4th Combat Aviation Receives Accolades As it is Deactivated

4th CAB Task Force a ‘Shining example’ of safety
by Sgt. Sean Harriman 4th CAB

SHINDAND AIRBASE, Afghanistan – Far from the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade headquarters located in Camp Marmal, Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, Task Force Comanche operates throughout the broad, desolate swath of territory known as Regional Command–West. Their achievements as an expeditionary aviation unit have earned them the prestigious Brig. Gen. Carl Hutton Memorial Award for Unit Safety from the Order of Daedalians, recognizing them for their devotion to safety and diligence in upholding total professional conduct of its flight crews.

The TF Comanche commander Lt. Col. Ronald Lukow thanked all of his soldiers, civilians, and contractors for playing their part in earning the award.

Pictured: Two AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters from TF Comanche, 4th CAB, 4th Inf. Div. begin a mission in RC–West, Afghanistan. TF Comanche’s achievements as an expeditionary aviation unit have recently earned them the prestigious Brig. Gen. Carl Hutton Memorial Award for Unit Safety from the Order of Daedalians, recognizing them for their devotion to safety and diligence in upholding total professional conduct of its flight crews.

“This is a unit award, and it took the entire unit, from the individual soldier and crew member on up, to earn it,” Lukow said. “It is because of everyone's attention to detail, standards, and discipline that ensured we have not had an aviation or ground accident or mishap greater than a class C, despite flying over 15,000 hours and conducting over 1,800 missions.”

The Order of Daedalians, established in 1934, to honor flight officers during World War I, supports the military services and aerospace activities. It encourages patriotism, integrity and good character in our nation's youth. It promotes military careers as commissioned pilots, safety of flight and excellence in the performance of military duties.

Maj. Chad Willette, TF Comanche’s executive officer, considered the award “a bit humbling, considering the quality of other aviation units.”

“Safety is the responsibility of everyone, but I believe the task force commander and the senior warrant officer’s emphasis on mitigating risks obviously played a tremendous role in our safety record,” Willette said. “Methodical and meticulous mission planning and aviation experience undoubtedly aided the task force in recognizing potentially unsafe situations, and then developing and implementing controls to mitigate the risks.”

The 4th CAB, along with its subordinate task forces such as TF Comanche, is set to finish its 12-month deployment in July and is purposefully sharing lessons learned with its replacement unit, the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Andrew Foreman, the safety officer for TF Comanche, had a few things to share with the incoming 1st Air Cavalry Brigade.

“For our replacing unit, I would advise them to continue to improve on what we have strived to accomplish during our time here,” Foreman said. “We have been executing multiple mission sets across three different airframes throughout the year but we have also been applying lessons learned along the way and continuously evolving our techniques and procedures. Don’t be afraid to adapt to whatever situation may arise.”

Upon redeployment to Fort Hood, Texas, the 4th CAB will be deactivating and moving to Fort Bliss, Texas, where they will redesignate as the 1st Armored Division, Combat Aviation Brigade.