Army Reserve relocates aviation assets from Florida
The Army Reserve Aviation Command (ARAC) received a mission to evacuate nine UH-60s from Clearwater, Florida to Fort Knox Kentucky, Aug. 30, 2019 before the arrival of Hurricane Dorian, a major CAT 5 storm currently centered near the Bahamas. The ARAC assigned the mission to the 244th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade. Aircrews from three locations - Clearwater, Fort Knox, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, were transported to Clearwater on four C-12s from two different battalions. 6th Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment from Fort Knox and 2nd Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment from Fort Bragg moved the crews. The crews flew the nine aircraft to Fort Knox and were received by 8th Battalion, 229th Assault Helicopter Regiment and Aviation Support Facility Knox. C-12s from Fort Rucker, Alabama’s 2nd Battalion, 228th Aviation Regiment flew the Fort Bragg crews home and a C-12 from 6th Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment from Fort Knox flew the Clearwater crews home. The entire mission from notification to complete was less than 72 hours covering a distance of 731 miles. The ARAC, as a unified command covering coast to coast and the Army Reserve Aviation Support Facilities made this complex, multi-faceted operation possible.