Reno, NV, USA - 22/01/2008

After being awake for 26 hours the previous day, Mark Rouse, Michael Hind and myself awoke at 0600 in Reno for the first day of our latest Stateside visit.

I'd arranged for us to visit the Nevada Air and Army National Guards, both based in Reno; the Air National Guard at Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and the Army National Guard at Reno-Stead Airport.

We met our host, SFC Erick Studenicka, at the main gate at 0900 and were soon in the Ops building. We met a few members of aircrew before a brave Flight Engineer volunteered to take us out on to the snow covered ramp for a look around.

The Nevada Air National Guard, the 192nd Airlift Squadron, 152nd Airlift Wing are perhaps better known to many as the "High Rollers", a name which in days gone by was synonomous with the RF-4C Phantom II.

The story of the 192nd began, however, back on the 12th of April 1948, when the then Fighter Squadron were stood up in response to the National Security Act of 1947, equipped with the North American P-51 Mustang.

In 1956 the unit moved into the next phase of their development with the arrival of their first jet aircraft, the North American F-86 Sabre.

1961 brought a change of role and following the delivery of the Martin RB-57 Canberra, the unit was renamed the 192nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron (TRS).

Just four years later the Canberras were replaced by the first supersonic fighter for Nevada, the McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. The Voodoo saw sustained action with the unit until 1975, operating three different marks of the aircraft in that time; the RF-101G, the RF-101H (both modified standard F-101As), and finally the RF-101B - a model utilised solely by the NV ANG in the photo reconnaissance role.

It was at the end of the Voodoo's tenure that the legendary McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II entered the fray. This was the first time in the history of the 192nd that they'd operated an aircraft that demanded a two-man crew; an aircraft commander as well as a weapons system operator (WSO - said 'Wizzo'). During their time on the Phantom the aircraft acquired the 'High Rollers' titles in the finband that can still be found present today.

Examples of both the Phantom and the Voodoo can be found preserved at the ANG facility at Reno-Tahoe (below photos from a previous 'outside the fence' visit).

With the Phantom's withdrawal in 1995, the 152nd Reconnaissance Wing was told that they were to become the 152nd Airlift Wing , and that they would be operating the venerable Lockheed C-130H Hercules that they still use to this day.

In recent times the unit has seen action in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, where the Phantom was used to capture reconnaissance images during the Gulf War in preparation for attacks on key installations, and then again after the attacks had been lauched to assess their success. Most recently, the Hercules aircraft of the High Rollers have seen, and indeed continue to see action in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the follow-on from the over-throwing of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Their current mission statement reads: "The mission of the Nevada Air National Guard is to provide C-130 airlift, airdrop, photo mapping and other critical Air Force support missions consistent with national objectives."

Three Hercules were present during our visit, the others being spread far and wide across the globe.

Our host gave us a guided tour of one of the H-models and told us how he's dreading the time when the unit upgrades to the J-model, which does away with the third flight-deck crew member, the flight engineer, thus making him redundant. In the short-term there are no plans for this to happen.

The 192nd is made up of a mix of both 'regular' service personnel and 'part-timers', with the latter holding down jobs on civvy street - many with airlines and the like.

Next up was a drive, following our host, the 15-miles or so north to Reno-Stead, home of the Nevada Army National Guard.

As we approached the security checkpoint we could see a CH-54 Tarhe (Skycrane) and a UH-1 Iroquois preserved on the gate. I don't ever recall seeing an example of the former before, let alone photographing one.

As with Tahoe, our host hung back and let members of the unit lead the tour. The man in question this time, Sgt Trevor Wojcik, was responsible for the kitting out of life-support equipment.

The facility plays host to four key units; Delta Company 113th Aviation, Det 1/126th Medical Company Air Ambulance, Nevada-RAID (Reconnaissance and Aerial Interdiction Detachments), and finally OSACOM Det 45 (Operational Support Airlift Command).

Delta Company 113th Aviation "Mustangs" operate five Boeing CH-47D Chinooks and have recently seen service in Afghanistan, where they tragically lost an aircraft and five crew on the 25th of September 2005, following a direct hit from a RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) in the Zabul province of the country, whilst returning from a troop insertion mission.

