Lakota helicopter crew departs to support Southwest border mission - Aug. 27, 2012

Soldiers from the Sandston-based Detachment 1, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 151st Aviation Regiment depart for Texas aboard a UH-72 Lakota helicopter from the Virginia National Guard's Aviation Support Facility Aug. 27. The three-Soldier crew will provide aerial reconnaissance support to the Texas Nationa Guard mission to counter illegal immigration on the Southwest border. Over the next four months, about 20 Soldiers in air crews as well as ground support personnel will rotate through Texas in support of the mission. The Lakota helicopter is equipped with a new Mission Equipment Package that includes a forward centerline-mounted camera system with advanced optics and infrared sensors, a high intensity searchlight, cockpit and cabin touch-screen displays with moving map, a video management system, a digital video recorder and data downlink system, plus an external hoist and additional avionics and communications equipment.