WEST POINT, N.Y. - Three months of New York Army National Guard aircrews training with the active-component Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, the Army’s air assault experts, wrapped up Aug. 28 with a capabilities demonstration for U.S. Military Academy cadets on West Point’s Plain.
Aircrews from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, teamed up with aviators from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, along with the 101st, to show Army aviation in action.
“It was an excellent opportunity to work with our special operations partners and spotlight what conventional forces and the National Guard can do,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Robert Hansen, the standardization officer for the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade.
The show kicked off with an MH-60 and MH-47—the special operations versions of the UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook—inserting Army Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment using the Fast Rope technique into the landing zone.
Two minutes later, a pair of UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, swooped into the open parade field and came to a hover.
As the cadets watched, ropes descended from the sides of each helicopter, and two infantry squads from the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, slid down the ropes and deployed into a frontal assault against the “enemy.”
The troopers from the “White Curahee” battalion—made famous as the parent organization of E Company in the TV series “Band of Brothers”—then assaulted and captured the academy superintendent’s house.
Among those “fast roping” out of the New York Army National Guard Black Hawks were Lt. Gen. Stephen Gilland, the superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy, and his son, Capt. Alex Gilland, the commander of the company from which the troops came.
“You don’t often get a father and son fast roping together,” Hansen said.
The exercise climaxed with the same 3-142nd Black Hawks—retooled from the Fast Rope landing – carrying in two M-119 howitzers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 320th Field Artillery slung underneath.
The capabilities demonstration was the culmination of a training relationship that began in June, said Major Daniel Collier, the executive officer of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation.
“The partnership with the 101st throughout the summer enhanced the Battalions’ proficiency in special infiltration tactics, external load operations, air assault and the air assault planning process,” he said.
Since 1968, the 101st Airborne Division has been the Army’s premier air assault unit, so its members have plenty of expertise to share, Hansen explained.
“The 101st is really leaning into this ‘L2A2,’ large-scale, long-range, air assault concept,” he said.
Their goal is to move an entire brigade overnight, he explained.
The relationship evolved because the 2nd Battalion was tasked with training West Point’s second-year cadets during their annual field training; however, the leaders wanted to ensure their Soldiers' skills didn’t atrophy, Collier said. So, they reached out to the 3-142nd to set up some mutually beneficial training opportunities, he said.
Aviators receive extra training time to maintain their flight proficiency, Collier said.
The Soldiers, based at the New York Army Guard’s Ronkonkoma flight facility, used those training hours to work with the 101st Soldiers.
As many as four helicopters, including some from the Latham flight facility, were involved.
The New York Aviators conducted sling load training with howitzers, the new Infantry Squad Vehicle, and cargo, both in daylight and darkness, and practiced setting down teams of Soldiers doing land navigation training.
Along the way, they had the opportunity to learn a great deal about the air assault planning process, Collier said.
They even practiced helocasting, an operation in which Soldiers exit a helicopter into a lake.
About 40 Guard aviators had the opportunity to fly and enjoyed the training, Collier said.
It was a lot more interesting than simply flying around Long Island, Hansen added.
“The guys loved it, they really did,” he said.
The 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade Soldiers were especially interested in the chance to conduct fast rope insertions, or FRIES, Hansen said.
Soldiers based out of the aviation support facility at Ronkonkoma have been practicing fast rope training with the pararescue Airmen of the New York Air Guard’s 106th Rescue Wing.
Meanwhile, air crews based out of the Latham flight facility trained with the Active Army’s 7th Special Forces Group and the Army Guard’s 20th Special Forces Group, Hansen said.
“Working with the 101st helped hone those skills, we adopted the 101st standard operating procedures, or SOP, for fast roping, last year, so from day one we were on the same page,” he said.
The key to fast roping for air crews is getting the timing right so that the pilots transition quickly into a hover at the correct location and height, Hansen explained.
Then, he said, it is up to the infantrymen.
Hopefully, Collier said, this summer’s joint training will pave the way for more opportunities to train with the 101st Airborne in the future.