"The military believes high-altitude combat training is vital for the protection of pilots and aircrews. In combat, aircrews trained in high-altitude aviation have a higher mission success rate as well as fewer accidents."
Absolutely true. Plain old mishaps account for more than 2/3 of the helo losses in combat zones. The high-altitude LXs in Afghanistan are esoecially challenging.
TC
The Forest Service does not care much for supporting the pilots training.
They have been trying to close these areas for decades.
This is just their latest attempt.
Can the Army push back for the 6,000 hours ?
Durning this global war, they should have priority ?