Assignment to SOATB does not guarantee that the soldier will begin training—they must first be assessed and selected. 7 Emails from Norvell and SFC Jebediah B. James* to Jared M. Tracy, “SUBJECT: Re: Final questions,” 13 July 2016, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. They learn the basics about how to put on their flight gear all the way up to aerial gunnery and crew duties during HAAR [Helicopter Air-to-Air Refueling], environmental landings in mountains and deserts, and landing on the back of a ship underway.”10. They’ve gotten past themselves and are thinking about the person next to them. Known as the Night Stalkers, these Soldiers are recognized for their proficiency in nighttime operations. And, if you want to be a part of a generally top-notch team, then 160th SOAR — AKA the “Night Stalkers” — checks the box. http://www.dote.osd.mil/pub/reports/FY2009/pdf/army/2009uh60mblackhawk.pdf, The A/MH-6 Maintainer Course is longer than the others because the 160th is the only Army unit with that kind of helicopter, so training on that airframe is ‘from the ground up’. In addition to completing a background questionnaire, a psychological screening, and passing a security clearance check, candidates must meet minimum Army standards on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) (at least 60 points each for the push-up, sit-up, and two-mile run events) and meet height and weight standards. That’s probably the most amazing transformation that we see.”6- Mitchell W. Norvell*, 1SG, Company A, Soldiers who pass all phases of Combat Skills receive a graduation certificate as well as a Modern Army Combatives Program Level I certificate. Officer ‘Green Platoon’ (OGP), a term symbolizing 160th pride and esprit, embodies the entire officer training experience before joining the Regiment. 8 “SOATB 101”; “Enlisted Combat Skills”; email from 1SG Jayden T. Setler* to Jared M. Tracy, “SUBJECT: RFI,” 18 July 2016, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter Setler* email, 18 July 2016. Enlisted aviation soldiers with time and experience in the 160th can apply to be trained as Non-Rated Crewmembers and eventually as Flight Instructors/Standardization Instructors. Those who hope to join the ranks of the Night Stalkers must endure a five-week training cycle -- what is infamously known as "Green Platoon." In Enlisted ‘Green Platoon,’ students are taught “The Night Stalker Way” as they are inculcated with the Night Stalker ethos and culture of excellence. advanced first aid techniques, combatives, land navigation, and weapons training. Ruck & Run Intensive This plan is “sport specific” to the specific fitness demands you’ll face at the Green Platoon Assessment and Training Course – specifi… The unit was getting more SERE, airborne, and air assault slots than they had line unit personnel available to send, so they were sending everyone, including support and maintenance. Until 2013, only men were allowed to be pilots in the 160th. If you want an Army pilot career, the 160th SOAR is the crème de la crème. Serving the Rugged Professional", Survivor Outreach Services | Total Army Sponsorship | Safety, Human Resources | Civilian Expeditionary Workforce, U.S. Army Environmental Command | Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy & Environment, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Recruiting Facebook Feed, Combat Skills (Green Platoon) Class Information, Enlisted Combat Skills ATRRS Course Information, 160th SOAR Combat Skills Train-Up Program, Strip Map from Gate 4 to Kalsu Reception and R-I Plt A Co SOATB, https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16E5_hM9yy08afCA9tMaxLMev6lMNDnLc, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy & Environment. The 160th is a fantastic organization. Continued from PART I: Officer ‘Green Platoon’, http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job-categories/mechanics/ch-47-helicopter-repairer.html, http://www.goarmy.com/learn/understanding-the-asvab.html. This is the official U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) Recruiting Team website. To successfully complete this program you’ll need to make training for selection a priority during your work day. 1 CH-47 Helicopter Maintainer MOS and training information found on http://www.rucker.army.mil/usaace/128ab/ (accessed 25 April 2016); http://www.128thab.army.mil/ (accessed 25 April 2016); http://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/browse-career-and-job-categories/mechanics/ch-47-helicopter-repairer.html (accessed 25 April 2016); http://www.goarmy.com/learn/understanding-the-asvab.html (accessed 25 April 2016).