2nd Battalion, 502nd Aviation Regiment
In 2007, the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Aviation Regiment was inactivated as part of the restructuring of US forces in Europe. It was replaced by Theater Aviation Sustainment Maintenance - Europe, part of Aviation and Missile Command, which fell under the operational control of the 405th Army Field Support Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command.
The 2nd Battalion, 502nd Aviation Regiment, US Army Europe, was a theater-level aviation intermediate maintenance unit that conducts limited depot-level aircraft maintenance as well as port, barge and strategic air-loading operations. Unlike a typical battalion, the majority of the unit consisted of contracted field technicians and local nationals who, along with an average of 30 soldiers, accounted for the Battalion's 350 people. To ensure that communication and continuity among the three groups of personnel are maintained, the safety representatives were collocated in one office. Configured this way, there was always open dialogue between contractors, local nationals and soldiers, helping provide connections with Battalion projects and operations, and generating synergy for a cohesive safety program.
The Dyncorp employees that were a part of the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Aviation Regiment performed aircraft maintenance. DynCorp was a civilian contract company of technical experts with offices all over Europe and the world. The Dyncorp employees were based out of Coleman Barracks in Mannheim, Germany, just like 2-502nd Aviation. There were a total of 125 DynCorp employees that were a part of the Battalion. They helped out in all aspects of maintenance, tear-down and assembly of the aircraft.
As an aviation maintenance battalion, the 2-502nd Aviation moved large quantities of aircraft in and out of the European theater. The Battalion routinely towed AH-64 Apache, CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters on the German road network for extended distances to deliver aircraft either to the barge site or airfield. Battalion personnel also loaded or unloaded aircraft from ships either by towing them or lifting them with cranes. Along with towing aircraft and loading them on boats, the Battalion also conducted strategic air load outs at its remote site at Ramstein Airbase, Germany, or personnel were sent to other airfields and ports in Europe to conduct these operations. Battalion leaders regularly conducted coordination staff meetings to identify risk mitigation techniques and develop controls for the many hazards identified when conducting movement operations.
When towing helicopters to the barge site, coordination with localinternational law enforcement authorities from 2 separate German states was critical to secure the route to the barge site. Also, the unit performed a route reconnaissance to remove any overhead obstacles or other types of barriers before executing the operation. Contracted civilian vehicles were used to tow the aircraft from the maintenance facility to the barge loading site. Safety oversight was most critical during the hookups and the actual pull of aircraft.
Aircraft brakes had to be off prior to the pull, and a pace vehicle would lead the convoy to ensure that aircraft were not being towed too fast. Coordination with both the American and German fire departments was executed to provide an emergency vehicle in the event of a wheel fire and also to provide one fire extinguisher per tow aircraft for immediate response. In preparation for tire blowouts, vehicle breakdowns or other maintenance issues, a maintenance contact team followed the convoy as the trail vehicle. This precaution proved to be the best time-tested technique to address potential transportation issues en route to the delivery destination.
When the 10th Mountain Division's equipment reached Rijeka, Croatia in 1999, the 598th Transportation Group was waiting. The MV Saudi Taif was the latest in a long string of ships that brought heavy equipment to American peacekeepers assigned to Bosnia. There were 453 individual pieces of cargo. This total included 106 wheeled vehicles, 185 shipping containers and 56 helicopters. During the offload of the MV Saudi Taif, MTMC soldiers and civilians were assisted by aviation personnel from 2-502nd Aviation from Mannheim, Germany, and local contracted port stevedores.
In May 2001, 30 AH-64 Apache helicopters were partially dismantled, shrink-wrapped, and towed from the Army airfield in Sandhofen, Germany, to the nearby NATO barge site in Lampertheim, Germany, to begin a land and sea journey to the United States. The helicopters had flown to the airfield from various locations. In Lampertheim, the helicopters were loaded on barges to be shipped to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. There, they were transferred to a ship headed for Charleston, South Carolina. After a major overhaul, which was expected to take about a year and cost $15 million per aircraft, the helicopters would be returned to Europe. The shipping operation was managed in Germany by the 2-502d Aviation.
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