NATIONAL GUARD COPTERS

TO TRAIN IN COOPERSTOWN

COOPERSTOWN – Three New York Army National Guard UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters will be operating in the Cooperstown area on Saturday evening, in support of a Army Reserve training exercise.

The three UH-60 helicopters, flown by Company A of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation Regiment, which is based at Albany International Airport in Latham, will be landing adjacent to Basset Medical Center at around 6 p.m.

The helicopters will conduct training with 30 members of the Army Reserve’s Company A, 403rd Civil Affairs Battalion, based in Utica, on the proper way to board the aircraft.

Following that training the three helicopters will ferry the Army Reserve Soldiers to a landing zone on the east side of Otsego Lake.

The Army Reserve Soldiers will disembark and conduct evasion training and practice civil engagements with other Soldiers play acting the role of local police chief or other local officials of a host country.

Civil Affairs units are responsible for dealing with local officials in countries where American military forces are operating.

The helicopter portion of the training should be finished by 8 to 10 p.m. that evening and the aircraft will return to their base.

The joint training mission allows the New York Army National Guard helicopter pilots to conduct flight training using night vision devices and also practice embarking and debarking troops from their aircraft.

The Army Reserve troops will gain experience in getting on and off helicopters under operational conditions before embarking on the other phases of their weekend training exercise.

The Army National Guard and the Army Reserve are both reserve components of the United States Army.

The Army National Guard has a state mission and responds to local emergencies at the direction of the governor, as well as being prepared to deploy overseas. The Army Reserve is a federal reserve military force.