JBLM helicopter squadron is shut down, at least for now

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http://www.thenewstribune.com/2014/08/14/3331346/jblm-helicopter-squadron-is-shut.html?sp=/99/296/331/354/



Command Sgt. Maj. Stanley Williams, center, folds up the 4-6 Attack Reconnaissance Squadron's flag during the inactivation and colors casing ceremony at JBLM on Thursday. The 7th Infantry Division's Col. Paul Bontrager, left, holds the flag while Lt. Col. Brian Watkins, right, helps during colors casing.

JBLM helicopter squadron is shut down, at least for now
By Ryan Tarinelli
Staff writer
August 14, 2014

It was a bittersweet goodbye for aviators and family members of a helicopter squadron Thursday morning at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

They gathered to remember the legacy of the 4-6 Attack Reconnaissance Squadron— part of a U.S. Cavalry outfit, known as the “Fighting Sixth,” that dates back to the Civil War. And they witnessed the retirement of the squadron’s colors at an inactivation ceremony at Watkins Field.

The squadron is the first to be disbanded as part of a five-year plan to phase out all OH-58 Kiowa helicopters in the Army. It’s also part of a larger postwar force reduction at JBLM that has resulted in the loss of one of the base’s 4,500-soldier Stryker brigades and a 500-soldier artillery battalion. Even deeper cuts may lie ahead.

“We will have to make changes, and realign soldiers and equipment to meet the needs of our nation,” said Col. Paul Bontrager, deputy commander of JBLM’s 7th Infantry Division, while addressing the crowd Thursday.