Local Black Hawk unit officially returns from Iraq, Kuwait

VICTORVILLE • The Black Hawks came home safe.

More importantly, so did their crews.

Company A of the Army’s 7th battalion of the 158th Aviation Regiment “Ghost Riders” officially celebrated its return Saturday at the Southern California Logistics Airport after a year of duty in Kuwait and Iraq. The 35 members of the Army National Guard unit are from Nevada, Arizona and Southern California, said Chief Warrant Officer Jon Jonas, a trainer for the 7th.

“It’s important that they get the support from their families, the community and their employers who hold their jobs open for them,” Jonas said. “These guys couldn’t do it without that support.”

The unit officially returned last October after a year of transporting soldiers and supplies around Kuwait and Iraq. The helicopters of Company A spent 2,800 hours in the air transporting personnel, cargo and VIPs such as Gen. David Petraeus, commander U.S. Central Command, and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey. The company also transported senators, NFL cheerleaders and others while based at Camp Buehring, Kuwait as part of Task Force Guard Dog.

It was the unit’s second yearlong deployment in the region over the past five years, Jonas said.

Saturday’s celebration drew top Army officers and community officials, including Victorville Mayor Rudy Cabriales.

The Army’s 158th Aviation Regiment has a considerable history.

Activated in July of 1968 at Ft. Carson, Colo., under the command of Maj. Maurice Dougherty, the unit trained for about six months before deploying in Vietnam.

The 158th served as a air assault and transportation unit, attached to the 101st Airborne/Airmobile Division, according to the 158th Web site. Its Bell UH-1 Huey helicopters served in Vietnam until 1972 under the nickname “Ghost Riders.”

Soon, the unti will have a new home and new helicopters, Jonas, 51, said. A helicopter pilot for the Arizona Highway Patrol in civilian life, Jonas said the unit is scheduled to get new helicopters and move to a National Guard base in Los Alamitos this summer.

To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755 or click here.