SALEM, Ore. – The Oregon Army National Guard mobilized two groups of aviation Soldiers during a ceremony in the Senate Chamber at the State Capitol in Salem, Ore., Feb. 21.
Approximately 20 Soldiers of the Forward Support Medical Evacuation Team (FSMT) from Charlie Company, 7-158 Aviation, will deploy to Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The nine-month deployment will support the ongoing Medical Evacuation (medevac) mission using UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
In addition, five Soldiers from Detachment 47, 2-641 Aviation, will deploy to Kandahar, Afghanistan in support of the Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance and Reconnaissance (CEASAR) mission using C-12 Huron aircraft. The CEASAR mission includes a total of 10 Soldiers, five (four pilots and one flight operations sergeant) are from Oregon, and the remainder are from Idaho.
Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers stand in formation during a mobilization ceremony in the Senate Chamber at the State Capitol in Salem, Ore., Feb. 21. Soldiers with Charlie Company, 7-158 Aviation, will deploy to Kosovo as a Forward Support Medical Evacuation Team (FSMT) using the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, and Soldiers with Detachment 47, 2-641 Aviation, will deploy to Afghanistan in support of the Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance and Reconnaissance (CEASAR) mission using C-12 Huron aircraft. (Photo by Staff Sgt. April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber accepts a framed unit guidon flag from Maj. Sarah Fritts (right), commander of Detachment 47, 2-641 Aviation, as Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees (left), Adjutant General, Oregon, looks on during the mobilization ceremony for two aviation units in the Senate Chamber at the State Capitol in Salem, Ore., Feb. 21. The governor keeps framed guidon’s of deployed Oregon Army National Guard units until they return home to Oregon. Five Soldiers with Detachment 47, 2-641 Aviation, will deploy to Afghanistan in support of the Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance and Reconnaissance (CEASAR) mission. (Photo by Staff Sgt. April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)
Oregon Army National Guard Sgt. Jonathan Edwards holds his son, Grant, as he talks with family, following the mobilization ceremony of his unit at the State Capitol in Salem, Ore., Feb. 21. Soldiers with Charlie Company, 7-158 Aviation, will deploy to Kosovo as a Forward Support Medical Evacuation Team (FSMT) using the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. (Photo by Staff Sgt. April Davis, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)