A few months into their deployment, an opportunity presented itself to embed with 1ACB across the US Army establishments in Bavaria for a week long period. Being in January the weather was incredibly cold, changeable and unpredictable, but thankfully it produced a number of unforgettable experiences. I haven't shared much of these images until now, so after nearly two years its about time they broke cover:
Storck Barracks
The first appointment saw us visit the main operating base of Storck Barracks, Illesheim to speak with the Brigade's leadership who explained their mission and commitments whilst deployed to Europe. Illesheim hosts the majority of air frames on these rotations, although nearby Ansbach will also take on some of the deployed forces. Illesheim however is the maintenance hub, so all air frames requiring minor/major or phase maintenance will end up at Storck Barracks at some stage. During the day flying was limited due to weather in the area, going from sunny spells to hail, snow and thunder storms but they managed to get some air frames up between weather fronts.
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USAG Grafenwöhr Training Area
Day two and three was due to be spent at a forward operating location deep into the Grafenwöhr Training Area where AH-64Es of the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion were scheduled to be undertaking gunnery courses. Unfortunately severe weather meant flying was all but scrubbed and no live firing would take place, however our hosts were still keen to take us to the location and speak with the crews and support units. Thankfully this did go ahead and it allowed some very unique shots of the Apaches in somewhat harsh conditions, surreal as they were mid blizzard, probably should have stowed equipment at that point.
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USAG Hohnefels
The final location saw us at JMRC Hohenfels where Exercise Allied Spirit VIII was underway. Whilst 1ACB were the only airborne force supporting the exercise, a number of International ground based units were involved which saw the US Army honing their interoperability skills across the battlefield be it troop movements, close air support, fat cow refuelling and Medevac missions. The day once again started without much promise after a few inches of snow had set during the early hours, however the clouds parted and sun broke through creating some of the most incredible shooting conditions I've witnessed:
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Sorry for the amount, thanks for sticking with it if you've made it this far and of course thanks for looking.
. Love them all, but nr.12 is especially nice imho.