soldierporn: This ground moves. [L] Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Quincy Smith signals for a UH-60 Black Hawk operated by A Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, to land on the USS Harper’s Ferry (LSD 49) during deck landing qualification in the Arabian Gulf. [R] Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Jose Rangel directs an AH-64 Apache offship as it lifts off from the deck of the Harper’s Ferry. The aircraft is operated by 4th Battalion, 227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, now under the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade. U.S. Army aviation assets and the U.S. Navy conduct joint-service littoral (near shore) training missions to build familiarity with each other’s equipment and procedures, including landing different models of rotary wing aircraft on Navy Dock Landing Ships (LSD’s). The 42nd CAB, New York Army National Guard, operates rotary winged aircraft throughout the region in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Army National Guard photos by Spc. Harley Jelis, 26 DEC 2013.)
