Photo By Command Sgt. Maj. Ryan Matson | A Pathfinder looks down as he fast ropes from a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during Fast...... read more read more
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We have all seen Special Weapons And Tactics teams fast rope onto a rooftop in a Hollywood movie. But for the Pathfinder Company, the only infantry company attached to the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, and the pilots of 5th Battalion, 101st CAB, fast roping is not a Hollywood stunt, but a technique they may have to employ on a combat mission.
"We try to teach the Soldiers the fundamentals so they can perform a controlled descent down a rope to insert a team in any operation that has limited access, or anything where we're trying to gain an element of surprise," Staff Sgt. Chad Stackpole, a Rope Master with the Pathfinder Company who led the training with Staff Sgt. William Clancy, said. "We wouldn't do this to just go out into the middle of the desert " it would have to be a mission that was well-planned."
He said the method of inserting Soldiers via a fast rope is called the Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction System (FRIES), and it would be employed in a situation which called for Soldiers to get into a tight spot quickly where the aircraft was unable to land. He said it is one of the Pathfinders essential tasks they must stay current on and conduct training on at least every six months.
The Pathfinders and 5th Battalion air crews conducted the four days of FRIES training in the 5th Battalion area on Contingency Operating Base Speicher, Iraq, from June 18 to 21. The training certified all the Pathfinder Soldiers, including interpreters in medics, as fast ropers, as well as 5th Battalion pilots as current FRIES pilots.
Stackpole explained the steps leading up to the fast rope from the helicopter. He said that training started with a Rope Master refresher course to make sure they were all are on the same sheet of music, current with the new Standard Operating Procedure.
"Once we finished that, we conducted ground training with the troops, to get them used to the fundamentals of fast roping," Stackpole said. "We did this before the tower training, to teach them the walk-ins and how to move to the aircraft, teaching them the capabilities, and limitations of fast roping, the time warnings, hand and arm signals, emergencies, and what to expect in the aircraft."
Following ground training, Pathfinders underwent two days of training on the tower, where they practiced secure lockouts and controlled descents with and without equipment on, Stackpole said.
Even though sliding down a rope may seem like a fairly simple task, the pilots and Pathfinders both said there are many risks to this type of operation and it must be executed properly to ensure the safety of the Soldiers and air crew. The aircraft must be at a stable hover to ensure the fast ropers hit their objective safely. The ropers must be comfortable with moving around in the aircraft when that time approaches. The ropers must also descend quickly but under control, watching the area below them, and clear the rope area so as to avoid landing on top of one another and incurring injury there. Stackpole said this becomes more challenging with the additional weight of the Individual Body Armor.
The Rope Master must also send Soldiers down the rope at even interval to ensure safety and proper locking techniques and landings. These techniques must be mastered during tower training before the ropers fast rope from the helicopter. The rope must also stay centered on the objective, Stackpole said. He said he tries to get 10 to 12 Soldiers down the rope safely onto the objective in under a minute.
"There are a lot of risks to doing something like this, and that's why they have this training," Lt. Col. Donald Galli, 5th Battalion commander said.
Communication between the Rope Master and the air crew is also crucial, Stackpole said. Since the crew chiefs are also responsible for maintaining security from possible threats around the area, the Rope Master must also act as almost an extra crew chief, directing the pilots to their precise position above the objective.
"We (the air crew and Rope Master) talk the whole flight and they let us know how far out we are from the objective. That gives us a time warning, and each one means something different to the Soldiers inside the aircraft," Stackpole explained.
"At the "10-minute" warning, everyone starts paying attention, putting their eyes on the Rope Master. At "6-minutes" they're prepping their equipment and making sure everything is alright, again, keeping their eyes on the Rope Master. At "one-minute" chem lights are being pumped. Then they are given the command to "get ready", at which point they undo their safety lines. Before they get the command "go", the pilot starts talking to me. Once he gives me the command "ropes", meaning to drop the rope, he's already at a stabilized hover. The job of the Fast Rope Master then is to ensure the aircraft stays in that one area. If at any point as the Soldiers are fast roping out, the aircraft starts drifting, the Fast Rope Master is responsible for stopping that aircraft and getting it back over the center of the objective, and continue to send the ropers down at that point. He and the crew chief are working hand-in-hand, listening to everything the pilots say on the radio before we cut rope so that we know no troopers below are going to get hit."
Once we finished that, we conducted ground training with the troops, to get them used to the fundamentals of fast roping. We did this before the tower training, to teach them the walk-ins and how to move to the aircraft, teaching them the capabilities, time warnings, hand and arm signals, emergencies, limitations, what to expect in the aircraft."
By the end of training, Pathfinders had qualified as ropers. They performed six controlled descents from the tower, including one without equipment, one with equipment, a static hold or lock without equipment and with equipment. In the static hold, the Soldier must form a teardrop and demonstrate the ability to hold himself for more than five seconds, Stackpole said, and in the lock, they must be able to hold themselves for 20 seconds, he said. The Pathfinders must execute two descents from the tower in combat stacks properly, and five controlled descents from the aircraft, three during the daytime and two at night, with and without equipment. Once all of these requirements have been met, Stackpole said the Soldiers are qualified as a current roper for six months.
The aircrews also qualified by flying the Pathfinders onto the objective and holding a stable hover for the insertion. Chief Warrant Officer Four Troy Mercier, 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, was one of the pilots of five aircrews to qualify during the training. The aircrews conducted several passes over the objective with the Rope Master, practicing approaches, hovers and dropping the rope before Soldiers fast roped from the helicopter.
"This is to get the orientation down and the pattern down that we take to the objective," Mercier said. "We also work on the calls, the time warnings for the Pathfinders so they know how far out we are. Basically the whole training, on our part is timing, getting everything down quickly. You're actually pinpointing and the pilots can't see so we're looking at an area just past the target. We hit that spot, and then it's the job of the crew chiefs to call us in to a tighter spot by calling us back, left or right. Once we give the command of ropes, the Rope Master is the one who says whether we're over the target or further fine tune us A few feet can make a big difference when they're coming down the ropes."
Mercier said flying such an operation is much more challenging under Night Vision Goggles.
"There are less references," he said. Mercier said the instructor pilots qualified first and then qualified the pilots. He said it is one of the numerous tasks pilots qualify on. He said fast rope qualification is a task which requires a greater amount of the ability on the pilot's part. Mercier, a senior pilot, has been qualified on FRIES since 1999.
"I really think this maneuver hones individuals, especially younger aviators because it takes more concentration and it takes more ability than some other tasks," he said. "I think it takes you to the next level as an aviator. There is also a necessity for the mission when you can't find landing zones."
Pfc. Todd Davis, Pathfinder Company, had never fast roped before the training.
"We learned to use our hands," Davis said. "I also learned that if you do everything right, nobody gets hurt. It's a fast way to get down to the ground."
He said getting the correct form down, and learning to fight against the instincts to do something wrong and properly slow down on the rope, was the most challenging part
of the training. He added employing the fundamentals on the helicopter was his favorite part.
"I liked the first time we did it off the bird," Davis said. "The first time you go through and you see if you do everything right and get a good landing, you don't get hurt. I didn't get hurt, I'm still walking."
"It was good training. It's another thing that I know how to do now, that all our NCOs knew how to do. So if we have to do it, I'm confident I can do it."
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 06.27.2006 10:36 |
| Story ID: | 6963 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 69 |
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