On Tuesday 3 September, two Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft arrive at RAF Mildenhall in the UK from Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia. The first to arrive, 08-8201 operating as ‘Reach 067, then off-loaded Boeing MH-47G Chinook 19-0219. A couple of hours later came ‘Reach 066’, 06-6160, with a second MH-47G 19-02914.
These were not the first ‘spooky’ Chinooks to pass through Mildenhall as during the operations in Afghanistan a number made the transit through the UK but these were, it is believed, the first to actually be off-loaded.
They belonged to the 3rd Battalion 160th SOAR (Special Operations Aviation Regiment) and following re-assembly were flown with RAF escort to RAF Odiham to participate in Exercise Dark Lightning that was to take place throughout the month of September.
The RAF Odiham facebook page stated: “Both the US and the UK operate the Chinook airframe. Exercise Dark Lightning will help galvanise and enhance this special relationship, learning and developing the best ways of working. Training opportunities like these are vital tools to bring us closer together with our partners and to ensure we can operate effectively together.”
The RAF Chinook Force is part of the Joint Aviation Command and it is they who will be the host for crews of the 160th SOAR, but it is expected that the bulk of the interoperability will in fact be undertaken by the RAF’s No 7 Squadron who are tasked for the ‘Special Forces’ role.
The 160th SOAR operates a mix of helicopters in a very specialised role but In the case of the Night Stalkers it only flies the MH-47G variant of the Chinook while the regiment also flies the Sikorsky MH-60L and ’M variants of the Black Hawk and the A/MH-6M MELB Little Bird. The latter is however not assigned to Hunter Army Airfield with both ‘A’ & ‘B’ Companies (A/3-160th & B/3-160th) operating the MH-47G and ‘C’ Company (C’3-160th) the Sikorsky MH-60M Black Hawk. The Little Birds are primarily to be found with A/1-160th and B/1-160th at Fort Campbell.
The 160th SOAR is akin to many US Army regiments in that it is a divided community. Prime training is undertaken at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, which also houses the 2nd Battalion, and the Night Stalkers’ sister unit, 4 Battalion, operating from Fort Lewis, Washington State. The regiment is one of the first to deploy overseas in support on any ongoing crisis and have participated in a number of very high-profile operations.
by Peter R Foster
