This will be the 1159th’s second trip to the High Altitude Army Aviation Training Site, which is operated by the Colorado Army National Guard and is the Army's premiere helicopter school specializing in mountain flying. The Detachment will deploy two Blackhawk helicopters and 19 unit members to Eagle, Colo., to attend three weeks of training in one of the most challenging flight environments in the continental United States. 1159th aircrews and aircraft will be flying in mountainous rough terrain conditions at altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 14,000 feet, conditions that cannot be found or duplicated anywhere else in the country. Graduating from the course gives helicopter pilots the knowledge to operate their aircraft routinely and safely at maximum gross weight in any type of environment. This training is critical for the Detachment as it prepares for a New Horizons mission to Panama in Feb 2003. The altitudes at which the 1159th will train in Colorado are similar to the ones they will encounter in Panama.

The 1159th Medical Company was instrumental in the recovery operations following the attacks on the World Trade Center. On Sept. 11 and the following days, pilots and crews from the 1159th flew FBI, FEMA, and other federal and state agency teams in support of Ground Zero recovery operations.