Rotor Review Fall 2018 #142

Fall 2018 NUMBER 142

Tactical Evolution:

What Do We Know Now That We Didn’t Know Then?

Also in this Issue: Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join Up Coast Guard Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam Deployment: A Junior Officer’s Perspective

Tactical Evolution: What do we know now that we didn’t know then?

Aug. 11, 2005 - A Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) stands by as an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron One Five (HM-15), tows a MK-105 Magnetic Influence Minesweeping System near the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD 5), off the coast of Panama as part of PANAMAX 2005. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate Airman Jeremy L. Grisham.

FOCUS

TACTICAL EVOLUTION - What Do We Know Now That We Didnt Know Then?

Complex Mine Warfare Training Complete in RIMPAC SOCAL MC2 Curtis D. Spencer, USN........................................................................34 Romeos Down Under LCDR John “Senator” Edwards, USN..........................................................35 A Hidden Danger Mike Hixenbaugh and Jason Paladino...........................................................36 2005 - Hurricane Katrina: Response and Lessons Learned John “Bear” Moseley, CGAA Historian .......................................................42

Fall 2018 ISSUE 142

Why Military Aircraft Maintenance Data is Becoming More Valuable CAPT Joe Beel, USN (Ret.) ..........................................................................48

FEATURES

From bow and arrow to hellfire missile: a look at tactical evolution through an artist’s eyes.

TW-5 Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join-Up 2018................................22

Cover design LT Joseph “Nightcrawler” Cusick, USN, HSM-75

Deployment: A Junior Officer’s Perspective LT Jonathan Kokot, USN ...............................................................................28 New Naval Aviator Career Path Announced Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs.........................................................30

R o t o r R ev i ew ( I S S N : 1 0 8 5 - 9 6 8 3 ) is published quarterly by the Naval Helicopter Association, Inc. (NHA), a California nonprofit (501 c6) corporation.

NHA is located in Building 654, Rogers Road, NASNI, San Diego, CA 92135.Views expressed in Rotor Review are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies of NHA or United States Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Rotor Review is printed in the USA. Periodical rate postage is paid at San Diego, CA. Subscription to Rotor Review is included in the NHA or corporate membership fee. A current corporation annual report, prepared in accordance with Section 8321 of the California Corporation Code, is available on the NHA website at www. navalhelicopterassn.org. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Naval Helicopter Association, P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578.

Rotor Review is intended to support the goals of the association, provide a forum for discussion and exchange of information on topics of interest to the rotary wing community and keeps member ship informed of NHA activities. As necessary, the President of NHA will provide guidance to the Rotor Review Editorial Board to ensure the Rotor Review content continues to support this statement of policy as the Naval Helicopter Association adjusts to the expanding and evolving Rotary Wing Community.

Carrier Strike Group 1 Welcomes New Commander LTJG Kristina Wiedemann, USN, Carl Vinson Strike Group Public Affairs ...................................................................................................31 Helicopter Crew Takes Command of VT-3 LT Austin B. Butler, USN ...............................................................................32

HISTORY Helicopter Firsts

The First U.S. Navy Helicopter Pilot:

CDR Charles T. Booth, II, USN

CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.).......................................................50

Bell’s First and Last Tandem Helicopter

By LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)................................................51

Helicopter History

Preserving the History and Heritage of Naval Aviation

National Naval Aviation Museum...................................................57

Navy Helicopter Association (NHA) Founders CAPT A.E. Monahan, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mark R. Starr, USN (Ret.) CAPT A.F. Emig, USN (Ret.) Mr. H. Nachlin CDR H.F. McLinden, USN (Ret.) CDR W. Straight, USN (Ret.) CDR P.W. Nicholas, USN (Ret.) CDR D.J. Hayes, USN (Ret.) CAPT C.B. Smiley, USN (Ret.) CAPT J.M. Purtell, USN (Ret.) CDR H.V. Pepper, USN (Ret.)

