FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — Decades after flying combat missions over the Mekong Delta, veterans of the Army’s 121st Assault Helicopter Company, the “Soc Trang Tigers”, gathered here on Oct. 8 to see how today’s Soldiers are shaping the future of tactical aviation through unmanned aerial systems.
Anthony Lamas, S-3 Air, 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, told the veterans that 2-13th is the Army’s largest unmanned aircraft systems training battalion in the world, that trains hundreds of UAS Soldiers at a time. The scale of the mission is significant.
What makes 2-13th truly unique, Lamas noted, is that unlike many services, the Army trains enlisted Soldiers, not only officers, as remote pilots.
The visit allowed the decorated veterans an up-close look at modern reconnaissance and strike platforms, while giving active duty Soldiers an opportunity to connect with the very aviators who helped pioneer Army air-mobility tactics.
For Phil Raschke, a veteran Army aviator who flew with the Soc Trang Tigers, the technological shift felt both revolutionary and deeply personal.
"My first tour in Vietnam was as an Aero Scout pilot. The scout mission involved recon missions designed to find enemy positions, and then bring heavy firepower on them,” Raschke recalled. “But we did it in a helicopter with a crew, which obviously had a high-risk factor. Because when you find them, they don’t want you to tell anybody. So now, with the drones, you eliminate the human risk factor."
Following an organizational briefing, the group traveled to Pioneer Airfield where Lamas explained what makes Fort Huachuca the premier training hub for tactical UAS.
“What's great about Fort Huachuca is it has a massive, restricted air space—about 946 square miles … from surface to 30,000 feet,” Lamas said. “And it’s Army owned. So, we do what we want, when we want, where we want, to train.”
At the airfield, veterans who once navigated using grease pencils, paper maps, and low-level visual observation watched live flight demonstrations of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems equipped with real-time thermal optics and autonomous flight tracking.
“They've got great optics on them, and they can also mark the target,” Raschke noted. “If the drone is connected to an artillery unit within range, you can immediately bring firepower upon the target. It was fascinating how fast that can occur on the field."
After lunch, the veterans relocated to Libby Army Airfield for a static display and briefing on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle, the Army’s premier medium-altitude, long-endurance UAS. Yet even as the veterans examined the Gray Eagle, Lamas emphasized that tactical UAS doctrine is continuing to pivot rapidly to meet pacing threats.
“We're moving more towards short takeoff and landing requirements, because we're not going to fight future wars the way we fought Afghanistan and Iraq,” Lamas said. “We're going to be on the move. You're not going to be in a fixed, hard-stand location, so our equipment needs to adapt to the current world.”
That need to improvise and adapt resonated strongly with the Soc Trang Tigers. Activated in 1962, the unit was among the earliest dedicated airmobile formations sent to Vietnam, operating out of Soc Trang in the southern delta. Flying early H-21 Shawnee workhorses and later UH-1 "Huey" utility and gunship helicopters, the unit established air assault tactics under intense combat conditions.
“Everybody, just like with drones today, had to adapt on the fly,” Raschke said. “Drones are changing that whole concept—and saving lives. That's the most important thing, because you only get one life, and there’s no rerun.”
For the veterans, the reunion was not only a time to remember fallen comrades and celebrate lasting camaraderie, but a chance to champion the Army's future.
“You always knew somebody would come get you, and that built cohesion and esprit de corps—that we were all in this together, and nobody was going to get left behind,” Raschke reflected. “This tour is good for the Army. We’re all going to go home to our grandchildren and great-grandchildren and say, ‘Look at what we just experienced.’”
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