Heading west in formation. The Idaho Army National

Heading west in formation. The Idaho Army National Guard’s 1-183rd Assault Helicopter Battalion’s Annual Training is coming to a conclusion this week on Gowen Field. Unit personnel in maintenance, fueling, flight operations, communications and staff coordination synchronized their efforts on a daily basis to support flying missions for the battalion's UH60 Black hawks. During the same period the 183rd accepted delivery of the latest UH60 M model Black hawk and answered a distress call to rescue kayakers in peril in the wilderness. All in the regular ebb and flow of their annual training.
Aircrews completed multi-ship formation flying missions, practiced hoisting heavy loads, and supported Idaho Air National Guard training. A multi-ship training mission took place on Sunday, June 14, sending aircraft and crews from A Company, 1-183rd Aviation Regiment over and across the diverse Idaho landscape to rendezvous with fuel trucks from the battalion's Echo Company at Saylor Creek. Saylor Creek is a remote U.S. Air Force training site located on the prairie south of Mt. Home Air Force Base. After refueling, the three Black hawks continued on to Atlanta, Idaho before returning to Gowen Field. Atlanta is a wilderness community located approximately 100 miles east of Boise in the Boise National Forest at an elevation of 5,383 feet. Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains and Wilderness are directly north of Atlanta.