Coming together as a team to train for worst

The New Jersey Army National Guard aviation team tested their ability to move people and equipment to where they are needed in a natural disaster on April 16-17, 2016 at Joint Base-McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. The 150th Assault Helicopter Battalion used a pair of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to airlift 40 members of the New Jersey Task Force 1 urban search and rescue unit from their headquarters on Lakehurst to the range area of JB MDL. Along for the ride were several live-find canines joining the task force volunteers. During the exercise, the aviators sling loaded a box of search and rescue equipment for the New Jersey State Troopers assigned to the Office of Emergency Management. A UH-72 Lakota helicopter from the 1-224th Security and Support Battalion flew overhead to provide aerial reconnaissance for the search and rescue exercise. The weekend event is the first for Operation Derecho as several training exercises are planned for the year. (Photos by 1st Sgt. Kryn Westhoven and Sgt. Jorge Morales)