The 229th Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Bravo Company deployed on October 24, 2015 from March Air Reserve Base to Northern Afghanistan to fulfill a 9-12 month deployment that was one of the first from Fort Irwin, California, in more than 10 years. The training facility’s primary mission is to ready troops for CONUS (continental U.S.) and OCONUS (overseas) operations. The 229th Bravo Company was created almost a year ago and is based at Fort Irwin, making them the only deployable group at the post.
This deployment also marks another ‘first’ as the Company is leaving from March Air Reserve Base, Calif.
“This whole operation was extremely smoot between the Army and Air components. We couldn’t be happier,” said Captain Trenton Conyers, Assistant Operations Officer 2916th aviation battalion, Fort Irwin. “Deploying the 229th created a set of challenges we did not necessarily foresee, but we were all able to come together and get the job done.”
Typically, a UAS company has almost two times the equipment requirement than a traditional company deploying into the area of responsibility. More equipment in turn demands more logistical efforts, efforts March ARB was ready and willing to tackle.
“Deploying the B Company, 229th Aviation Regiment out of March was truly a joint experience,” said Major Mark E. Johnson, USAFR, Installation Deployment Officer, 452 LRS. “March traditional reservists and AGR Airmen worked alongside active duty US Army personnel to deploy a fledgling remotely piloted system regiment which had not even existed twelve months ago. In short, rapid global mobility empowering the warfighter.”
The successful deployment of the 229th UAS Bravo Company is an important step in building a strong relationship between Fort Irwin and March Air Reserve Base for any future operations.
