Photo By Cpl. Terry Wong | U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Billy Molina, a landing support specialist with 3rd...... read more read more
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KIN BLUE, OKINAWA, Japan -- Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, and 3rd Landing Support Battalion, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, conducted ship-to-shore movements to offload gear in support of redeployment from Balikatan 22, an annual joint force exercise in the Republic of the Philippines, at Kin Blue on April 12.
Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369, 3rd MAW, and 3rd LSB waited at Landing Zone Swan, while CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters with HMH-466 were loaded on ship to transport gear from the vessel to Okinawa.
“We utilized an external vertical lift to transport gear and offload a ship in an expeditionary manner,” said Capt. Jacob Dominy, a UH-1Y Venom pilot with HMLA-369. “We are proving that Marines essentially don’t need to dock a ship to offload gear, you can use the CH-53 Super Stallion to transport gear back to land.”
Dominy, a native of Wenonah, New Jersey, explained that this movement falls right in line with the Marine Corps’ goals of being a fast, light and mobile fighting force in the Pacific.
“Within the Pacific, we need to be able to quickly load and unload troops and gear onto our destinations in order to maintain combat effectiveness,” said Dominy. “This further proved that you can successfully deploy and utilize an HMLA squadron onto a Navy ship.”
The movement supported the redeployment from Balikatan 22 by providing the unloading assistance of the vessel strictly using air assets.
“My role was to take care of the back end of this support,” said Lance Cpl. Billy Molina, a landing support specialist with 3rd LSB. “On ship, we had Marines from 3rd LSB attached the gear to the CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter, and my responsibility was to detach and consolidate.”
Molina, a native of Richmond, Texas, explained that the landing support proved that the units could support each other in a smooth and cohesive way. He said that this type of support is his favorite as a landing support specialist, because he gets to be a part of the action and ensure the gear is properly returned.
After the helicopters offloaded the gear and returned to ship, Molina ensured that the slings used to attach the gear were detached and properly returned.
“This type of support was great because you get to work with a bunch of different Marine Corps assets,” said Dominy. “We all worked together to accomplish the mission, and at the end of the day we proved that we are continuing to be a more light and lethal force.”
| Date Taken: | 04.12.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2022 19:41 |
| Story ID: | 418566 |
| Location: | KIN BLUE, OKINAWA, JP |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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