SSG Alton Poole
U.S. Army Aviation
Spec Ops 2001-2004
Alton Poole is an Iowa state certified police officer who is assigned to the Community Outreach Unit for the University of Iowa, Department of Public Safety. Poole started his career in Law Enforcement in 1991 with the Iowa State University Police before joining UIDPS in 1999. Over the course of his career, he has been certified as a Defensive Tactics instructor, Forensics Investigator, Interview and Interrogation, Hostage Negotiation, Sex Crime Unit, Field Training Officer, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED), Crime Prevention Specialist, and Critical Incident Counselor under the purview of Dr. Gene Deisinger. [Dr. Deisinger was a founding member of the Iowa State University Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT)—this multi-disciplinary team served as a pro-active planning group and coordinated institutional responses during crisis situations.]
He has also been an active member of the Iowa Army National Guard since 1989. His experiences include: being a combat skills instructor for the Army Special Operations Aviation Regiment while on active duty; Black Hawk helicopter section chief and technical inspector; Equal Opportunity representative; and, Headquarters Department of the Army “Sexual Harassment & Assault Rape Prevention—SHARP” advocate.
As an E-4, SM Gabbard took special interest in a training program he inherited and redesigned called REP-63. He told Poole, “I’m going to keep my eye on you. If this program continues to be a success, I’m implementing it state wide.” SM Gabbard subsequently implemented the program state-wide after bolstering a 100% success rate with our soldiers graduating basic training. The program would eventually be called RSP.
In 2001, Poole deployed and became associated with a premier unit, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He became an ambassador between the Iowa National Guard and the 160th by volunteering to become a special operations combat skills instructor for the 160th “Green Platoon.” He was their first National Guard instructor in the history of the unit. Becoming an instructor for the 160th and aiding to train our guard Soldiers in Green Platoon gained their trust and confidence. Poole helped instruct the largest special ops class in the history of the unit. This rapport ultimately allowed the B Co. 109th to forward deploy and aid 160th missions. B Co. 109th was only home for three months following deployment before they were activated yet again. The 160th specifically requested the unit get reassigned to them for another year.
2013 marked another remarkable deployment/experience. B Co. 248th ASB was deployed for a United Nations peace keeping mission to Kosovo—they were the maintenance company for Multinational Battle Group-East's Southern Command Post. Poole was assigned as the unit’s historian, and he was assigned as the maintenance platoon sergeant, as an E-6. Our unit hit milestones never obtained in the history of Kosovo assignments at Camp Bondsteel air field. The unit was recognized and published in Army magazine in an article titled, “MNBG-E's aviation company reaches for record-setting maintenance” for outstanding maintenance.) “The helicopter mechanics have exceeded many key milestones that were achieved by their Kosovo Force predecessors. B Company has increased the percentage of flying hours, an hour allocation that aviation units can fly, by over 17 percent from previous rotations. They also have to balance keeping aircraft mission-capable when other aircraft are in phased maintenance, a process called bank time. The company's record in balancing mission-capable aircraft with aircraft in maintenance has also increased nearly 35 percent.” The unit also achieved 100 percent mission ready ACFT availability and flew all of the ACFT at the same time.
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