438 Tac Hel Sqn has a Class A for a Sgt/Sgt MOS ID/Occupation 00021-01-FLT ENGR to commence on 1 until 1."It's probably something I would never have gotten if we hadn't done this type of training during the deployment. He said the sense of pride is overwhelming. Watte was one of a few Soldiers who never had aviation wings until he completed the training. "You're used to doing your MOS, and then you get thrown into a completely different MOS, and you're required to learn everything all over again. "It was a matter of just learning something new again," said Tucek. He said the difficulty he found did not come from the course itself, but learning the duties of an entirely different MOS. They gave us all the training we needed to do the mission right." "It was pretty exciting – a little difficult at first, but I got the hang of it. "It was completely different – something brand new to me," explained Tucek, who hails from Menomenee Falls, Wisc. Although he already had wings, he said being a certified door gunner job offers a level of excitement not normally found in his military occupational specialty. David Tucek, an airframe mechanic in the CAB, was presented his first set of wings in Advanced Individual Training upon completion of his job training. "The training was fun, and if we came here, or if we deployed again, I would probably do it again," said Watte, an aircraft mechanic. Heath Watte, who also recently completed the training, echoed Miller's sentiments. "But every once in a while, you want to go have a little fun. "Everything else seems to be just normal work on helicopters, which is fine," he said. He said his desire for excitement is what made him jump at the opportunity to become a door gunner in the battalion. Miller said it was a big advantage to be able to rely on the knowledge of the course's instructors, who ensured the students were well prepared for any potential missions. "I don't know if there are any other jobs on the outside that would let you do this, but it's pretty good training for us," he said. He said it was not only valuable for the Comanche Battalion but for any Soldier who chooses to participate in it. Ryan Miller, an aircraft mechanic and one of the awardees at the ceremony. The program was a good experience, said Sgt. "These guys were very, very influential to our success in this battalion, and I can't be more proud of them and happier that we are able to have them." "We had such a great training program for the aviators, that we're starting to get limited by how many crew chiefs we had to go fly on the daily missions," he said. Michael Gawkins, his battalion commander, in pointing out the unit was limited by the number of crew chiefs who were able to fly on the battalion's missions. There are a lot of smart and motivated young men who completed this program. The success of this program is not the training that we put in but how well they respond to it. "They all responded very well," Scheller said. Holliday taught them an extensive academic portion of the training and a significant amount of hands-on training on the M240 Machinegun used on the aircraft. D, 3rd Bn., who also served as the course's chief instructor. Scheller said the plan was put in place by Staff Sgt. We decided we were going to give the best training possible and devise a training plan." "Our air crew training manual gives very rough guidance on what to do. "We treated these guys just like they were crew chiefs," said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Scheller, the battalion's standardization officer. Soldiers from units throughout the brigade volunteered to become part of the 3rd Battalion's flight crews. The program was implemented as a means of taking some of the workload off the battalion's crew chiefs, who found themselves flying a higher number of hours early in the deployment. The group consisted mostly of augmentees – Soldiers from different military occupational specialties, who volunteered to carry out the duties as door gunners on the brigade's UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Fifteen soldiers who are either assigned or attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, were awarded air crew member wings in a ceremony Sept.17 here in the Cooke Dining Facility's Fortenberry Room.
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