FORT INDIANTOWN GAP, Pa. –
Gen. Daniel R. Hokanson, chief of the National Guard Bureau, visited Fort Indiantown Gap April 22 and met with Pennsylvania National Guard leadership and members of the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site.
While at EAATS, Hokanson presented coins to five cargo crew members as recognition for their efforts last May when they responded to a fire in the installation’s Northern Training Area. The fire, which began as a controlled burn set by the Fort Indiantown Gap’s Department of Forestry, got out of control, and the helicopter crew was dispatched to extinguish the fire.
The crew – Chief Warrant Officer 4 Kyle Watkins, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Matthew Koepke, Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Potter, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Prigel and Staff Sgt. Ryan Bragg – flew more than three hours and dropped 18 2,000-gallon water buckets to put the fire out.
After the presentation, Hokanson toured EAATS, a facility he is familiar with as he said he went through UH-60 Blackhawk pilot training at EAATS earlier in his career. Parts of the tour also included being fitted with a helmet and flight gear for a planned flight in a CH-47F Chinook helicopter, and an orientation in the CH-47F Transportable Flight Proficiency Simulator.
“It was an honor to host CNGB at the Eastern ARNG Aviation training site to showcase our mission, and our teams’ contributions to readiness across the U.S. Army Aviation enterprise and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard,” said Col. Randy Lutz, EAATS commander. “Our team of aviation professionals conducted a familiarization flight for CNGB in the TFPS and the CH-47F to demonstrate the aircraft’s capabilities in support of multi-domain operations.”
Located on Muir Army Airfield, the EAATS has been in operation here since 1981 and is fully accredited by The Army School System as a “Learning Institution of Excellence.” Training provided includes individual aircrew qualification, noncommissioned officer professional education, and enlisted military occupational and additional skill identifier training in utility and cargo rotary-wing aircraft.
“When you look at their ability to train our future Army aviators in Chinook and also the Blackhawk and many other things they do in terms of maintainers and flight instruction, I mean, they’re just a huge asset to the National Guard and actually to the entire Army, because we're able to send pilots here for additional quotas or if they can't keep up with the student flow at Fort Novosel, [Alabama],” said Hokanson, about EAATS impact on National Guard readiness adding that it’s a great resource.
“I was very fortunate as a young major in the Oregon National Guard to come here for the Blackhawk transition and I will tell you the professionalism I saw there just continues today,” he said. “What a great organization!”
The visit also afforded Hokanson the opportunity to visit with some of the Pennsylvania National Guard’s senior leaders including Maj. Gen. Mark Schindler, the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania.
“I've always been impressed by the Pennsylvania National Guard,” said Hokanson, who became the 29th CNGB in August 2020. “Some of my best friends have been in the Pennsylvania National Guard, and they continue to do that under General Schindler and really the entire leadership team and each is just a representation of what a great organization it is.”