FOB DAHLKE, Afghanistan (June 3, 3016) — Soldiers from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade
re-deployed from Camp Buehring, Kuwait to Forward Operating Base Dahlke,
Afghanistan in May 2016.
The 40th CAB Soldiers are augmenting an existing garrison from the 3rd
and 4th CAB in their mission to train, advise and assist Afghan National
Security Forces in their mission to clear the local region of Taliban
insurgents.
The arriving 40th CAB force includes Arkansas, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia National Guard Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 104th
Aviation Regiment, Company F, 2nd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment,
California National Guard Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 140th
Aviation Regiment, and Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation
Regiment.
“Our mission here is to provide Medevac coverage in this area,” said
West Virginia Army National Guard Capt. Evan Dale, the Medevac platoon
leader from Company C. “There’s more of a threat out here [than in
Kuwait] and it presents different challenges.”
Company B supports Special Forces and Afghan operations around FOB Dahlke and also escorts Company C helicopters when needed.
“We move people and equipment place to place, and provide whatever the
Special Forces units need out here,” said California Army National Guard
Sgt. Nathan Wong, a Company B crew chief from Simi Valley, California.
“The mission tempo is manageable, but we’ve been busy.”
The 1-10 Soldiers will be joining the AH-64 Apache helicopter force from
the 3rd CAB and 4th Aviation Reconnaissance Battalion, 4th CAB.
The Apache, nicknamed “The Monster” by Taliban fighters, is a fully
integrated weapon and communication system capable of performing a wide
variety of ground support missions.
“We’re an enabler and a facilitator of force protection and force
projection,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Greg McCormick, an Apache
pilot stationed out of Savannah, Georgia, with Troop A, 3rd Squadron,
17th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd CAB. “We can shoot for pretty much anyone. A
platoon leader can jump on the [radio] net and request fire support from
us.”
Though the aviation mission at FOB Dahlke is a hodge podge of different
units, all the different crews work together to get the job done.
“Everybody helps each other out with the aircraft,” Wong said.
The bywords “train, advise assist” dictate American operations: the task
force provides assistance to local forces, but the overall mission is
Afghan-led.
“Afghan problems need Afghan solutions,” Dale said.