Base To Be Sole UH-72A Training Center
Officials at the National Guard's Eastern Aviation Training Site
at Fort Indiantown Gap, PA unveiled the new UH-72A Lakota light
utility helicopter July 14. Those personnel will become the
military's sole trainers on the new rotorcraft.
The central Pennsylvania post will be the only Army training
site for the military's newest light utility helicopter, which
entered service in 2006 for homeland security and other non-combat
missions, said Army Spc. Matt Jones, a full-time National Guard
employee at the site.
Ultimately, the Lakota will replace UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters
to be transferred for operational missions, as well as the last of
the Vietnam-vintage UH-1 Huey helicopters that remain in the
military arsenal, Jones said.
The Lakota is the military version of the Eurocopter EC-145
commercial aircraft, designed to fly light general support
operations such as civil search and rescue, personnel recovery,
evacuation, counter-drug and limited civil command and control
operations for the Department of Homeland Security. It carries up
to 11 people.
Pilots who fly the twin-turbine aircraft reported it's a
powerful aircraft that handles well in all weather conditions,
including storms that most aviators avoid. The Lakota also burns
significantly less fuel than the Black Hawk or other similar
aircraft, Jones said.
But unlike the Black Hawk, the Lakota is not designed to operate
in combat environments and is considered non-deployable, Jones
said.
Army Gen. Richard A. Cody, Army vice chief of staff, accepted
the Army's first Lakota helicopter during a December 2006 ceremony
in Columbus, MS. Cody said the Lakota "is not only serving as a
catalyst for change across the Army, it is also accelerating the
speed of Army aviation modernization and integration with other
services and government agencies."
The Army National Guard is slated to receive most of the 322
Lakota aircraft to enter the inventory.
The Fort Indiantown Gap training site received its first Lakota
aircraft last month and its second about three weeks ago. Army Col.
Timothy Hilty, who commands the site, said two more Lakotas are due
by the year's end, with another four arriving by 2012.
Instructors from the Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, AL,
and Fort Indiantown Gap are already leading the first training
course. A high-tech simulator at the training site and a cockpit
trainer with a wrap-around screen provide realistic training
conditions, Jones said.
Pennsylvania's Adjutant General, Army Maj. Gen. Jessica L.
Wright, said the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site
has a history of providing excellent training and promised those
trained here will receive "the best training possible."
The aircraft will also be available to respond to emergencies,
as needed, she said.