Â, This fictional profile depicts the kind of enlisted soldier that might be assigned to SOATB to train for eventual assignment to the 160th SOAR. Assigned to 2/210th Aviation Regiment, 128th Aviation Brigade for training, Foster attended the seventeen-week-long 15U course, eventually graduating as the Distinguished Honor Graduate.1 He had expected orders to a conventional Army aviation maintenance company, but instead received orders to the Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion (SOATB) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to be assessed and trained as a Night Stalker in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). Of the 70 percent that start EGP, eleven percent fail the course at some stage. Note: IAW USSOCOM sanitization protocol for historical articles on recent operations, pseudonyms are used for majors and below who are still on active duty, unless names have been publicly released for awards/decorations or DoD news release. We enable them to realize that they’re a team. They realize that they can’t function on their own and have to rely on each other. Welcome to A Company, Combat Skills aka “Green Platoon,” Special Operations Aviation Training Battalion and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). Mon - Fri, 10am - 4pm . Officers volunteer while enlisted soldiers volunteer or are assigned by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. Other than that, how hard is it to get selected? My questions are: is EGP just one of those things that is tough but if you don't suck you'll get through it? This article has explained how enlisted soldiers are recruited, assessed, selected, and trained to be Night Stalkers. 160th SOAR Green Platoon experience and advice? I think the benefits would be the missions you do. This helps ensure that all personnel arriving at their gaining unit are Dunker Qualified. Soldiers only receive two chances to complete the course. Candidates assigned to the “Green Platoon” receive instruction on basic combat tasks, first responder, ... Once pilots are rated as FMQ they can work with units outside the 160th SOAR. As the war progressed, they would begin to operate from within Afghanistan, from airbases such … All soldiers receive intensive training upon joining the 160th and are required to pass the Green Platoon … 1SG Setler* elaborates on this training: “The NRCM courses are for guys who have been through Enlisted ‘Green Platoon,’ they’ve gone through our maintainer’s course, and they’ve been in the Regiment in one of the battalion maintenance companies for a couple of years. Thirty percent of soldiers who are assessed do not start the course for various reasons. For avionics specialists, Company B offers seven 5-day A/MH-6 Avionics courses per year (28 students annually) and seven 25-day Common Avionics Architecture System (CAAS) courses per year (28 students annually). GREEN PLATOON. Hello everyone, I am currently in AIT right now and my PSG told us that there is one slot open for 160th and they needed someone to apply by the end of the day. Enlisted personnel must also undergo an arduous ‘team-building’ day, similar to a Leader’s Reaction Course.5, 5 “SOATB 101”; SOATB, Power Point Presentation, “Enlisted Combat Skills Assessment and Selection,” 16 March 2015, copy in USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC, hereafter “Enlisted Combat Skills.”, “Team-building is a very critical aspect of the enlisted class. If you are not on orders, please refer to the application process outlined for your MOS on the website Home Page. The A/MH-6 Maintainer Course is longer than the others because the 160th is the only Army unit with that kind of helicopter, so training on that airframe is ‘from the ground up’. 10 “B Company Training”; Setler* interview, 27 January 2016. Responsibility for assessment and Combat Skills training falls on Company A, SOATB. Led by CPT Conner M. Federer* and 1SG Jayden T. Setler*, Company B is the Flight Company of SOATB. 14 Attachment to Setler* email, 18 July 2016. First, soldiers either volunteer for the 160th SOAR through the SORB or, more commonly, receive assignment by HRC based on their MOS. CAAS is a cockpit system consisting of touch-screen, multi-function flat-panel displays designed to provide “enhanced navigation and situational awareness while reducing crew workload.”Â, Company B offers advanced training for assigned 160th soldiers. This page is intended for Soldiers on orders to attend Combat Skills. I am an aircraft electrician 15F. CAAS is a cockpit system consisting of touch-screen, multi-function flat-panel displays designed to provide “enhanced navigation and situational awareness while reducing crew workload.”Â. Officers volunteer while enlisted soldiers volunteer or are assigned by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. From my understanding its Green platoon> SERE> 160th. Company B offers seven 12-day A/MH-6 Maintainer courses per year (average throughput of 56 soldiers annually); seven 10-day MH-60 Maintainer courses per year (70 students annually); and seven 7-day MH-47 Maintainer courses per year (56 students annually). Graduates with 15-series Aviation Branch MOSs take the two-day Dunker Qualification Course at the Allison Aquatics Training Facility (AATF) before reporting to Company B, SOATB, for additional Maintenance, Avionics, or Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) training.8. Originally called "Green Platoon," ad hoc training functions began in 1983. Of that total 41 percent that do not graduate from the class that they initially reported for, about twenty percent are recycled to a second class and inserted at the start of the committee that they were in when they were dropped. 