©2017 Naval Helicopter Association, Inc., all rights reserved

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DEPARTMENTS

Editorial Staff

Chairman’s Brief ..................................................................................... 5 In Review ................................................................................................. 6 Letters to the Editors ............................................................................ 7 From the Organization .......................................................................... 8 In the Community ..................................................................................10 Movie Night ............................................................................................66

Bridges at Toko Ri

Reviewed by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.) Book Review ...........................................................................................67

Endurance - A Year in Space a Lifetime of Discovery by CAPT

Scott Kelly, USN (Ret.)

Reviewed by CDR Jen Evanko, USN (Ret.) Industry and Technology

The Firefighting Phrog

Skip Robinson.................................................................................14

FreeFlight Sensor To Provide ADS-B Position Source for HH­-60G Helicopter Fleet FreeFlight Press Release ................................................................16

Leonardo: Single-Engine TH-119 Packs Twin-Engine Punch For US Navy Trainer Dan Parsons....................................................................................17

From Boneyard to Brand New: Outside Contractor Gives New Life to H-53 Helos Jen Judson ......................................................................................18

Useful Information

NAVCENT Sailors Participate in Prototype Wear Test

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin J. Steinberg,

USN. U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs .................................................19

Navy Personnel Command Customer Service Center Expands Operations Hours Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs ....................................20

Squadron Reunions .....................................................................................56 Radio Check .................................................................................................58 Combat SAR

Coast Guard Helicopter Pilots in Vietnam Part 2

LCDR Tom Phillips, USN (Ret.)......................................................52 Change of Command .................................................................................62 There I Was

One Great Day, One Awesome Tour

LCDR Chris “Rexy” Yost, USN.....................................................64 Pulling Chocks .............................................................................................65 Funny but True

Harry Carry and the Great Pig Hunt

CAPT Mike Reber, USN (Ret.) ......................................................68

Never Done This Before

AFCM Bruce Browne, USN (Ret)...................................................69 Around the Regions .................................................................................71 Command Updates ......................................................................................72 Engaging Rotors ...........................................................................................84 Signal Charlie ...............................................................................................86

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Editor-in-Chief LT Shane Brenner, USN shane.brenner@navy.mil Managing Editor Allyson Darroch loged@navalhelicopterassn.org Creative Editor LT Drew Cusick, USN joseph.a.cusick@navy.mil NHA Photographer Raymond Rivard Copy Editors CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.) helopapa71@gmail.com LT Adam Schmidt, USN adam.c.schmidt@navy.mil CAPT Jill Votaw, USNR (Ret.) jvotaw@san.rr.com Aircrew Editors AWR1Broc "GG" Fournier, USN broc.fournier@navy.mil AWS1 Adrian Jarrin, USN mrjarrin.a@gmail.com HSC Editors LT Christa Batchelder, USN (HSC West) christa.batchelder@navy.mil LT Greg Westin, USN (HSC East) gregory.westin@navy.mil HSM Editors LT Chris Campbell, USN christopher.m.campbe@navy.mil LT Nick Oberkrom, USN nicholas.r.oberkrom@navy.mil USMC Editor Capt Jeff Snell, USMC jeffrey.p.snell@usmc.mil USCG Editors LT Marco Tinari, USCG Marco.M.Tinari@uscg.mil LT Doug Eberly, USCG douglas.a.eberly@uscg.mil Technical Advisor LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.) chipplug@hotmail.com Historian CDR Joe Skrzypek, USN (Ret.) 1joeskrzypek1@gmail.com Editors Emeriti Wayne Jensen - John Ball - John Driver Sean Laughlin - Andy Quiett - Mike Curtis Susan Fink - Bill Chase - Tracey Keefe Maureen Palmerino - Bryan Buljat - Gabe Soltero Todd Vorenkamp - Steve Bury - Clay Shane Kristin Ohleger - Scott Lippincott - Allison Fletcher Ash Preston - Emily Lapp - Mallory Decker Caleb Levee Historians Emeriti CAPT Vincent Secades,USN (Ret.) CDR Lloyd Parthemer,USN (Ret.)

www.navalhelicopterassn.org

Naval Helicopter Association, Inc.

