Photo By Staff Sgt. John Crampton | U.S. Airmen and guests capture the first assault landing on Bemiss Landing Zone in two...... read more read more
Subscribe
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The 71st Rescue Squadron conducted assault landing training with HC-130J Combat King II aircraft at Bemiss Landing Zone for the first time in almost two years at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, May 20, 2021.
The 23d Civil Engineer Squadron coordinated approximately $400,000 in repairs to reestablish the landing zone, allowing the 71st RQS to bring back crucial training capabilities.
“This project came about because some of the rock was coming loose from the old existing surface and it was damaging the aircraft,” said Joey Vaughn, 23d CES civil engineer. “It needed to be brought back up to standard.”
Having the Bemiss Landing Zone operational again allows pilots to get invaluable experience with unconventional landings and gives them the opportunity to obtain unimproved landing qualification, a necessary skill for conducting missions in austere environments.
“We're providing more capability for Air Combat Command, not just in a deployed scenario, but even in a civil emergency,” said Capt. Will Berryhill, 71st RQS Support Flight commander and HC-130J Combat King II pilot. “We don’t always have airports to land at. If we need to find somewhere to do a quick survey and then try to land, having this (capability) gives us that agility and flexibility over the course of any major operation.”
The phrase, “practice makes perfect,” rings true for pilots, and assault landings involve more variables than landing on a typical runway. For Berryhill and his teammates, this training strengthens their ability to prioritize Agile Combat Employment.
“Having something like this in our backyard is huge,” Berryhill said. “Big, solid, runways are easy, but the practice of landing on dirt or gravel makes us significantly better aviators.”
Rescue pilots face varying obstacles from mission to mission, and having the skills to navigate obstacles can be the difference between life and death.
“When Puerto Rico was hit by hurricanes, the small islands didn’t always have a place for us to land,” Berryhill said. “Pilots were finding places to do a quick survey, trying to land somewhere and provide supplies. Whether in a civil or in a combat scenario, we ensure we have that capability and it's not something that's going to surprise us when we don't have those runways anymore.”
| Date Taken: | 05.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 05.25.2021 16:21 |
| Story ID: | 397278 |
| Location: | VALDOSTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 40 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 23 CES revives runway, facilitates pilot training for 71 RQS, by SSgt John Crampton, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
