A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter piloted by Lt. Col. Blake Alexander, a native of San Antonio, Texas, commander, Task Force Spearhead, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, flies over the hills of western Afghanistan on its way back to FOB Shindand after departing the remote Forward Operating Base Chaghcharan as the sun sets and paints the world in shades of orange. (Photo by Sgt. Richard Wrigley)
The AH-64D Apache attack helicopter is an integral part in the battle with insurgent forces as it is the main form of close air support deployed in conjunction with coalition forces here in Afghanistan.
As the Taliban’s seasonal spring time offensive begins, it is often easy to forget about the mechanics behind the scenes who keep the Apache in the air. Yet when something does go wrong, everyone appreciates it when they come to the rescue.
This was shown to be true when maintainers from three different companies came together as one team to recover a grounded Apache at the remote Forward Operating Base Chaghcharan in western Afghanistan, April 12.
After receiving fuel at the Lithuanian run base, the Apache had been deemed unflyable due to a crack in one of the main rotor blades that was found during an inspection before its scheduled flight back to Forward Operating Base Shindand, said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Kyle Cutler, a native of Milford, Neb., a maintenance test pilot for Company C “Snake Eyes”, Task Force Spearhead, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.
A Downed Aircraft Recovery Team was put together overnight to go out the next day and recover the aircraft, said Cutler.
“It was a concerted effort between the technical inspectors from D Company, TF Spearhead, the crew chiefs of C Company, TF Spearhead, and the crane operators from the Forward Logistics Element of the 615th Aviation Support Battalion, 1st ACB,” added Cutler.
Indeed, that concerted effort was required to ultimately make this unique mission a success.
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