Corporate Members Our thanks to our corporate members for their strong support of Rotary Wing Aviation through their membership.

Correspondence and Membership P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578 (619) 435-7139 National Officers President.......................................CAPT(Sel)Brannon Bickel, USN Vice President…...…………...............CAPT Sean Rocheleau, USN Executive Director........................CAPT Bill Personius, USN, (Ret.) Member Services.......................................................Ms. Leia Brune Business Development...........................................Mrs. Linda Vydra Managing Editor...............................................Ms. Allyson Darroch Creative Editor .............................................LT Drew Cusick, USN Retired and Reunion Manager ....CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) Legal Advisor ..........................CDR George Hurley, Jr., USN (Ret.) VP Corporate Membership..........CAPT Joe Bauknecht, USN (Ret.) VP Awards ..........................................CDR Justin McCaffree, USN VP Membership ......................................LCDR Jared Powell, USN VP Symposium 2019....................CAPT(Sel) Brannon Bickel, USN Secretary...........................................................LT Rick Jobski, USN Treasurer ................................................LT Chris Hoffmann, USN NHA Stuff......................................................LT John Kipper, USN Senior NAC Advisor..................................AWCM Justin Tate, USN

Airbus Avian, LLC Bell Boeing Breeze Eastern CAE Elbit Systems of America Erickson, Inc. Fatigue Technology FLIR GE Aviation Innova Systems Int’l. LLC Kongsberg Vertex Logistics Solutions Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems Robertson Fuel Systems, LLC Rockwell Collins Corporation Rolls Royce Science Engineering Services Sikorsky a Lockheed Martin Company SkyWest Airlines US Aviation Training Solution USAA Vector Aerospace

Directors at Large Chairman........................RADM William E. Shannon III, USN (Ret.) CAPT Gene Ager, USN (Ret.) CAPT Chuck Deitchman, USN (Ret.) CAPT Dennis DuBard, USN (Ret.) CAPT Tony Dzielski, USN (Ret.) CAPT Greg Hoffman, USN (Ret.) CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mario Misfud, USN (Ret.) CDR Derek Fry, USN (Ret.) LT Andrew Hoffman, USN Regional Officers Region 1 - San Diego Directors...…................................CAPT Matt Schnappauf, USN CAPT Kevin Kennedy, USN CAPT Billy Maske, USN President..….............................................CDR Dave Ayotte, USN Region 2 - Washington D.C. Directors ....……...…….................................CAPT Kevin Kropp, USN Col. Paul Croisetiere, USMC (Ret.) Presidents .....................................................CDR Ted Johnson, USN CDR Pat Jeck, USN (Ret.)

NHA Scholarship Fund

President............................................CDR Derek Fry, USN (Ret.) Executive Vice President............CAPT Kevin “Bud” Couch, USN (Ret.) VP Operations...............................................................Kelly Dalton VP Fundraising ................................CDR Juan Mullin, USN (Ret.) VP Scholarships.................................................................VACANT VP CFC Merit Scholarship............LT Caleb Derrington, USN Treasurer............................................................Jim Rosenberg Corresponding Secretary..................................LT Kory Perez, USN Finance/Investment..........................CDR Kron Littleton, USN (Ret.)

NHA Historical Society

President............................................CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.) Secretary .......................................CDR Joe Skrzypek, USN (Ret.) Treasurer.........................................................Mr. Joe Peluso San Diego Air & Space Museum............CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.) USS Midway Museum........................CWO4 Mike Manley, USN (Ret.) Webmaster.......................................CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) NHAHS Board of Directors..........CAPT Dennis DuBard, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mike Reber, USN (Ret.) CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.)

