Korean Information Service, The United States Forces in Korea (USFK) will consolidate its helicopter units into a single, multifunctional aviation brigade by June as part of its troop relocation plan, a U.S. military newspaper published in Seoul said on Monday (May 9).
The Stars and Stripes reported that the USFK will ?merge its helicopter assets into a single and all-purpose aviation unit,? including all types of military helicopters except for those designed for special operations work, in mid-June.
The main purpose of creating the integrated aviation unit is to make it easier for commanders to manage helicopter forces and to mix them for short-term battle tasks, it said.
The envisaged consolidated unit will include Apache Longbow attack helicopters, UH-60 Blackhawks, C-12 Hurons and CH-47 Chinooks as a multifunctional aviation brigade, or MFAB, according to the paper.
The U.S. army adopted the MFAB concept about two years ago and has already formed several integrated units. The MFAB will make it easier for commanders to pull together the various aviation types into a ?unit of action,? a term referring to the U.S. army's future rapid action combat group, it quoted U.S. officers as saying.
As part of efforts, the USFK announced in April it will close down the 17th Aviation Brigade on June 16. Some of the units will be relocated to the U.S., while the remaining units will become part of the 6th Cavalry, currently stationed at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, it said.
