NY Army Guard aviators share air assault tips with Swedish counterparts

LINKOPING SWEDEN—Four New York Army National Guard aviators spent August 25-26 sharing the ins and outs of U.S. Army air assault doctrine with members of the Swedish Air Force’s 2nd Helicopter Battalion headquartered at Malmen Air Base outside of Linkoping, Sweden.

The visit was part of the State Partnership Program relationship the New York National Guard has had with Sweden’s military since 2024.

The leaders of the 2nd Helicopter Battalion (Helikopterbataljonen in Swedish) asked the New Yorkers for help because they’ve never trained to conduct air assault operations, said Lt. Col. Eric Fritz, the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Air Assault Battalion.

The battalion flies the UH-60M and has two companies of ten Black Hawks each in New York, as well as another company with detachments in Maine and Connecticut.

The Swedes, who operate 16 UH-60Ms organized into two battalions, have only trained to conduct air movement operations, along with casualty evacuation, and special forces support, Fritz explained.

While each branch of the United States armed forces operates their own helicopters, the 2 Swedish Air Force’s helicopter battalions operate aircraft that support the Swedish army and navy, as well.

Air movement is a logistical function, according to U.S. doctrine. Troops and equipment are configured for efficient transport from place to place beyond the range of enemy fires.

Air assault, on the other hand, involves moving troops forward of the front line into hostile fire to seize key terrain. Troops are ready to fight when they land, and electronic warfare, counterfires, suppression of enemy air defenses, and air and ground fire support must be coordinated according to Army doctrine.

Now that Sweden is integrating with NATO, the Swedish helicopter wing wants to learn how the U.S. Army does it, Fritz said.

It takes 96 hours to plan, synchronize, and execute an air assault, Fritz said. These missions involve extensive air space management as well as coordination with ground forces, he said.

This is new to their Swedish counterparts, Fritz said.

Lt. Col. Chris Gagliario, the commander of the 642nd Aviation Support Battalion, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Milton Mercado, the command chief warrant officer of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade, and Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Hermanson, the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade survivability officer, joined him in briefing and fielding questions, Fritz said.

The discussions involved integrating air and ground forces, mission planning, mission command, risk management and aircraft survivability and “ the synchronization required to successfully execute complex air assault missions,” Fritz said.

The Americans prepared about four hours’ worth of briefing materials, Fritz said. Most of the time was taken up in answering questions and discussions.

“This engagement was about more than presenting U.S. Army doctrine,” he said. “ It was an opportunity to build trust between the Soldiers and Airmen involved.”

“It was very, very worthwhile,” he added.

“ We learned the differences between the way we operate and the way they operate; their culture, how they interact and how capable they are,” Fritz said.

The next step in the relationship will be to host members of the wing’s Airmen in 2027 when the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation conducts air assault training with New York’s 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Fritz said.

“The goal would be to host a couple of pilots, maybe a planner and some maintainers,” he said.

“The Sweden visit was an important first step toward ad partnership designed to endure,” Fritz said.

While the Swedish and New York helicopter aviators had a lot in common, there were differences, Fritz said.

Sweden still has a draft, so the helicopter wing has to integrate short-term conscripts into their force, he said. That is not an issue the New York Army Guard faces.

Also, in the U.S. Army the helicopter company commander “owns” the aircraft and controls them, Fritz said. In Sweden, the maintenance commander “owns” the aircraft, and they are released to the tactical commander, he explained. That, he said, was different.

The Guardsman were also on hand while the Swedish Air Force celebrated its 100th year at the Malmen Air Base with a “Jubilee Air Show” on August 22.

Sweden’s armed forces have been reaching out to the New York National Guard for information and ideas as they work to integrate into the NATO alliance.

Swedish Soldiers visited the 42nd Infantry Division during a Warfighter exercise conducted before the division’s Soldiers deployed in 2025. Swedish Airmen have spent time with members of the New York Air Guard’s 174th Attack Wing and 106th Rescue Wing, and Swedish sailors and Marines have observed New York Naval Militia training on the Niagara River.

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.