101st Airborne Division Lands Aboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville

By Clark Pierce, Jax Air News

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax) provided a secure staging area Jan. 6-8, for 98 helicopters of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) "Screaming Eagles" as they began a rotation from Fort Campbell, Ky., ultimately to Afghanistan.

Capt. Jonathan Carver of the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division is officer in charge of the logistics mission.

"Since space is limited at the piers on Blount Island, we stage our helicopters at the secure infield of NAS Jax. When our people at the Port of Jacksonville are ready for more, we fly aircraft down there two at a time by following the St. Johns River. Army personnel at Blount Island then break the aircraft down so they can roll onto the cargo ship. We hope our unusual aerial activity doesn't disrupt traffic on the Dames Point Bridge," said Carver.

The 101st Airborne Division is deploying four airframes: OH-58D Kiowa Warrior; AH-64D Longbow Apache; CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk. The aircraft and soldiers should be reunited in Afghanistan within 30 to 50 days.

NAS Jax Commanding Officer Capt. Jeffrey Maclay visited the staging area Jan. 7, and was invited to take a close-up look at the UH-60 and AH-64D helicopters. Maclay, who's logged more than 2,800 hours of flight time in the Navy's SH-60 Seahawk helicopter, noted the similarities with the Army Black Hawk.

"The Seahawk's general appearance is similar to that of its Black Hawk brother," said Maclay. "Both variants have been operational since the mid-1980s and share about 75 percent parts commonality. The most obvious differences are the landing gear and the arrangement of windows and doors."

Bill Vanderwege, a quality assurance manager for aircraft maintenance at Fort Campbell, said the Apache is a twin-engine, four-bladed attack helicopter recognized as the most advanced battlefield aerial fighting vehicle in the world.

"With a tandem-seated crew consisting of the pilot in the rear cockpit and the co-pilot gunner, the Apache delivers a lethal array of armaments, including the AGM-114 Hellfire missile carried by most Navy aircraft," said Vanderwege. "The Longbow Fire Control Radar enables the Apache to detect, classify and prioritize stationary and moving targets both on the ground and in the air."

As he inspected his OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, pilot CW2 Mike McClain described his basic mission as reconnaissance and security.

"We're the eyes and ears for battlefield commanders, but can also perform emergency casualty evacuations with our capacity of two litters," said McClain.