HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga.–The Army Song and the Dog Face Soldier song echoed around the hangar as soldiers of B-Company 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Combat Aviation Brigade General Support Aviation Battalion sang out in front of one of their new CH-47F helicopters at a Transition Ceremony here.
The unit, invited guests and officials from Boeing [BA], which produces the rotorcraft, attended the Oct. 11 ceremony here certifying completion of training in the hangar lined with crates and boxes ahead of a coming deployment to Afghanistan.
The unit, called “Hercules,” began receiving a total of 12 helicopters in January.
Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Michael Higginbotham said the new Fox-model Chinook with its new airframe and digital cockpit will increase his soldier’s ability to accomplish the three things he demands: “that they manage risk, put the aircraft in a position of advantage, and to accomplish the mission within the commander’s intent.”
For example, the new multifunctional displays aid in route planning and quick deviations to adjacent routes, improves the understanding of what the risk is, so that aircrews know to move faster or slower, to arrive at a target on time, so assets can be synchronized across the battle space, Higginbotham said.
The new systems also will help aircrew make more informed decisions as they will have more information and better communications while they are in the air on a helicopter moving about four kilometers every minute.
The point is to “provide the commander the most effective possible support forces,” Higginbotham said. “The more you know, the better decisions you can make.”
The transition to the F model will give the 65-plus flight and aircrew of the unit the best chance of survival on the battlefield.
Patrick Donnelly, Boeing’s director of U.S. and Foreign Military Sales Chinook programs, presented the unit with a framed poster designed by the company and the unit.
This is the 12th unit Boeing has now equipped with the CH-47F, with more to come.
The ceremony officially marked the move from older Chinook models that saw the unit through deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and missions such as air assault, aircraft recovery, humanitarian assistance and moving priority personnel and equipment.
Capt. Gabriel Lucero, Hercules company commander, flew a CH-47D model before training on the Fox model. He finds it allows increased situational awareness.
The CH-47F highlights the type of flying the unit does and brings to life all the capabilities, he said.
“The more tools, the more options, the better you understand the battle space, the better decisions you can make,” he said.
Since the unit returned from Afghanistan in November 2010, the company has supported three Combat Training Center rotations, flown more than 1,700 hours and conducted CH-47F New Equipment Training (NET) and fielding.
It will be tough to go to Afghanistan but “we take care of each other, go as a team and come back as a team,” Lucero said.