Aboard the USS Gunston Hall – UH-60 Black Hawks from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR) underwent a two-day maritime training operation here, allowing Army SOF and Navy amphibious forces to sharpen their service-specific skills in a joint environment.
In conjunction with the crew of the Gunston Hall (LSD44), the two Black Hawks from the training battalion of the 160th SOAR–known as “the Nightstalkers” conducted both day and night exercises, performed a number of aerial maneuvers to qualify for certain sea-based operations.
Pilots from the Nightstalkers conducted aerial support during the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s Pakistani hideout in Abottabad earlier this month, which resulted in the al Qaeda leader being killed during the operation.
The exercises were part of a rigorous, seven-month qualification period that all SOAR pilots are required to go through, before joining the Nightstalker’s training battalion, unit spokeswoman Kimberly Tiscione said in a May 20 e-mail to Defense Daily.
“One of the key capabilities our organization provides the military is our ability to operate around waterways. This includes the ability to land on flight decks and conduct approaches to vessels,” according to Tiscione. “Every aviator in our organization does this type of training in the event that we need to support special operations ground forces in that scenario.”
In addition to training in the maritime environment, members of the 160th SOAR also undergo qualification training in desert, mountain and urban terrain, she said.
Last week’s engagement was not the first time elements of the 160th had worked with the amphibious warship, based out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft. Story, according to Gunston Hall Commanding Officer Capt. John Meier.
The Navy dock landing ship provided operational support for members of the Army SOF aviation unit during the ship’s last deployment to U.S. Southern Command as part of the Southern Partnership Station, Meier said.
Neither Meier nor Tiscione could comment on the nature of that engagement, but Meier noted the ship’s crew worked with Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks as part of those operations. For her part, Tiscione said the Army unit’s work with the Gunston Hall in South America was “well beyond the training” that took place last week.
During both instances, the crew of the Gunston Hall benefited just as much from the Army SOF participation in Navy amphibious operations, as did the pilots of the 160th, according to Meier.
During last week’s operational evaluation exercises, all elements of the ship’s personnel–from landing deck crew to fire prevention sailors–were able to complete their qualification requirements for maritime aviation operations, the ship’s captain said. As the line between service-specific capabilities continues to blur during modern combat operations, joint training opportunities become more and more valuable, he added.
Given the multitude of scenarios and environments they are tasked to operate in, chances to work with the Navy and other service branches was just as invaluable on the special operations side as well, Tiscione said.
“Special operations forces from every branch of service regularly train together. This habitual relationship best prepares us to operate together in combat or other situations,” she said.