Region 3 - Jacksonville Director .....................................................CAPT Michael Burd, USN President...............................................CDR Teague Laguens, USN Region 4 - Norfolk Director ..........................................................CAPT Al Worthy, USN President .........................................................CAPT Joe Torian, USN

Junior Officers Council

President ................................................LT Andrew Hoffman, USN Vice President ...........................................LT Arlen Connolly, USN Region 1 ..................................................LT Morgan Quarles, USN Region 2 ......................................................LT Ryan Wielgus, USN Region 3 ....................................................LT Michelle Sousa, USN Region 4 ...................................................LT Tony Chitwood, USN Region 5 .................................................LT Christina Carpio, USN Region 6 ........................................................................... VACANT

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Region 5 - Pensacola Directors......................................................CAPT Doug Rosa, USN President .....................................................CDR Jessica Parker, USN 2018 Fleet Fly-In..........................................LT Kristina Mullins, USN Region 6 - Far East Director...................................................CDR Dennis Malzacher, USN President........................................................CDR Chris Morgan, USN

Chairman’s Brief Go Navy

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reetings! Hope everybody had a great summer and your favorite football team is headed for a winning season!

September and October are busy months. Here are just some of the highlights: - 4 Sept - HAL-3 Sea Wolves Reunion and Movie Premier of Scramble the Sea Wolves on board the USS Midway Museum was a hit and well attended 1,000+ personnel in attendance.

- 6-8 Sept - NHA sponsored an Admin Room at Tail Hook 2018 that very successful! Good fun was had by all.

- 28 Sept - West Coast Hawk Ball, Air Boss attended and it was a great evening. BZ to CDR Aric Edmonson, CO of HSM-35 and his team at Region One for putting on a great event!

- 5 Oct - 100 Year Anniversary of Ream Field/Imperial Beach Ceremony.

- 8 Oct Columbus Day Holiday Weekend - 16-18 Oct Helo Days Region 4 Norfolk – Golf, Skeet, Aircrew Challenge, and Helo Ball - 22-26 Oct TW-5 Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA join-Up 2018 - H2 Reunion and H-2 Aircraft Dedication (part of the FFI) at NAS Whiting Field and the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) - 358 people are registered and paid so far - this is going to be a huge event (NHAA’s largest Reunion to date) – Recognition and Aircraft Dedication Ceremony is on Thursday 25 Oct at the NNAM with a reception to follow and an evening event with NHA at the Fish House. Don’t miss it as this event will sell out.

- 27 Oct - NHA will host Navy Notre Dame Football Game Tailgate. Go Navy… Beat the Irish!

- 30 Oct – Halloween – Trick or Treat!

On a serious note our prior NHA Chairman RADM Steve Tomaszeski, USN (Ret.) fell in the surf recently and is going through therapy to recover in Atlanta. We wish Steve and his family a speedy recovery. Those interested in learning more about Steve’s progress can join his Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/684283325244494/ That’s all for now, see you at the Fly-in!

RADM Bill Shannon, USN (Ret.) NHA Chairman

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www.navalhelicopterassn.org

In Review Salutations Rotor Review Warriors!

By LT Shane Brenner, USN

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t’s been fun, Rotor Review. As Editor-in-chief, I’ve learned a lot about the past, present, and future of our community. I’ve read stories ranging from Naval Aviators piloting steam gauge helicopters through fire to rescue fellow Americans in Vietnam to future developments in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and the future of vertical lift. We’ve also discussed some of the issues our community faces from gear, flight hours, retention, and job assignments. From submarine warfare to combat search and rescue, the helicopter community continues to evolve into a more potent fighting force to serve the mission of the nation. It has been through the pages of Rotor Review that I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on that growth. This issue we’re looking at tactical evolution and I hope as a reader of Rotor Review you have come to realize that we have come a long way in this development as well.

Please take a minute to reflect on the articles in this edition about the serious nature of mine warfare and the critical role Naval helicopter pilots play. We have also included a reflection on Hurricane Katrina and the Coast Guard’s ability to quickly mobilize toward New Orleans with life-saving efforts. Our helicopters and pilots have, and continue, to do amazing things.

In my final remarks as Editor-in-chief, I’d like to thank Allyson Darroch, our managing editor. While there are many of you who do not know her, she is the engine of this magazine. It has been my experience as Editor-in-chief that without her efforts pushing this magazine forward, we would not have a Rotor Review. I had a steep learning curve as Editor-in-chief here and it has been Allyson that steadies the ship. Thank you, Allyson, for your patience, creativity, and management.

