BISMARCK, N.D., - The commander of a North Dakota battalion said his Soldiers are in Iraq during a time of historic transition.
"What's been the most exciting for us," Capt. Doug A. Larsen, commander of Company C, 2/285th Aviation Battalion, told the unit's Family Readiness Group last week. "We are proud to contribute to the process of turning Iraq back over to its own citizens."
While home on leave, Larsen met with the group to discuss the unit's mission and their Soldiers' performance.
Company C or "Charlie Company" is an assault Blackhawk helicopter company that mobilized last October for the yearlong mission.
About half of its Soldiers hail from North Dakota and half from Utah, with a couple of Soldiers from Arizona. Charlie Company in located in Basrah, Iraq, but several North Dakota Soldiers serve with Company D, Company E or Headquarters and Headquarters Company, which are stationed at Tallil Airbase, Iraq.
"We have been very mission focused since we arrived in country," Larsen said. "Now that we are more familiar with our missions, we are noticing some of the landscape and beauty of the area."
Charlie Company flies as many as five missions each day. The unit's main missions revolve around passenger transportation and also serving with the area's quick reaction force — which is called "Aerial Reaction Force."
In addition to these primary missions, the unit has also performed other flying missions in support of U.S. and Iraq forces, supported casualty evacuations, and transported high-ranking military and civilian officials as well as USO entertainers.
Larsen said the Army leadership in Iraq has noticed the professionalism of the North Dakota aviation unit.
Col. Robert Doerer, the commander of the 12th Combat Aviation Brigade and the senior aviator for the 1st Infantry Division, said, "Charlie Company isn't just the face of the Blackhawk community; it is the face of aviation that the 1st Infantry Division sees."
The 285th Aviation Battalion is part of Doerer's command.
Larsen credited the families and support from home for the unit's success. "We couldn't be doing as well as we are without the continual outstanding support of our folks back home, thank you!"
Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, North Dakota National Guard adjutant general, also thanked the families for their continued support and commended the unit on their superior performance in Iraq.
"This unit is performing their mission, strengthening their unit knowledge and exceeding expectations," Sprynczynatyk said. "I am proud that they have been recognized by their leadership in Iraq for excellence in aviation operations. I look forward to the tremendous amount of experience that they will bring back home with them."
Larsen said the North Dakota company is a little different than their active-duty counterparts based on the experience that the Soldiers bring to the mission. His Army National Guard pilots average about 1,700 flight hours per pilot, as compared to about 700 flight hours for their active duty counterparts.
A few pilots within the unit have more than 5,000 individual flight hours while six others have at least 2,000 flight hours.
"Our experienced group includes a couple of pilots with over 20 years of both active duty and National Guard flying service," said Larsen.
Since the unit has been in country, the unit has flown more than 500 hours per month, with the average crew member flying more than 275 hours since January. At home, Charlie Company crew members fly about 150 flight hours annually.
When Charlie Company returns from this deployment, "all of our Soldiers will bring a lot of experience in not only flying, but mission planning and aircraft maintenance," Larsen said.