparing Soldiers to defend our nation. This area’s terrain is not only vital for training, but it also represents the enduring partnership between the Army and our local community. For that we are profoundly grateful.”
Stokes stressed the importance of the training conducted at Fort Cavazos.
“III Armored Corps’ enduring priorities are warfighting, developing leaders, partnership and caring for Soldiers, families and civilians,” she said. “In warfighting there are two priorities, which are readiness and training. Our mission is readiness. We prepare our Soldiers to face the toughest challenges imaginable, whether that’s on the ground or in the air. That rigorous, relevant and realistic training is at the heart of everything we do.
“At any given time, we have about 5,000 Soldiers who are deployed, carrying out critical missions in defense of our nation,” she continued. “That readiness depends on their ability to train in environments that closely mirror the conditions that they may face in combat. The western training area is critical for the low altitude helicopter training our aviators need to succeed in complex missions, particularly in rugged or barren terrain.”
Stokes acknowledged the low altitude training can pose challenges to the rancher’s daily lives and touched on another of III Armored Corps’ enduring priorities — partnership.
“As we look at partnership, this town hall is an opportunity to strengthen our ongoing dialogue,” she said. “We understand that low-flying aircraft and aviation training activities in this region have raised concerns. Please know that your feedback is crucial to our operations, and we are committed to finding the right balance between conducting realistic and relevant training and respecting your rights, property and way of life. Our goal is to be good stewards of the land and good neighbors of each other. As we continue to work together I encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas. Your insights help us improve and ensure our partnership remains strong for years to come.”
Following Stokes’ opening remarks, aviation experts conducted a multimedia presentation, explaining how the training works and helps Soldiers succeed in missions, the types of aircraft flying on the installation, tactics, techniques, procedures and more.
“In short, the reason we fly the way that we do is because that is what we need to do to survive in combat operations,” said Col. Kacie Lee, 166th Aviation Brigade commander. “When the nation calls us to do our mission, wherever that is, whenever that is, we’re going to have to conduct tactical flight. Tactical terrain flight is very challenging. It’s one of the most demanding terrain modes that we operate in. It requires a lot of practice. It requires a lot of repetition. So it’s not something we can do infrequently.
“We have a motto in the Army — you may have heard it — ‘Train as you fight,’” Lee explained. “We know that when we fight it’s going to have to be in these demanding combat modes, so we try to execute those modes as much as we can at home.”
Scott Nutter, air traffic and airspace officer, Directorate of Aviation Operations, explained what happens when complaints about the low-flying aircraft are received.
“I look at the validity of the complaint — I make sure it was a Fort Cavazos aircraft,” he explained. “That means I’m checking radar. I’m checking out flight plans. I’m making sure who it is. If it is determined to be a Fort Cavazos aircraft, I’ll gather all the pertinent data, and I will send that to our aviation units who will do an investigation. When they do that, they’ll look at their flight plans, their onboard systems where they record much of what happens when an aircraft is flying to determine (if they violated) FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) or Army rules or regulations and if so, what they can do to fix that.
“Once they determine what has happened, they’ll send me all the data back and either myself or another representative from Fort Cavazos will contact the complainant back with exactly what happened and what we’re going to do or are doing about it in reference to what happened,” Nutter continued. “Our installation operation center phone number is 24/7, 365. Ultimately everything will come back to me to do that initial findings investigation.”
At the end of the presentation, ranchers were invited to ask questions, express their concerns and speak with the experts one-on-one, as well as examine maps of the western training area and photos depicting aircraft at different elevations. There were approximately 40-50 community members who participated in the event.
“The voices of the pilots are recorded,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Travis Westfall, 166th Aviation Brigade command chief warrant officer. “The positions of the flight controls are recorded. How fast the aircraft is going is recorded. If we’re making consistent, repeated mistakes, we’re going to do our best to put in control measures so that specifically stops.”
Stokes closed the town hall expressing her gratitude for the conversation.
“We want to know what your concerns are,” Stokes said. “We will go back and look at how we, as a team, can improve moving forward.”
Prior to the town hall, elementary, middle and high school students from San Saba Independent School District traveled to the San Saba Civic Center and spoke with Fort Cavazos pilots, who answered questions about aircraft and their experience as pilots in the Army. Then they all watched as an AH-64 Apache and a CH-47 Chinook, carrying Fort Cavazos leadership, landed in an open area near the building.
Stokes exited the Chinook and addressed the students.
“We greatly appreciate you all and everything that you all do for our team,” she said. “We are excited to have you all here, and hopefully y’all are as excited as we are.”
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