U.S. Military
166th Aviation Blackhawk training goes 'hot'
By Pfc. Carl Havlik, 166th Aviation Brigade, Division West Public Affairs
Aug 30, 2010 - 9:15:49 PM

Blackanthem Military News

Soldiers practice hitting targets in the ground-fire phase of door gunnery training conducted by First Army Division West's 166th Aviation Brigade Aug. 20 at Dalton Mountain Range, North Fort Hood, Texas. (Photo by Pfc. Carl Havlik, 166th Aviation Brigade, Division West Public Affairs)

FORT HOOD, Texas - Hot was not only a reference to the local weather record set Aug. 20, but to the weapons mounted in the UH-60 Blackhawks belonging to the California Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 140th Aviation Regiment, as door gunnery training started at North Fort Hood.

First Army Division West's 166th Aviation Brigade is training the unit for its deployment to Iraq.

In the exercise, aviation Soldiers fired live rounds at targets in two phases. First, they fired their weapons from the ground in seated and prone positions. Second, they mounted their weapons in the helicopters and fired at ground targets from the air.

"It was my first time firing from the aircraft," said Spc. Tommy A. Flores, a door gunner for the 1st Bn., 140th Avn. Regt. "I really enjoyed it."

Crews shot both.50-caliber and M240 machine guns, using tracer rounds so they could see where they were hitting.

"This is good quality training to prepare Soldiers for combat," said Sgt. 1st Class Robert Minnella, standardization instructor for 1st Battalion, 337th Aviation Regiment, 166th Aviation Brigade, which trains nearly all reserve component aviation units.

The 1st Bn., 140th Avn. Regt. is composed of Soldiers from the Alaska Army National Guard and the California Army National Guard and will deploy as a helicopter assault battalion.