2008 Annual Report - West Virginia Army National Guard - U.S. Army

West Virginia National Guard Annual Report 2008
The West Virginia portion of
C-2/104th General Support Aviation
Battalion (C-2/104th GSAB) is
also supported by one detachment
from each of the three other support
companies within the 2/104th GSAB-
-Det. 3 HHC, Det. 3 Co. D, Det. 3
Co. E. The C-2/104th GSAB’s War
Trace Battalion (2/104th GSAB) and
Brigade (28th CAB) Headquarters are
both located at Fort Indiantown Gap,
Pa., and fall under the Command
of the 28th Infantry Division.
The Company’s federal
mission is to provide Aeromedical
Evacuation support within the
division’s area of operations. The state mission
is to provide Aeromedical Evacuation and
Search and Rescue capability to the Governor
and the citizens of West Virginia in times of
emergency. Previously, the unit has been
deployed five times since September 11,
2001. This year the unit sent two helicopters
and crews to Baton Rouge, La., in support of
Hurricane Ike relief efforts. The combined
assigned strength of Company C–2/104th
GSAB and the detachments that support it is
118 percent.
Detachment 1, Company B, 1/376th
Security & Support Aviation Battalion is
located in Williamstown. The unit is a fourship
OH-58 Helicopter Detachment supported
by one Aviation Intermediate Maintenance
Detachment--Det. B3, 834th ASB. This unit’s
War Trace Higher Headquarters (B–1/376th
S&S) is located in Jefferson City, Mo., and
the War Trace Battalion (1/376th) is located
in Grand Island, Neb. These units both fall
under the 35th Combat Aviation Brigade in
Lincoln, Neb., and support the 35th Infantry
Division (mechanized) out of
Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The
federal mission of B1-1/376th
is to perform command,
control, and communications
(C3) flights and limited air
movement flights for the
division. The state mission is
to provide reconnaissance and
observation in support of local
law enforcement, counter
narcotic drug interdiction, in
addition to search and rescue
operations.
This year the unit had
the most successful marijuana
eradication mission ever, locating 143,732
plants (estimated street value of $2,000 per
plant). Det. B3, 834th ASB is currently
deployed in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom. Soldiers departed in July of 2008
and will return in the Summer of 2009. The
combined assigned strength of Det. B1-1/376th
S&S and Det. B3, 834th ASB is 140 percent.
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