Founded in 1981, the U.S. Army’s Special Operations Air Regiment was created in response to the failure of operation Eagle Claw, an attempt to free the American hostages held in Tehran during the 1980 hostage crisis. During a prestigious 35-year long career, the 160th SOAR(A) has operated in combat deployments to dozens of hotspots, including Grenada, Panama, Kuwait, the Persian Gulf, Chad, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and more. The highly skilled aviators of 160th SOAR are fully mission qualified on a number of highly capable attack and assault airframes, such as the MH-60M Blackhawk, MH/AH-6M Little Birds, and MH-47G Chinook helicopters. Pilots are drawn from the best units that U.S. Army aviation has to offer, receiving grueling additional training to forge them into a level of excellence required by USSOCOM.
While the capabilities of these aircrews and airframes are vast, they require a number of extremely skilled and dedicated crews in order to be a realistically and effectively portrayed unit in Arma 3. Taking on the image of such a prestigious unit brings a number of responsibilities and expectations which here in Seal Team 3 take pride in instilling into our regimen for aviators. Aviators in our unit are well-trained and uniquely qualified for the operations in which we test our operational capabilities.
A fresh Warrant Officer Candidate (WOC) will begin their career as a 003A Student Warrant Officer where he or she will learn the basics of their role as a Warrant Officer in the Army operational environment and will be inducted into the Warrant Officer Flight Training (WOFT) Program. Training will begin with SERE School followed by Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training (IERW) which includes four phases: Pre-Flight Instruction, Primary Flight Training (Contact Training), Instrument Training, and Basic Warfighter Skills. Upon selection of airframes, Advance Flight Training begins and candidates are trained for specific mission and operations. After graduating as a 153A Army Aviator and promotion to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1), the aviator will be assigned to either our Attack or Assault Helicopter Section (Renegade 1 and Renegade 2 respectively). To be Fully Mission Qualified, a WO1 will be required to complete the Green Platoon course and intensive flight training with 160th SOAR package which involves a three-tiered training phase. To be capable of operating in any situation and in any environment with various airframes indeed requires highly motivated and dedicated individuals.
While the 160th SOAR(A), “Silver Bullet Package” strives for excellence in all levels, we also find an equal importance in the camaraderie and bonds that are formed amongst aviators and SEALS. In order to operate well as a crew, aviators must understand how to work efficiently and cooperatively as a team to successfully perform a number of mission essential tasks. Therefore, we require an unmatched level of discipline, professionalism and respect for rank and the chain of command during training and operations. That said, we allow and encourage a much more casual atmosphere outside of operations i.e. in Teamspeak/casual gaming.
The 160th SOAR(A) “Silver Bullet Package” currently operates in conjunction with Seal Team THREE, Troop 4. Working cooperatively in Field Training Exercises and Deployments we achieve a level of confidence and trust between everyone. Although we may train separately, working together with the SEALS allows us to better hone our skills as aviators in our Aerial Support. Whether it be eliminating targets in danger close fire missions with laser-guided munitions or deploying SEALS under the cover of darkness and poor weather conditions. The 160th SOAR “Silver Bullet Package” is a demanding unit, and requires individuals that will go beyond, as an Army Aviator with SEAL Team THREE it is a great payoff and fun for our members.
