S.C. National Guard Staff Sgt. Richie Jackson, Detachment

S.C. National Guard Staff Sgt. Richie Jackson, Detachment 1, Co. B, 2-238th General Support Aviation Battalion, 59th Aviation Troop Command performs in-flights checks on a CH-47F Chinook helicopter while flying on the Hudson River, Aug. 18, 2016, Manhattan, New York, NY. Castles's CH-47F escorted its predecessor, CH-47D "Guard Copter 368" in its last mission. “368” is one of the few CH-47D originally built as “true D-models,” at the end of the First Gulf War. "368" served with Det. 1 for the last ten years, both in support of state operations and during the unit deployments to Afghanistan, in 2009 and 2013; during its service, “368” earned a reputation for reliability and sturdiness among the unit’s pilots, maintainers and crew-chiefs. Its last mission started on August 16, from SCARNG Army Aviation Support Facility n. 2, Greenville, SC, and included a stop at Fort Drum, NY, where Det.1 received the newer F-model Chinook, "793," from Company B, 3-10 GSAB “Colossal,” 10th CAB, 10th Mountain (Infantry Light) Division. 793 and 368 resumed the cross-country flight on Friday, Aug. 18, as a two-ship formation, and ended (for 368) at Summit Aviation, Middletown, New Castle County, DE, where 368 will be resold as an airworthy aircraft, through an auction, to either a foreign-military or a private operator. 793 is one of six CH-47F Chinook helicopters Det.1 is in the process of receiving from 3-10th GSAB, as a replacement for its (retiring) older aircrafts. (US Army National Guard Photo by Staff Sgt. Roberto Di Giovine/Released)