Army Guard aviators team up with NY forest rangers for helicopter firefighting training Eric Durr and Sgt. Andrew Valenza for the New York National Guard | May 12, 2021 Estimated reading time 8 minutes, 17 seconds. New York and Connecticut Army National Guard UH-60 aircrews teamed up with New York Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers to hone their helicopter wildfire fighting skills during an exercise in Colonie, New York using the Mohawk River as a water source and target. New York Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jake Pratt, assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 142nd Aviation and a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Ranger exit a UH-60 during helicopter firefighting training over the Mohawk River in Colonie, New York on May 6, 2021. Aircrews based at the Albany International Airport in Latham, New York, teamed up with aviators from the Connecticut Army National Guard and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers, to conduct the training in preparation for the summer wildfire season. Sgt. Andrew Valenza for U.S. Army National Guard Photo