Photo By Cpl. Paul S. Martinez | A Marine student with the Expeditionary Operations Training Group conducts a fast-rope...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - When a Marine needs to get to the fight, quickly, fast-roping out of a helicopter may be the best option. For Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 167, ensuring Marines acquire this skill is a priority.
Marines with HMLA-167 supported the Expeditionary Operations Training Group in their Helicopter Rope Suspension Techniques Master Course at Landing Zone Bluebird, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Oct. 21, 2015.
This type of training provides Marines with the ability to conduct helicopter insertions and extractions where helicopter landings are impractical.
The students in the course are within their "air phase" of the curriculum, previously practicing their rope techniques in towers before applying them to aircraft. The squadron's crewmembers provided one UH-1Y Venom helicopter for them to fast-rope out of.
"We are getting evaluated on rigging the aircraft with the rope and properly deploying it down to insert on our objective," said Capt. Tebias Mason, a reconnaissance platoon commander and student in the course.
Once the Venom touched ground at the landing zone, Marines quickly got on board and set up their line. Master instructors in the helicopter and on the ground supervised and evaluated them as they descended one by one while the helicopter hovered above a landing zone from a height of approximately 50 feet.
In addition to fast-rope, employing rappelling techniques has also been a focus of the course.
The training evolution allowed the crew to become proficient in their realm of responsibility.
"I'm learning how to work in a different environment, and in the future it might be faster paced, but I will have a better understanding of how to do it," said Lance Cpl. Joseph Valesey, a crew chief with HMLA-167. "It's good to have exposure of the HRST masters and to see how the training evolution goes."
The HRST master's primary responsibility is the overall safety of all ropers and the conduct and safety of the HRST operation.
The students are slated to apply their techniques to two additional Marine Corps aircraft: the CH-53E Super Stallion and MV-22B Osprey. Upon completion of the course, they will be officially HRST certified.
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 10.26.2015 09:42 |
| Story ID: | 179921 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 263 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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