A cross section of American citizen-Soldiers from the central and eastern United States who will help defend the nation’s assets in the Middle East, honed their aviation skills during a training session at Fort Rucker June 14-23.
Several units comprising Task Force 34 conducted an Aviation Training Exercise here to prepare for a nine-month deployment where they will provide aviation support for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq. The group will leave Fort Sill, Okla., in the fall, according to Col. Clay Brock, Task Force 34 commander.
“The baseline unit is Article source: 34th Combat Aviation Brigade, headquartered in St. Paul, Minn.,” Brock said.
About 2,500 Army National Guard Soldiers from Minnesota, New York, Louisiana, Texas, Iowa, and the 3rd Battalion, 159th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, an active-duty unit stationed in Germany, will make up Task Force 34, he said.
To ensure all the Soldiers are prepared for their Middle East roles, the units conducted different training exercises here last November, in February and during the past 10 days.
“The more times you do it, the better you get. We have different units flowing into Iraq at different times,” Brock said, noting C Company, 1-126th GSAB, an air ambulance unit from Maine, arrived in country in January and 1-244th also arrived there recently.
He said the ATX replicates mission loads of everyday flying in Iraq. The Soldiers also practiced special missions including two simultaneous air assaults at different locations.
“We inject controlled scenarios so (we) can allow our crews to react to the scenarios and the commanders and their staff to react to unforeseen (events which) helps us to retain a much higher level of expertise,” Brock said. “All the systems we’ll use in theater we’re using here. Young enlisted and officers are learning on the systems they’ll be responsible for in theater.”
Following training at Fort Rucker, Task Force 34 will conduct at a mission rehearsal exercise at Fort Sill in early July to practice a multiple air assault mission with multiple aircraft and targets.
“Everyone is well prepared because of all the practicing,” Brock said.
All the training has adequately prepared Pfc. Cassandra Bjorkman, an aviation operations specialist with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 34th CAB. She has learned to plot missions and events such as mortar attacks or enemy encounters in Iraq during her training here.
“The training has been very valuable. I feel ready,” said the 20-year-old from St. Paul, Minn.
Spc. Amber Anderson, a 30-year-old flight operations specialist, from Andover, Minn., with HHC, 34th CAB, learned a different aspect of her military occupational specialty — planning routes and missions for aircraft.
Deploying a second time to Iraq, Anderson’s previous experience in the Middle East will help her because she said she knows what to expect and what’s expected of her.
Spc. Connelly Roblyer, an aviation operations specialist with the 2-149th GSAB will deploy to Iraq for the first time.
The 21-year-old from Ponca City, Okla., described his training as invaluable “(because I got) an idea of how this comes together as a whole. (We) don’t usually get to see this as National Guard.”
Assisting in training Task Force 34 were members of the 75th Battle Command Training Division from Houston, according to Col. Robert Samborski, battle staff trainers commander, 2nd Battle Command Training Group, Houston, co-located with the division.
By By Marti Gatlin
Army Flier Editor
