Current Issue Articles
29th CAB Replaces 10th CAB Presence in Turkey
By CPT Stephen James: The 29th Combat Aviation Brigade is preparing to send a detachment of UH-60M helicopters, air crews and related support to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The unit is a mobilized National Guard brigade currently providing forward-deployed Army aviation forces to U.S. Army Central (ARCENT) in Kuwait. In addition to supporting Operation Spartan Shield (OSS) in Kuwait, the 29th CAB also supports Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) across Iraq and its neighboring countries. COL Mark Beckler (left), 29th CAB Commander, stands with CPT Brian Snook and CPT Jonathan Lunde in front of a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter at Incirlik...
Learn MoreMulti-COMPO, Multi-Boss CAB
77th Combat Aviation Brigade / By COL Ryan T. Pace: In June 2016, National Guard units from 11 states and territories unknowingly embarked on one of the most challenging combat aviation brigade missions the U.S. Army has ever embraced. This multi-compo force (Active Duty, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve) would build the composition of the 77th Combat Aviation Brigade for their future accomplishments. The original deployment mission required the 77th CAB “Peacemakers” deploy only to Kuwait in support of Operation Spartan Shield (OSS). As the deployment drew closer to its conclusion, however, the picture was vastly different from the...
Learn MoreAlpha Team Update
Joint Readiness Training Center / By LTC Linn Desaulniers, MAJ Jeffrey Ferguson, and CPT Kevin Burns: Alpha Team – the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) Operations Group Aviation Division at Fort Polk, LA – functions as a diverse team of observers, coaches, and trainers (OC/Ts) who interface with the ten U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM)-directed aviation battalion task forces (ABTF) that deploy here each fiscal year. Our team, nested within the unique rotational designs developed by Operations Group, provides a challenging and demanding training scenario that incorporates all six warfighting functions (WfF) while generating maneuver and lethality options for the...
Learn MoreModernizing Army’s Vertical Lift Capability for the Next Decade
By COL Allan H. Lanceta and Brigitte Rox: The Corpus Christi Army Depot is the Army’s organic industrial base for helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul. We have been a driving force in defense as the Army’s premier in-house capability to sustain Army and similar defense rotary wing aircraft assets. U.S. ARMY PHOTO BY BRIGITTE ROX CCAD’s recapitalization, or recap, program is vital to the Army’s modernization effort as it updates and extends the life of existing UH-60 Black Hawks in the Army inventory. The Army has turned to us as their trusted solution of helicopter sustainment for 56 years. The...
Learn MoreCalifornia, Colorado, Wyoming Guard Fight Wildfires
From National Guard Bureau News Releases: With a 5,600-acre wildfire burning in Butte County, California National Guard members were mobilizing after California Gov. Jerry Brown’s declaration of an emergency July 10, 2017. A CH-47 Chinook crew from the Colorado Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 135th Aviation Regiment, stationed at Buckley Air Force Base, performs helicopter bucket operations, June 21, 2013. During the 2017 wildfire season, Guard members in Arizona, California, Colorado and Wyoming are assisting in fire operations. Nearly 85 National Guard members were involved in firefighting operations in Arizona, Colorado and Wyoming, National Guard Bureau officials said. Because California...
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