FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — Jan. 17-20 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade pilots and aircrews conducted aircrew contingency training here to refresh them on proper procedures if they are forced to land in hostile territory while deployed to Afghanistan next year.
 
The training involved one day of academic instruction and three days for aircrews to run through a scenario in which they had to evade contact with enemy forces, treat casualties and navigate to an extraction point to be picked up by another helicopter.
 
“The training really brought back some of the things that I had forgotten about evasion and the steps you need to take if you are forced to land,” said Warrant Officer Adam J. McKinney, A Company, 5th Bn., 101st CAB Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
 
The academic training occurred at Sukchon drop zone and included topics such as tactical movement and reacting to contact, first aid, calling in air support and how to exit a helicopter while under fire.
 
“The tactical movement portion was a good refresher, especially for aviators who don’t normally do it,” said Sgt 1st Class David D. Schweigert, C Company, 5th Bn., 101st CAB platoon sergeant.
 
On the following days the aircrews went through a realistic scenario lane in which they employed these skills. The scenario started with the aircrews leaving a ‘downed’ Black Hawk helicopter while receiving small arms fire. After the crew made it out of the helicopter they had to break contact and make it to cover. They evaluated injured crewmembers and then established communication for extraction.
 
Throughout the remainder of the scenario, the aircrews had to navigate to an extraction site while trying to evade enemy forces. Upon reaching the extraction site, the crews linked up with F Company, 5th Bn. 101st CAB Pathfinders and were loaded onto a Black Hawk.
 
“Actually bringing in a helicopter to extract everyone was a good addition to the training,” said 1st Lt. Andrew M. Netzel, D Company, 5th Bn., 101st CAB maintenance platoon leader. “It brought the level of realism up and increased the training value for everyone.”
 
Realistic, scenario based training events like the aircrew contingency training are being done as 5th Bn. 101st CAB prepares to deploy to Afghanistan later this year.




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