166th Aviation Brigade trains unit for Haiti humanitarian mission
By Sgt. Aaron Gott
January 26, 2010
FORT HOOD, Texas - The 166th Aviation Brigade is preparing the Army Reserve's 7th General Aviation Support Battalion, 158th Regiment for its mobilization to Operation Unified Response in Haiti.
Crews flew six CH-47s into Hood Army Airfield Jan. 25 for the mobilization. Although 7th Battalion is headquartered at Fort Hood, it has a CH-47 company in Olathe, Kan.; maintenance personnel in Dallas, Texas; and a UH-60 company in Clearwater, Fla.
The 166th Aviation Brigade, the only unit tasked with providing mobilization training and validation for Army Reserve and National Guard aviation units, received word Jan. 21 that the unit would begin its mobilization at Fort Hood Jan. 23.
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| A CH-47 crew of the Army Reserve's 7th General Aviation Support Battalion lands Jan. 25 at Hood Army Airfield. The 166th Aviation Brigade is preparing the unit for its mobilization to Operation Unified Response in Haiti.(Photo by Staff Sgt. Tony Lindback) |
In two days' time, the brigade drafted and solidified a plan, which includes an abbreviated training schedule to be conducted in Pensacola, Fla., to have the unit ready for its deployment to Haiti.
"Our goal is to keep them on ground here at Fort Hood for as little time as possible," said Lt. Col. Scott Bovee, chief operations officer for the 166th. "We recommended a few training tasks to make them mission-ready in Haiti by Feb. 2."
During their time at Fort Hood, the unit's Soldiers will go through administrative and medical processing and receive their equipment issue. They will also conduct weapons ranges as opportunity permits before heading to Pensacola Thursday for the aviation dunker trainer, an exercise designed to teach Soldiers to quickly escape an aircraft immersed in water.
"It's our mission to mobilize, train, validate and deploy Reserve Component aviation forces," said Col. Paul Ambrose, commander of the 166th. "We can execute anytime, anywhere, for any mission on any timeline."
The 166th Aviation Brigade has trained five Reserve Component combat aviation brigades and a multitude of other battalion and lower aviation units for First Army Division West since its formation in 2006.
