JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Soldiers of the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division will conduct air assault field training on Thursday, Jan. 27 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in conjunction with aviators of the 4th Squadron, 6th Air Cavalry Regiment and the 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment (General Support).  The training will occur at 12:30 p.m.

Two CH-47 Chinooks and four UH-60 Blackhawks will execute a rapid tactical insertion of more than 90 Soldiers from Company C, 4^th Battalion, 9^th Infantry Regiment, into territory simulating a hostile landing zone. Their mission will be to engage and capture a notional insurgent leader, whose forces can be expected to mount fierce resistance to the air assault, despite the presence of roleplayers representing civilians living in the area.

To succeed, the Soldiers of C Company will have to fight through difficult terrain, counter the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and distinguish civilians from insurgents, all while facing intense enemy fire. 

The assaulting UH-60s and CH-47s will arrive in two waves about five minutes apart, silhouetted against Mt. Rainier as they approach the landing zone from east to west.  The Stryker infantry company-organized in three platoons of about 30 Soldiers each-will exit as the aircraft land with rotors turning, and then begin consolidating in pre-attack positions along the Nisqually River.

From that point, though supported by OH-58D Kiowa Warriors scouting the skies above, nothing will be predictable for the Soldiers of Company C, as they encounter unanticipated obstacles, cross danger areas, and protect local civilians on their way to locating and capturing - or killing - the insurgent leader.