DART gets helicopters back in the air
Story by U.S. Army Capt. Randy Ready
4th Public Affairs Detachment
O
ne of Kosovo Forces most
important capabilities is
being able to move KFOR
soldiers by air to quickly
respond to any threat to a safe and
secure environment or freedom of
movement throughout Kosovo.
The responsibility of ensuring
Multinational Battle Group-East’s
helicopters remain operational to carry
out this mission falls on Detachment 2,
Company B, 638th Aviation Support
Battalion.
On Aug. 21, the unit was put to the test
when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter
had to make a precautionary landing
at Camp Prizren due to an engine fault
PG 6
light. To get the aircraft back in the air,
the company turned to the Downed
Aircraft Recovery Team.
U.S. Army Master Sgt. Derrick
Kuhns, the Det. 2, Co. B, 638th
ASB Production Control and DART
Noncommissioned Of?cer in Charge,
said the DART provides a mobile
maintenance capability that enables
disabled aviation assets a path to return
to service.
“[The DART’s] mission is to recover
aircraft and put them into a ?yable state
to recover it back to its home station,”
said Kuhns, an Indiana National
Guardsman and a native of Carmel,
Ind.
Kuhns said the DART is not made up
of speci?c soldiers; rather the team’s
personnel depend on each individual
incident. The situation will determine
which soldiers, tools and repair parts
they will need. Other factors, such as
the security of the location the aircraft
is in, will also impact the DART’s
mission.
In Prizren, it was quickly determined
that the helicopter’s engine was going
to have to be replaced. Though the
aircraft was on a secure base, the
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