I am also excited to introduce our new Editor-in-chief, responsible for crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s here at Rotor Review, LT Shelby “Conch” Gillis. Have fun, good luck, and finally put that English degree to use.

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Letters to the Editors It is always great to hear from the members of NHA. We need your input to ensure that Rotor Review keeps you informed, connected and entertained. We strive to provide a product that meets demand. We maintain many open channels to contact the magazine staff for feedback, suggestions, praise, complaints or publishing corrections. Your anonymity is respected and please advise us if you do not wish to have your input published in the magazine. Post comments on the NHA Facebook page or send an email to the Editor in Chief; shane.brenner@navy.mil or the Managing Editor; loged@navalhelicopterassn.org. You can use snail mail too. Rotor Review’s mailing address is: Letters to the Editor c/o Naval Helicopter Association, Inc. P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578

Naval Helicopter Association

Rotor Review Submission Guidelines 1. Articles: MS Word documents for text. Do not embed your images;within the document. Send as a separate attachment.

2. Photos and Vector Images: Should be as high a resolution as possible and sent as a separate file from the article. Please include a suggested caption that has the following information: date, names, ranks or titles, location and credit the photographer or source of your image.

3. Videos: Must be in a mp4, mov, or avi format.

• With your submission, please include the title and caption of all media, photographer’s name, command and the length of the video.

• Verify the media does not display any classified information.

• Ensure all maneuvers comply with NATOPS procedures.

• All submissions shall be tasteful and in keeping with good order and discipline.

• All submissions should portray the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and individual units in a positive light.

2018-2019 Submission Deadlines and Publishing Dates Winter 2019 (Issue 143) .............November 18 / January 10, 2019 Spring 2019 (Issue 144) ....................... March 19 / April 30, 2019 Summer 2019 (Issue 145)........................July14 / August 10, 2019 Fall 2019 (Issue 146) .................September 18 / October 10, 2019 Articles and news items are welcomed from NHA’s general membership and corporate associates. Articles should be of general interest to the readership and geared toward current Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard affairs, technical advances in the helicopter industry or of historical interest.

All submissions can be sent to your community editor via email or to Rotor Review by mail or email at loged@navalhelicopterassn.org or Naval Helicopter Association, Attn: Rotor Review P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578

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www.navalhelicopterassn.org

From the Organization President’s Message

by CDR Brannon “Bick” Bickel, USN

See You at the Fly-In

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reetings from sunny San Diego! I’m excited to report that this issue covers the tactical evolution of the helicopter community… we have come a long way from the days of HC-1 operating out of NAS Imperial Beach, CA, and HSL-37 operating out of NAS Barbers Point, HI. Speaking of which, the 100th Anniversary of Ream Field (NOLF Imperial Beach) is on October 5, 2018.

When I think about the legacy of the helicopter community and our tactical evolution to present day, I’m immediately reminded of the enormous contributions of the rotary wing pioneers of HA(L)-3 Seawolves. Back in early September, I had the opportunity to sit on the flight deck of the Midway Museum here in San Diego with about 1,000 folks, all friends and family of the Seawolves, for the premiere of the documentary, “Scramble the Seawolves.” The uncommon valor of the Sailors in that unit, and the squadron’s ability to execute their mission under tremendous duress while having a strategic impact on the success of the United States during the Vietnam War is indescribable.

Their story as the most decorated Naval Aviation squadron is now available and ready for all to see. I was also honored to host a small group of Seawolves and their families at my squadron for a quick tour and Ready Room meet and greet. Being in the presence of these true American heroes was inspiring and beyond description. If you’re interested in learning more, please visit www.scrambletheseawolves.com.

