Regiment may lose helicopters/ Pentagon considering plan to replace

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 19, 2000 | by John Diedrich

CAMP DOBOL, BOSNIA - As the military looks to create a faster, lighter force, it is considering removing the Apache attack helicopters, the Army's most lethal aircraft, from the Fort Carson- based 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Col. Christopher Baggott, commander of the 3rd ACR, opposes the possible change, which he learned about in a document from the Pentagon last week. He said he has seen no formal proposal.

The regiment, which is deployed to Bosnia for peacekeeping until October, now has 16 Apaches and about 150 soldiers dedicated to them as pilots, mechanics or other support.

Baggott, speaking at Camp Dobol on Tuesday, said details are sketchy, but it appears the Apaches would be moved elsewhere and the regiment would get more Kiowa Warriors - an armed scout helicopter with less firepower than the Apache.

The move appears to be part of an overall restructuring of the force as the Army tries to be a lighter group able to respond more quickly to regional conflicts. It wasn't clear exactly how moving the Apaches from the regiment might achieve that.

The change in aircraft would take "a tremendous amount of firepower from the regiment," he said. "I hate to see it."

Baggott said if the Apaches go, it would require the regiment to change the way it fights, but said it would continue to be an effective unit.

"Do I think it would be devastating? No," he said.

Eventually, the regiment would get the Army's next generation helicopter, the Commanche, a combination attack and scout helicopter. But that aircraft is not in production, and some think it never will be because of problems found during testing of the craft.

The 5,200-member regiment is unusual in that it uses all three of the major helicopters: the Apache, Kiowa Warrior and Black Hawk.

Add to that the firepower of the M1A2 tank and other ground weapons and the regiment is essentially a self-contained small army that because of the Apache can attack an enemy from far away, Baggott said.

"Under one commander you have great ground forces, air forces and artillery. The synergy is phenomenal," he said.

Baggott, who will relinquish command in June, said he didn't know when a decision would be made about the regiment's Apaches.

Here in Bosnia the Apaches are used to escort ground forces, as a show of force and to monitor Bosnia's armies - sometimes with video cameras - to make sure they're complying with the peace agreement.

About the Apache

The $17 million Apache helicopters have had problems of late. After a successful stint in the Persian Gulf War, none of the Army's 743 Apaches was used in the war over Kosovo because commanders concluded training was insufficient and they feared casualties.

Two soldiers were killed in May when an Apache crashed during military training, the only U.S. troop casualties in the NATO war against Yugoslavia. An investigation never revealed the cause of the crash.

Last November, the Army announced the Apache needed new tail rotor bearings or transmission parts, depending on the model. The faulty parts were linked to a nonfatal training crash in January 1999. Half of the Army's Apaches continued to be grounded as of last month.