TF Falcon trains Afghan air crews on combat operations

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Soldiers from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Falcon, worked alongside Afghan National Army Air Corps pilots during attack helicopter operations training Aug. 25 at Kabul International Airport.

“What we’re introducing to them is pure attack helicopter operations,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Chris Batt, an Apache helicopter pilot and brigade standardization pilot, with the 3rd CAB, TF Falcon, from Savannah, Ga. “This is actually our second flight together. The first flight we were observing how each of our aircraft maneuver. This flight we’re showing them our flavor for combat operations.”

TF Falcon sent Batt and U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Andy Brooks, the maintenance officer for Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, with Task Force Knighthawk, 3rd CAB, TF Falcon, to KIA in an Apache to train the ANAAC in their Mi-35s, the Afghan aerial attack platform.

The training began that morning with a team brief during which 3rd CAB Soldiers trained the ANAAC on how to give their own briefing that includes information on subjects such as the upcoming mission, the weather and the current enemy situation.

“These are things we do on a daily basis, it’s second nature to us,” said Batt. “For them, their briefings aren’t as formal. We’re demonstrating our briefings and hopefully they’ll adopt that.”

As Batt conducted the briefing in English, Maj. Bela Lazar, the commander of the Hungarian Mi-35 Flight Instructor Detachment, translated Batt’s words into Russian for the Afghan pilots, who then discussed the briefed item in Dari.

From there, two Afghan pilots in Mi-35s took to the air with Batt taking the lead in a U.S. Apache. They practiced lead changes in flight over Kabul.

“We then headed up to Bagram and checked into the East River Range and practiced the close combat attack tactics we discussed in the briefing,” said Batt. “What was gratifying was that after the flight, the Afghan pilot's got together to discuss the tactics we briefed and practiced. The Afghan's have received a smorgasbord of both close combat attack tactics and theories of air-ground-integration. They also enjoyed having an Apache in the flight and I'll tell you, it was thrilling to look over my shoulder and see two Mi-35s in close formation with me.”