Arizona choppers pull heavy duty in Afghanistan

The chopper is long but squat and drab green. A 30 mm cannon is slung under its nose and two rocket pods hang from its stubby wings. The sun is baking hot and the flightline is quiet.

Suddenly a call comes through, and two Arizona National Guard pilots rush toward the aircraft. Capt. Matthew Sanera, 34, of Casa Grande, and Warrant Officer Garrett Radigan, of Phoenix, climb inside. Their mission is clear: Accompany a medical helicopter and protect it from enemy fire. They are the muscle of the flight.

The two helicopters climb into the sky and disappear.

Soon, another Apache swoops down out of the clear Afghan sky and lands. The two cockpit windows swing outward and two pilots climb to the ground.

Maj. Christopher Baril and Capt. Wendy Reed, both of Casa Grande, are tired. They've been in the air seven hours, escorting cargo helicopters across eastern Afghanistan. "We are just looking for anything that looks out of the ordinary," Reed says.

The pair are flying the Quick Reaction Force this week, performing any odd task assigned to them. Baril walks off to grab a drink as Reed props a laptop on the fuselage and enters information into the aircraft's digital logbook. The pilots have missed lunch and already have logged a full day of flying. They still have hours to go in their shift.

Some days are long ones.

Mechanics crowd around. One lifts the panels off the rotor mast compartment and takes samples of the oil, collecting it in small tubes. Maintenance is a constant process here and the flying schedule is hectic.

"I'd say we probably fly here four times as much as we fly back home," said Sgt. Robert Cochran, 26, one of the mechanics from Tucson. Missions come up all day, every day.

Baril returns. He is dismayed by the open panels. He asks the mechanics to put them back on and sure enough, less than a minute later, another call comes through. Baril and Reed pull on their body armor and helmets, jump into the cockpit, run up the engines and tug the Apache off the ground, heading north fast. This time they'll support troops near the border.

The other Apache with Sanera in command had just returned and was refueling when the radio call came in. His aircraft roars off beside Baril and Reed's. Troops in contact are among the highest priorities in eastern Afghanistan, which is full of pressing priorities.

To get anywhere in this part of Afghanistan, pilots have to climb through mountain passes that are 7,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. The pilots fly between peaks that stretch 15,000 feet into the sky.

The Apaches are heavy beasts, further weighed down with armor and weapons. Pilots say they need to fly carefully.

"You don't have a large margin for error," Baril says.

Downdrafts or inattention in a hover can leave the aircraft heading sharply downward with too little power to arrest the descent, while the rocky ridgelines are never far below.

But the birds are effective.

Pilots say the insurgents hate the attack helicopters. They often break contact and run, trying to avoid the armored planes.

"They hug trees so you can't see them," Baril says.

For this mission, the two Apaches head northeast. They find a group of American soldiers in Humvees lined up, facing a patch of woods. Insurgents lurk inside the trees. They have been firing at the Americans.

The insurgents begin to flee as soon as they hear the Apaches. The choppers fire on the woods, shooting where the soldiers tell them, where the insurgents are believed to be.

After the firing dies away, the soldiers enter the woods. They capture the insurgent commander and two fighters. The Apaches are replaced overhead by F-18s and turn for home.

By the time the choppers land and shut down, Baril and Reed have flown almost 10 hours.

Later, a few hours before dawn, the night-shift mechanics head out to the flightline and go over each aircraft carefully, performing the daily checks, preparing the helicopters for another day of flying.

About this series

Doug Grindle is a freelance journalist who traveled to Afghanistan in May. He wrote three stories for the Star that look at Arizona troops and their missions. The series began Saturday with a look at daily life at an Army base in eastern Afghanistan. Today's installment looks at helicopter missions. See Monday's story to learn more about injured troops and the good deeds soldiers perform when they can.