12 “B Company Training”; Setler* interview, 27 January 2016. Having met the minimum prerequisite Mechanical Maintenance score of 104 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), Foster was able to select CH-47 Helicopter Maintainer (15U) as his Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). “Black Day” is simply one event that encompasses the initial entry training program for the 160th SOAR (A) known as Enlisted Green Platoon Combat Skills. The 160th SOAR deployed into Afghanistan, along with the 1st American Special Operations forces. The hot, high-altitude flying that the theatre requires has meant that the regiment's MH-47 Chinooks (with occasional escorts from MH-60L DAP gunships) have flown the majority of missions. The second way a soldier enters into SOA training is by volunteering and applying through the Special Operations Recruiting Battalion (SORB). From 2009 to 2011, Smith served as a 160th SOAR special mission unit liaison officer and regiment operations officer. The 160th SOAR (A) consists of the Army's best-qualified aviators, crew chiefs, and support soldiers. I know you have to go through Green Platoon, but is it very competitive to get selected to go to green platoon. First, ‘Department of the Army (DA) Select’ soldiers are assigned by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC) based on MOSs needed by the Regiment. The 160th SOAR (A) consists of the Army's best-qualified aviators and support soldiers. Can I join Military college for MPC after 10? The panel recommended the creation of a dedicated training program, which quickly became known as Green Platoon. Because of this, both units share most of their operations. Foster enlisted in the U.S. Army straight out of high school. The Assessment Platoon conducts the assessment and selection during Week 1. Back in 2006–2010 it was super easy. However, before an officer attends OGP, he or she must apply and be assessed. 13 CPT L. Kyle Faudree, “160th SOAR (A) Flight Medic Specialized Training: The Special Operations Aviation Medical Indoctrination Course,” Journal of Special Operations Medicine 10/2 (Spring 2010): 5. Are they real numbers extrapolations projections aka wild a$$ guesses.? Company A graduates an average of 54 enlisted soldiers per class (approximately 380 per year), or about 60 percent of the total number of soldiers who initially report for assessment and training.7 Graduates with non-aviation MOSs (such as 92-series Quartermaster Corps MOSs) report directly to their 160th unit of assignment. Graduates of the Maintainer and Avionics courses then report to their respective 160th unit of assignment.9 After completing the SOF Gray Eagle Course, UAS Operators (15Ws) report to Company E or Company F, 2/160th SOAR. Hmmm I am aviation, but not the 160th. I love the 160th and becoming a NightStalker, has been one of the proudest moments of my military career thus far. In each area, students receive detailed practical instruction by a cadre of both active duty soldiers and contractors, mostly former or retired Night Stalkers. Company A teaches seven ground combat skills courses per year with four committees: Land Navigation, First Responder, Weapons, and Combatives. Finally, the 50-day SOAMIC provides 160th-assigned Health Care Specialists (68Ws) who have completed the Special Operations Combat Medic (SOCM) Course advanced training on “in-flight trauma/resuscitative care.”13 SOAMIC consists of “didactic and practical training in SOA medical tasks, provider-level clinical and battlefield medicine, and critical decision-making.” Throughout SOAMIC, “students gain proficiency in basic SOA NRCM tasks such as emergency procedures, night-vision goggle (NVG) training, Aircrew Coordination Training-Enhanced (ACT-E), and safety procedures for all SOA aircraft.” SOAMIC ends with a two week training cycle at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Level 1 trauma center working in the Emergency Room and Intensive Care Unit.14 SOAMIC graduates likewise report to their 160th units of assignment upon completion. The loved it. The eyes of active ARSOF personnel in photos are blocked out when not covered with dark visors or sunglasses, except when the photos were publicly released by a service or DoD. Learn More . 3 “SOATB 101”; MAJ Jackson J. Dunbar*, Regimental S-1, interview with Jared M. Tracy, 26 January 2016, USASOC History Office Classified Files, Fort Bragg, NC. 160TH SPECIAL OPERATIONS AVIATION REGIMENT (SOAR) The 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) ... Green Platoon is a six-week assessment and training program that teaches basic soldiering skills, combat, land navigation, and weapons skills.