FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) – Arctic Aviation Command, which was formalized in a ceremony on August 8, contains two aviation battalions.
One was called the 1-25 Attack Battalion by Commander Col. Russ Vanderlugt. “It provides a wealth of capability and number of aircraft for the 11th Airborne Division for large-scale combat operations,” he explained.
The other constitutes the U.S. Army’s only active duty arctic medevac company, according to Vanderlugt. The fleet of helicopters commanded by this company contain equipment that allows them to respond in Alaska’s unique climate. “We have a retractable ski that facilitates the hoist right here for arctic operations,” Vanderlugt said.
With these new “Mike” model aircrafts, they also come with a flir and a storm scope, which enable operations here in the arctic where it’s very remote and the weather is variable and often we don’t have a lot of weather reporting.”
The ski helps operations not just in the winter snow, but in summer muskeg, a kind of boggy ground condition seen in Alaska. Servicemembers are also trained in what is known as “dynamic hoist,” according to the colonel. “That really makes it safer for the patient that we’re trying to hoist that’s on the ground but also for the crew as they come in and they maintain that dynamic airspeed throughout the procedure instead of coming to a stationary hover, and tactically it’s also important because it gets us off a landing zone quicker.”
Maj. Jeffrey William Crook, serving in Charlie Company, 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion, said, “In the arctic, and specifically Alaska, we operate in some pretty remote geographic regions, so some of the capabilities that the HH-60 “Mike” brings over the predecessor, the UH-60 Lima, is we have forward-looking infrared attached to the nose, allows us to see through some pretty obscure areas.”
The unit is also tasked with maintenance in punishing conditions. According to Crook, “We operate not only doing all the things that a normal Army unit would do, we also do it in negative-40, and then in the summer we do it when it’s nice out, but we have to be able to shift from those extreme temperatures and we have to be able to keep these aircraft running and maintained and do the mission in any type of weather, condition at any time. We’re always ready, 24/7, ready to go.”
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