BOGOTA, Colombia - Members of the South Carolina Army National Guard who have worked during a natural disaster know that time and capabilities are crucial elements to a successful response.
As part of the State Partnership Program with the Republic of Colombia, a team of three aviation subject matter experts with the South Carolina Army National Guard supported an engagement with the Colombian army to share its skills with preparing aviation assets for life-saving response activities. The team worked with UH-60 Black Hawk crews with the Colombian army April 1-7, 2014, in Melgar and Bogota, Colombia.
"The team is helping the Colombians prepare a Black Hawk for loading onto a C-17 aircraft," said Maj. Dave King, the State Partnership Program director for the South Carolina Army National Guard. "Some of the skills the team shared were folding the rotary blades, taking off antennae and calculating the center of gravity for loading on a cargo aircraft."
King said this engagement was valuable for the Colombian army, as the training will assist it further develop its disaster response capabilities with getting rotary aircraft to an area quickly. According to King, they had not previously conducted this type of training to load their Black Hawks onto a cargo aircraft.
"The Colombians were very enthusiastic about implementing these new skills," King said. "It will be extremely valuable for them as they prepare for an upcoming readiness exercise where they will practice what they learned and load a Black Hawk on an aircraft and then unload it to prepare to fly."
The State Partnership Program between the Republic of Colombia and the state of South Carolina formally began July 2012.
The SPP between South Carolina and Colombia marked the 64th State Partnership in the program's 20-year history. Colombia is interested in improving its humanitarian assistance and relief (HADR) with the assistance of its South Carolina National Guard partners.