Maryland National Guard Trains Estonian Air Force Pilots for Deployment
[vc_row][vc_column css=”.vc_custom_1500630942811{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1500630924693{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”]By 2nd Lt. Jessica Donnelly, Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1500630900015{margin: 0px !important;border-width: 0px !important;padding: 0px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Pilots with the Estonian Air Force have been training with the Maryland Army National Guard, learning to fly rotary wing aircraft and preparing for deployment with the unit.
Capt. Rene Kallis and Lt. Martin Noorsalu have been attached to C Company, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment, training on UH-60 ‘Blackhawk’ helicopters in preparation for a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
The unit mobilized during a ceremony held Feb. 3, and departed for training at Ft. Hood, Texas, before continuing on to Afghanistan. Kallis and Noorsalu will join the unit overseas and are scheduled to participate in six months of the year-long deployment.
“We’ll be working together with the Maryland National Guard … and we hope to act as co-pilots,” added Kallis about the deployment.
After they return from deployment, Kallis and Noorsalu will remain with the Maryland Army National Guard, rotating through various staff positions to get more first-hand experience and training on how a rotary wing unit is Maryland National Guard trains Estonian Air Force pilots for deployment.
During their time in the U.S., Kallis and Noorsalu have completed the UH-60 qualification course at Fort Rucker, Ala., as well as conducted high altitude training with the OH-58 ‘Kiowa’ helicopters in Colo. They also participated in pre-mob training, such as chemical warfare training and squad lanes, with the 169th to prepare for the deployment.
“We’ve gotten a lot of experience and good training,” said Kallis of his time with the MDNG.
The Maryland National Guard has a relationship with Estonian through the National Guard’s State Partnership Program, which brings together U.S. states and territories with partner nations to enhance international security and promote understanding, trust and stability.
“Maryland has a long history of partnership with Estonia,” said Maj. Gen. James Adkins, adjutant general of Maryland. “We’ve been partnering with Estonia for nearly 19 years, we’ve grown up together. … Long-term, enduring relationships have developed through this partnership.”
Adkins added, “There is no program with a greater value because of the relationships it creates.”
C Company, 1st Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment is a medical evacuation aviation unit. The unit, which is known by their nickname…”the Misfits,” is commanded by Capt. Teresa Parrotta and is based out of Weide Army Airfield[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]