![]() After the drop zone was established, a Black Hawk dropped a supply bundle by parachute into the area designated by the ground teams.Ĭapt. 24, the students participated in a final field training exercise, working with Florida Army National Guard aviators to complete a variety of missions throughout the 73,000-acre installation using CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.įor one mission, the soldiers were airlifted by teams to Camp Blanding’s northern section, where they set up an actual Ground Marked Release System drop zone using signaling panels. ![]() Precise arithmetic skills and attention to detail must be demonstrated before a soldier can graduate and pin on the flaming winged-torch worn by qualified Pathfinders. “This is one of the most academically challenging courses that a lot of these students will ever take,” Parsons said, explaining that the Pathfinder soldiers are expected to memorize and comprehend large amounts of information in a short time. Parsons said that a 75-percent graduation rate is actually pretty high for the course. Since the course started in early September with 65 officers and enlisted soldiers, nearly 25 percent of the students were unable to keep up with the rigorous and demanding academic expectations. “The job of the Pathfinder is to be the technical adviser to the ground-unit commander on multiple operations - sling-load operations, drop zone operations, troop movement, air assault planning, air assault insertions and even aerial resupply,” Parsons explained. Parsons and seven other instructors challenged their students to learn all aspects of landing zone operations - from supporting a helicopter sling-load mission to setting up navigational aids for incoming aircraft. Jessie Parsons of the Warrior Training Center said the course is fitted into a two-week block of instruction so National Guard soldiers can attend the course as part of their annual training. The intense course mirrors the Pathfinder training for active-duty soldiers and enables the graduates to establish safe landing zones for aircraft, paratroopers, and air assault units.Īrmy 1st Sgt. ![]() Under the guidance of instructors from the Army National Guard Warrior Training Center, 49 soldiers from the two states recently graduated from the Pathfinder Course at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center here. National Guard soldiers from Florida and Wisconsin recently completed a rigorous two-week specialized course in North-Central Florida, earning the right to wear the coveted Pathfinder Badge.
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