In addition to this loss, on the 4th of December of the same year, three Chinooks came under heavy fire whilst operating to the north of Kandahar. Two of the aircraft were forced to make emergency landings, with the third able to carry on back to base. Of the two that carried out forced landings, one suffered such a heavy contact with the ground that it caused the airframe to be written off. Fortunately everyone was able to walk away from the incident. The other aircraft in question happened to be the one we went inside during our visit. We were told the story of how it had all happened and shown the entry holes for the rounds in question - now patched over, of course. The damage caused prompted the need for an engine change, something that had to be performed in the open in a very unfriendly part of the country, just a few miles from where they'd come under attack, and on the very unlevel ground on which the aircraft had come down. Apparently it was leaning very badly to the starboard side, making the extraction of the damaged engine and subsequent insertion of the new engine extremely difficult indeed, but that didn't stop the engineers from achieving it in double quick time.

Two of the four Chinooks present were still sporting the nose-art that had been applied during their time in the region. They are on borrowed time, however, as the other two had already been repainted.

A tour for these guys and gals consists of a three-month workup leading into a twelve-month deployment and then, in addition to that, a three-month workdown period too. That has got to be real tough for the regulars, but remember, these are not all full-time service personnel!

I don't think any of us fully understood just how the National Guard works for non-'regulars', so I asked if they all just have understanding employers - I mean, being without an employee for 18-months is a very long time! Apparently there is legislation in place to protect the employees themselves from termination whilst on active duty, their employers are expected to honour any pay increases that they would've received had they not been on active duty, and in some cases where their income on 'civvy street' exceeds their income whilst on active duty, there are systems in place to boost that back up to the level that they would've otherwise received. To my mind this is something the Americans have got absolutely spot on.

Det1/126th Medical Company operate five Sikorsky UH-60 Blackhawks in the Mdeical Evacuation (Medevac) role, at least for the time being. There is speculation that the unit may be asked to take on more of a Casualty Evacuation (Casevac) role in the future, which would see them going into the heart of battle to recover wounded personnel. Medevac missions typically see patients collected from much less risky locations in order that they may be taken to a medical facility to be looked after.

While the Chinooks of Delta 113th are more suited to the challenges provided by the taskings in Afghanistan, the Blackhawks are much more at home in Iraq, and their most recent overseas deployment saw them providing support for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

One of the Blackhawks in the hangar was still sporting the marks of 207th Aviation at Fort Richardson, Alaska, which was nice to see. This aircraft had only been collected from there a few days prior to our visit. It had taken no less than nine days for them to complete the near 3000 mile journey in ridiculously cold temperatures that made hot-refuels essential for fear of freezing up if they didn't.

Apparently the fact that they've been given some new equipment is a sure fire sign that they have another impending deployment in the pipeline!

NV-RAID operate four Bell OH-58A Kiowas, two from Reno-Stead and two from Las Vegas. The RAID concept was started in 1992 following a Congressional mandate stating that the ARNG would play an integral part in the war against drugs. Their remit has expanded slightly since and they are now also involved with anti-terrorism work, and assisting the US Border Patrols in capturing attempted illegal immigrants.

OSACOM have a building and hangar across the apron, housing their C-12F. Their mission is to provide high priority, short notice air transport to passengers and cargo movement for all Army components and members of DoD.

Just as we were about to depart, the Facility Commander, Major Kris Kirkland arrived at work. We chatted for a while and thanked him for allowing us the chance to take in what had been an outstanding visit - thoroughly interesting and a real eye-opener.

I would like to dedicate this report to the five souls, CW3 John M Flynn, WO1 Adrian B Stump, Sgt Tane T Baum, Sgt Kenneth G Ross and Sgt Patrick D Stewart, who tragically lost their lives aboard CH-47D 90-0200 in Afghanistan on the 25th of September 2005. May they all RIP.

My sincere thanks go to Capt April Conway, SFC Erick Studenicka, to Col Frank Landes, Major Kris Kirkland, Sgt Trevor Wojcik, and to all of the members of the units who helped us out and chatted to us along the way. Your co-operation was greatly appreciated!