Photo By Capt. James Stenger | A CH-53E Super Stallion hauls away a railroad beam that used a training tool during a...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJUNE, N.C. - The nine-vehicle convoy broke through the clearing, and the Marines began setting up their security perimeter.
Time was short, and the helicopter was already on its way as 31 Marines with Transportation Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 6, 2nd Marine Logistics Group brought their vehicles to a halt at the edge of Landing Zone Bluebird here, Feb. 28.
They had spent the last week conducting a series of training exercises before setting out on their mission. They ran drills to hone their ability to secure landing areas and conducted convoy operations to prepare for possible improvised explosive devices along their route.
“We’re working nonstop and staying on our toes,” said Lance Cpl. Justin T. Barrett, a motor transportation operator with the battalion and native of Byron, N.Y. “We have a lot of Marines who just got out of the school house. It’s good for them to get out here and learn what it’s like to be in the field.”
Their final lesson of the exercise was a first for many of the Marines at the landing zone as the rotor blades of the CH-53E Super Stallion thundered over the tree canopy.
“You need to remember that’s a Marine up there,” said Capt. Mike Hilleary, a joint terminal attack controller with CLB-6, as he explained the procedures for conducting helicopter support missions. “He may be a pilot. He may be a major or a lieutenant colonel. It doesn’t matter. His job is to save you, help you and support you.”
Landing support specialists with Combat Logistics Regiment 27, 2nd MLG raced to connect the helicopter with a simulated cargo load.
The Marines with CLB-6 observed as the crew guided the helicopter over the field and used hand and arm signals to lower the bird over a large metal beam.
It was a vital learning point for the Marines with CLB-6, who will likely need to set up and conduct their own landing zones during their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, said 2nd Lt. Jarrod C. Birney, the convoy’s commander.
“This will give us a baseline,” said Birney, a native of Topeka, Kan. “We haven’t been able to see specifically what they do to set up. We have a concept of what they do and go through, but since we haven’t seen it, that’s all it is – a concept.”
Hilleary helped put the Marines’ concept of helicopter support missions into practice. He emphasized the essential elements for a landing zone: accessibility, security and terrain, as well as taught the Marines how to interact with the helicopter above.
“He’s going as fast as he can to get to us,” said Hilleary, a native of Manassas, Va. “If you’re talking on the radio to that guy, your job is to make sure he’s safe. He’s relying on you.”
It falls to the Marines on the ground to select a safe area, suppress enemy activity, and guide the pilot to the desired location. These tasks may fall to the Marines with CLB-6 during their time in Afghanistan.
Constant communication is the key to a successful mission, said Hilleary. The pilot needs to know what the situation on the ground is like and exactly where the landing crew needs him.
The area also needs to be cleared of dangerous debris, which can be whipped across the landing field by the helicopter’s rotor wash.
“In the heat of the moment and combat, this guy is going to help you,” Hilleary said. “That’s his sole purpose in the world – to support you.”
The Super Stallion flared as it neared the ground. A gust of wind and debris slammed into the landing crew as they fought to maintain their footing and communicate with the pilots above.
The 31 Marines watched as the ground team strapped the metal beam to the underside of the CH-53E. The bird rose into the sky, gently bucked and yawed against the wind, and sailed back over the treetops.
The convoy crew boarded their vehicles, pulled in the security posts, and rolled out of the landing zone.
| Date Taken: | 03.07.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2013 22:02 |
| Story ID: | 103123 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 142 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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