Airborne RED HORSE tests sling-load capabilities

  • Published
  • By Valerie Mullett
  • 341st Space Wing Public Affairs
MALMSTROM AIR FORCE BASE, Mont. --  After a request by the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron for assistance and two site visits to determine what the requirements would be to complete the mission, the 819th Airborne RED HORSE team successfully removed an old radio relay station from West Peak mountain top in the Big Snowy Mountains Sept. 13. 

"The lease on the land that the radio relay station was located on was about to expire," said Russell Holmes, 341st CES. "It was determined that the station was no longer required for Malmstrom's missile operations needs, so we did not renew the lease."
As part of the terms of the lease, the land needed to be returned to its original state and that is when the 819th ARH was contacted, according the Master Sgt. Mark Garvin, non-commissioned officer in charge of the project. 

"Our team made two site visits, with the assistance of the 40th Helicopter Squadron here, to determine what needed to be done and what equipment would have to be brought in to do it," Sergeant Garvin said. 

Working in conjunction with the Montana Army National Guard, B Company 1-189 General Support Aviation unit from Fort Harrison who supplied the CH-47 helicopter used for the operation, the team quickly went to work once everything was in place and they completed the job in less than three hours, Sergeant Garvin said. 

"The majority of the work was filling in the hole left where the station was removed," he said. "We flew in four cubic yards of material and then used what was available on the mountain top to finish filling it in." 

In addition, the crew had to remove all the parts of the radio relay station, which amounted to one 500 pound load, including two solar panels. 

"The debris was flown back to the nearby missile alert facility where a semi-truck was waiting to haul it back to Malmstrom," said Sergeant Garvin. 

"This project was a huge success and showed complete teamwork by the members of five units," said Captain Chris Smith, officer in charge of the Airborne RH team. "We couldn't have completed it without everyone's participation." 

In addition to the units mentioned, three members from the Airborne RED HORSE unit at Mt. Home Air Force Base, Idaho, were also deployed here to assist. 

"Missions such as the West Peak operation serve two purposes," Captain Smith said. "They fulfill a need to the customer and they prepare the team for their deployed mission."
The team's primary mission is to repair strategic isolated airfields in order to begin airland operations. They rely on three primary methods of insertion: air drop (parachute), air insert (helicopter) and air land (land aircraft convoy to site).