I am also excited for the upcoming engagement in Pensacola during the 2018 edition of the Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-in. We have a great schedule of events, and the SNA’s at Whiting Field will have the chance to interact with Fleet Aviators and fly in Fleet aircraft from both Jacksonville and Norfolk. We expect to have several Marine Corps helicopters and tilt-rotors there as well. Thanks in advance to our corporate sponsors and our community leaders who will be bringing news of the fleet to our newest accessions. As always, the NHA Region 5 folks are doing the heavy lifting in preparation for this event.

Special thanks to Col Dave “Frisky” Morris, Commodore TW-5, Deputy Commodore Doug “CB” Rosa, CDR Jess “Beaker” Parker, CO HT-8, and LTs Kristina Mullins and Christina Carpio. We all appreciate your dedication and hard work in making this event a success!

See you soon in Pensacola. I can think of no place better to hold an NHA event than in the cradle of Naval Aviation!

Keep it on glideslope, Bick

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Executive Director’s Notes

by CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.)

Join NHA at the Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In

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t is time again for the TW-5 Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join-Up 2018.

We have another great program lined up for those that attend this year and are looking forward to the Fleet descending on Whiting Field to start the activities. This year we will have many of your favorites like the Welcome BBQ, Community Briefings, Captains of Industry and Commodores Panels, Flight Line Static Displays (of both fleet and corporate aircraft), Helicopter Skills Competition, Golf Tournament, Fish House Farewell Reception, etc. and some new things to keep it interesting.

This year we will be at the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) in Pensacola again and want to thank them for providing us with the use of their facilities and all the professional support that we receive from the museum staff. The H-2 Kaman Seasprite Community will also be joining us in force for a reunion of their own to celebrate the induction of a H-2 aircraft reconditioned

by Kaman Industries into the Museum to represent the community. The H-2 group will participate with NHA on Thursday with a commemoration ceremony, reception and join us at the Fish House to share some stories with our active duty and retired folks for an evening of camaraderie and fellowship. We are also lucky to have three (3) of the crew from Clyde Lassen’s Medal of Honor Aircrew join us for the festivities so don’t miss out and take the opportunity to say hello to these rotary wing heroes.

The Fly-In is always a great event that affords our newest SNA’s the opportunity to fly fleet aircraft before they select their community of choice. This is a positive experience for all those involved and I would like to thank our sponsors for all their efforts so we can continue to support this worth-while cause and important part of Naval Helicopter Aviation. Have fun during the week, and as always… we look forward to your comments to make the weeks events more enjoyable. Fly safe and keep your turns up.

Regards, CAPT P., USN (Ret.)

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www.navalhelicopterassn.org

In the Community Naval Helicopter Association Historical Society

by CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.)

Ream Field Turns 100 in October

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ello from building 654 at NAS North Island. If you don’t know where we are located or have not visited us in a while, stop-in and see what’s new. NHAHS is working with the City of Imperial Beach and Naval Base Coronado to plan a ceremony to recognize the 100 Year Anniversary of Ream Field located at Imperial Beach. We are not exactly sure what this project will entail at this point however we are looking forward to being involved as the event is planned for 5 Oct. We are also busy with inducting several items that have been donated to our organization as we have received 3 pick-up truck loads of helicopter memorabilia and we are diligently cataloging it, putting some of it on display, and stowing the rest. It is a busy time of the year with the Region One Hawk Ball, Miramar Air Show, Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join-Up 2018, Navy vs. Notre Dame Game, Helo Days, year-end holiday celebrations, etc. and we are looking forward to being involved with and supporting all of it. Our library of Helicopter History has grown on the NHAHS website at http://www.nhahistoricalsociety.org. We have over 500 pages of information and growing as a result of CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) efforts. You should check it out and if you have new ideas of things we can add, or information to include that is already there, please send Mike a note at retiredreunionmanager@navalhelicopterassn.org or give him a call at 619-435-7139. We continue to be involved and assist the Region One Retired Helicopter Group and helped with the ticketing efforts for the “Scramble the Seawolves” Movie Premier on USS Midway Museum.

That is about it for now. Hope you had a great summer season. Stay connected with your rotary wing history…visit the NHAHS website.

Keep your turns up.

