CARSON CITY – A Nevada Army Guard CH-47D Chinook helicopter grounded permanently by the U.S. Army due to structural damage caused by bullet holes in its hull following 27 months of missions in Afghanistan is set to take to the sky once again above the Army Aviation Support Facility in Reno – this time as the static display addition to the Mustang 22 Memorial located at 20000 Army Aviation Drive.

Construction on the addition officially began today and was marked by a groundbreaking ceremony. The display addition is set to be in place within a few weeks and will display Chinook Tail No. 200 in an aft-gear landing position. Tail No. 200 was not with D Company in 2005 but it was flown by the Nevada Army Guard’s Bravo Company, 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion, during its 2012 deployment in Afghanistan.

Mustang 22 was the call sign for the Nevada Army Guard’s Chinook that was shot down in Afghanistan on September 25, 2005. Five Soldiers died in the rocket-propelled grenade attack on the helicopter, including the Nevada Army Guard’s Chief Warrant Officer 3 John Flynn and Sgt. Patrick Stewart.

There will be no taxpayer funds used on the project. Pallett Construction of Virginia City is donating the majority of the labor and materials for the project. The Mustang 22 Memorial non-profit organization paid for the painting and refurbishment of Tail No. 200. The display, which should be completed within a few months, will join the already existing portion of the memorial dedicated on Sept. 25, 2010.

Photo captions:

From left, Kyle Pellett, Steve Stewart, retired Chief Warrant Officer Sean Laycox, Christie Pierce and Col. Matt Jonkey participate in a groundbreaking ceremony in Reno, Nev., on Monday, April 15, 2024, to mark the start of construction of the Mustang 22 Chinook Static Display addition to the Mustang 22 Memorial. Kyle Pellett’s company, Pellett Construction of Virginia City, is set to donate labor and materials to the project; Stewart is the father of Sgt. Patrick Stewart who died in the 2005 attack; Laycox is the treasurer of the Mustang 22 Memorial non-profit organization; Pierce is the spouse of CW3 John Flynn who died in the 2005 attack; Col. Matt Jonkey is the Nevada Army Guard’s State Army Aviation officer and was deployed with D Company in 2005.

State Army Aviation Officer Col. Matt Jonkey discusses the addition of the Chinook Static Display to the Mustang 22 Memorial on Monday, April 15, in Reno, Nevada. Jonkey was deployed with D Company in 2005 when Mustang 22 was shot down in Zabul Province, Afghanistan.

Recently repainted and refurbished Nevada Army Guard CH-47D Chinook helicopter Tail No. 200 is set to become the Chinook static display addition to the Mustang 22 Memorial located at 22000 Army Aviation Drive in Reno.

The addition, as shown in an artist’s rendering, will display Nevada Army Guard CH-47D Chinook Tail No. 200 in an aft-gear landing position. The position is often used in combat zones for the quick insertion of troops onto the battle zone.