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Soldiers Put Skills To The Test In Training Events
by U.S. Army Sgt. Erica Earl
November 17, 2019
U.S. Army Soldiers with the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st
Aviation Regiment, sat around a small fire they had built in the
middle of the Bulgarian woods, feeding it kindling and discussing
survival tactics for how they would all make it back to their base
safely after a simulated helicopter crash.
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1st Lt. Hayden Fancher, a platoon leader from the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, adds kindling to a fire during an overnight personnel recovery training exercise in Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria
on August 26, 2019. The event incorporated realistic hands-on training in land navigation, survival, tactical communications and first aid in an overnight event. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Sgt. Rudolfo Chavez)
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It had been a busy week for the Soldiers of the 3-1 AHB.
A few
days prior, some of these Soldiers flew with paratroopers from the
Bulgarian Special Forces, guiding their allies through high altitude
jumps as they careened through the air on a UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopter.
Within the next few days, they would be situated behind
M240H machine guns on a flying Black Hawk, testing their gunnery
mastery as they engaged targets from the aircraft.
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A U.S. Army
Soldier with the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st
Aviation Regiment, fires an M240H machine gun from a
stationary UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter during a prerequisite
familiarization range on August 27, 2019, at Novo Selo
Training Area, Bulgaria. The training was part of an aerial
gunnery qualification range that included day and night
fire. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Erica Earl)
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From
August 19th through 30th, 2019, Soldiers from the 3-1 AHB conducted
a dynamic variety of training exercises, including a bilateral
paradrop, a personnel recovery training lane and aerial gunnery
qualification tables, at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. While
these training events were separate rather than part of one singular
exercise, many of the Soldiers participated in all, or a combination
of, the events.
1st Lt. Hayden Fancher, a platoon leader for the 3-1 AHB,
said this type of diverse, accumulative training involving
simulations such as the helicopter crash scenario prepares Soldiers
for practical application in the field.
“It is important
because it not only builds the confidence of each Soldier, but it
maintains their readiness if something like this were to ever
happen,” Fancher said. “It is one thing to say, ‘This is how you
make a fire,’ in the classroom, but it’s another thing for them to
go build one themselves.”
The training events allowed the Soldiers to
practice versatility in a wide variety of skills from land
navigation to tactical communication techniques to working alongside
with and communicating with a NATO ally.
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U.S. Army Soldiers from the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment make their way into the woods after a simulated helicopter crash for a personnel recovery training event
on August 26, 2019, at Novo Selo Training Area, Bulgaria. The overnight exercise allowed the Soldiers to practice their skills in tactical communications, survival techniques, land navigation and first aid. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Erica Earl)
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“The training
builds a Soldier’s confidence in their own abilities,” said Fancher.
“It’s all stuff they are capable of. It’s all stuff they are trained
on. It’s getting those repetitions and the practice that helps them
become more aware of what they can actually do.”
The
training events included a visit from Col. Bryan Chivers, commander
of the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, who visited during the personnel
recovery exercise.
“It’s not just for training, I promise
you,” Chivers said of real-world application of the exercises. “You
make sure you have different contingencies taken care of. This is
great training and great team building.”
The exercises
focused on both individual Soldier development and working together
as a unit and among their allies. It also gave Soldiers the
opportunity to earn qualifications. Four crew chiefs and five pilots
from the 3-1 AHB were qualified in conducting and guiding paradrop
operations, and 20 crew chiefs and four pilots in command qualified
in aerial gunnery tables one through six.
Soldiers from the
3-1 AHB said each training event came with its own unique challenge.
For the paradrops, it was communicating with the Bulgarian Special
Forces about safety and standard procedures for jumping nearly 7,000
feet from the Black Hawk. For personnel recovery, it was working
together to stay calm and find solutions to get back to base from an
unknown location. For aerial gunnery, it was coordination between
pilots and crew chiefs for engaging a target from a moving aircraft.
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U.S. Army Soldiers with
the 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment
practice extracting a crew chief from a UH-60 Black Hawk
helicopter in a simulation of a helicopter crash during a
training event August 26, 2019, at Novo Selo Training Range,
Bulgaria. During the personnel recovery exercise, Soldiers
practiced land navigation, survival techniques and first
aid. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Erica Earl)
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Participants said overcoming these challenges helped them
gain confidence in their ability to use the skills the Army has
taught them.
“The teamwork was the most enjoyable part,”
said Pfc. Carly Peterman, a Soldier with the 3-1 AHB. “The safety
officers were there to moderate, but they gave us a chance to be in
charge, make decisions and come up with our own ideas.”
The
training also helped secure bonds among each other and their
Bulgarian allies.
“It’s all about taking the extra time to
ensure good, thorough communication,” said Sgt. Dylan Hauck, a
standardization instructor with the 3-1 AHB. “Our whole rotation
here is all about building relationships with our NATO allies and
making those relationships stronger.”
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