Specialist Mark Adkins, Sr., shows his son, Mark Adkins, Jr., 3, an unmanned aircraft system at Libby Army Airfield on Tuesday after the activation ceremony for his company, Echo Company 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne).
Posted on 11/20/2013 5:10:40 AM PST by SandRat
An elite group of unmanned aerial systems operators, support and maintenance staff will now call Fort Huachuca their home after an activation ceremony Tuesday morning.
A brief ceremony held in Hanger 1 at Libby Army Air Field celebrated the official transfer of Echo Company, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, to this Southern Arizona post for the next two years. The company consists of 150 hand-picked soldiers and 12 UAS vehicles, which will train for eventual deployment to Afghanistan sometime early next year.
“This is a key day in our history,” Col. John Evans, Jr., Regiment Commander, told an audience of fellow soldiers, their families and area dignitaries. “Fort Huachuca has done a magnificent job getting ready for today, and this activation represents a significant partnership.”
Col. Evans said the regiment provides essential support for the military’s Special Operations units in their deployments around the world.
“We’ve already seen the impact of these systems in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the results have been impressive,” Col. Evans said.
Flanked two Gray Eagle UAS vehicles, both armed with Hellfire guided missile systems, Col. Evans introduced Company Commander Maj. David Rousseau, who pointed to the special nature of the aviation regiment.
“This company was assembled from all over the regiment and the Army, and we have already survived sequestration and budget cuts. We will not be deterred,” Maj. Rousseau said. “The operators and maintenance are key, and the training these soldiers have received is second to none.”
The company was previously based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, which is currently being renovated for its eventual return. In an interview after the ceremony, Maj. Rousseau said the cooperation of Fort Huachuca personnel in preparing for the arrival and activation of the company has been impressive.
Echo Company is part of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Airborne, which is the Army’s longest serving heavy assault special operation aviation battalion. As such, it provides a special operations ground commander with a unique capability to strike deep and rapidly defeat an enemy with massed combat power, using speed and surprise for tactical advantage. The regiment is part of the 2nd Battalion, which is committed to support special operations forces in any environment to “,,, defeat any threat, time on target, plus or minus 30 seconds,” according to an informational brochure about the battalion.
Bump!
Way back when I was in the Navy, we TAD’d to Fort Huachuca for initial testing of the UAV. I had two weeks to prepare for RF intercept and record any signal I could capture. I truly hope those things have improved, because SIGSEC was non existent on the platform back then. Of course, I could go from 0 to 10.2 Ghz in my platform. It was a lot smaller back then, too.
Things have vastly improved.
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