US Army carries out air assault in Cherokee County

4th Infantry Division from Ft. Hood trains at airport

BY LELAND ACKER

Soldiers from the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division, based at Ft. Hood, practices an air assault in the field on U.S. Highway 69 across from the Cherokee County Airport. Chief Warrant Officer Joseph O'Rourke said Cherokee County was chosen as a location because of the hospitality of the airport staff and the availability of the fields. The Cherokee County Airport is a fuel stop for military aircraft. PHOTO: LELAND ACKER

Six Blackhawk helicopters loaded with infantry personnel touched down in a hay field on U.S. Highway 69 across from the Cherokee County Airport in a practice air assault Wednesday morning.

“An air assault mission is a way soldiers can go into hostile areas quickly,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brent Hunt. “We do a lot of this in Iraq and Afganistan. It allows us to avoid roadside bombs.”

Joe Casey, owner of Skyways Aero and captain in the Army reserves said the soldiers were simulating an assault on terrorists.

“This is their biggest exercise (here) so far and hopefully it’s just the beginning,” Capt. Casey said. “We thought it would be a good idea to grill hamburgers and have fun with them.”

The training mission comes as a result of a contract signed in July 2007 between Skyways Aero and the U.S. government. The contract makes the Cherokee County Airport a fuel stop for military aircraft.

“They come here and need fuel and services, and they get it,” Capt. Casey said.

Chief Warrant Officer Joseph O’Rourke was the mission commander and said the decision to carry out the exercise in Cherokee County was due to the hospitality offered by Skyways Aero and the fields offered by local citizens.

“We train at Ft. Hood all the time,” he said. “To hit the navigation on the dime, you have to take the (troops) away from the home element. You have to take them somewhere else.”

Read more about the U.S. Army’s training exercise at the Cherokee County Airport, along with Officer O’Rourke’s analysis of Army missions and tactics in the Feb. 6 issue of the Cherokeean Herald.