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Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jay Enders demonstrates the largely digital instrument panel he will use when piloting the UH-72 Lakota for the Washington National Guard. Some of the displays have remained analog for backup. Photo taken at JBLM on Tuesday, June 24, 2014.

Washington National Guard gets new helicopter for first time in five decades
By Adam Ashton
Staff writer
June 24, 2014

After 38 years in the Washington National Guard, 1st Sgt. Brett Jensen received something new for a change.

The citizen soldier belongs to an aviation battalion that’s receiving brand-new helicopters for the first time in five decades. It means the local unit will be able to retire aircraft dating to the Vietnam War era.

“It’s kind of nice being able to see new aircraft in the fleet,” said Jensen, 56, a Tacoma resident who has deployed twice to the Middle East and participated in domestic missions ranging from the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 to the more recent disaster of Hurricane Katrina.

His company in the 1st Battalion, 168th Aviation Regiment is receiving six new UH-72 Lakota helicopters to beef up its resources for stateside emergencies such as landslides and wildfires. The Lakota aircraft are replacing OH-58 Kiowa helicopters.