Regards, CAPT P (Ret.)

Squadron experts compare rotor notes, beside a Sikorski H03S helicopter, 1 February 1952. Photo taken at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Ream Field, California, the squadron’s base. Men are (L-R): Lieutenant William Leary, Jr.; Commander Dudley S. Billett; Lieutenant Commander Henry M. Kosciusko; and AMMC Lloyd W. Tracy.

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Naval Helicopter Association Scholarship Fund Update

By Kelly Dalton, Vice President of Operations NHASF

Congratulations to our 2018 Scholarship Winners

USS Midway Foundation Scholarship Carson Alfonzo

Raytheon (STEM) Curtis Aaron

Sergei Sikorsky Memorial Scholarship Madison Ward

USS Midway Foundation Scholarship Brennan Hudson

CAE Haley Moore

FLIR Margot Forti

FLIR Lori Martin

Ream Memorial Liam Murphy

Mark Starr Memorial Scholarship Eric Schnell

Charles Kaman Memorial Scholarship Kendall Langum

NHA Active Duty Undergraduate AW2 Jeffrey Jorgensen

(Not Shown ) NHA Active Duty LT Jeffrey Ouimette, USN

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www.navalhelicopterassn.org

A View from the Labs: Supporting the Fleet

by CAPT George Galdorisi, USN (Ret.)

There’s an App for that – and Maybe It’s Good

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his issue of Rotor Review focuses on: Tactical Evolution - What Do We Know Now that We Didn’t Know Then? In a sentence, what few could even perceive a few years ago is how rapidly technology has pushed the edge of the envelope. There is little question that technology has evolved rapidly – especially over the past decade – and that technological change has been infused into our rotary wing fleet. For the most part, that technology has been invaluable. Here’s why.

In the 1950s U.S. Air Force Colonel John Boyd created what every Naval Aviator knows today as the OODA Loop. OODA stands for “Observe, Orient, Decide and Act.” Boyd’s key concept was that of the decision cycle, or OODA Loop, is the process by which an individual reacts to an event. Over the ensuing decades, the phrase became commonplace, with applications far beyond air-to-air combat.

Colonel Boyd’s construct was originally a theory of achieving success in air-to-air combat. According to this idea, the key to victory is to be able to create situations wherein one can make appropriate decisions more quickly than one’s opponent. At the 2017 Current Strategy Forum in Newport, Rhode Island, our Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral John Richardson, talked about the OODA Loop first made popular by Colonel Boyd. Talk about reaching back to make an old idea new again.

That’s precisely why we need the new technologies that are now coming into the Fleet – and especially our already capable aircraft.

Our brains – as good as they are – have trouble getting inside the enemy’s OODA Loop without new technology because they are deploying all the technology they can to get inside our OODA Loop. At the end of the day, it’s about harnessing big data, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to help us make better decisions faster. We need to “out-OODA” our adversaries.

But a word of caution here. We are already seeing signs in our everyday life that an over-dependence on technology can lead to unintended consequences – not all of them good. Here is how two psychologists recently put it: To navigate by GPS is to ensure a series of meaningless pauses at the end of which you do precisely what you are told. There is something deeply dehumanizing about this. Indeed, in an important sense this experience turns you into an automated device GPS can use to arrive at its destination.

We want, and need, new technology in our aircraft. That’s what the U.S. military calls “man-machine teaming.” But the aviator must always be the dominant partner in the equation. If we cede too much to our “apps,” we risk the dehumanizing effects described above – and that’s no way to fight a war.

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Door Gunner Diaries

By AWS1 Adrian Jarrin, USN

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Helicopter Flight Helmet Evolution

elcome back flyers. As promised, we will stay focused on issues that are important to our community. If you recall last issue of Rotor Review’s cover page said “Gear, What’s Good and What’s Not”. Personally, I can see how people were confused with that headline. Nevertheless, the main topic was “Gear”. I think our very own LT Shane Brenner, editor at Rotor Review said it best last issue “As operations continue to become demanding and our mission sets more varied we have come to rely on more gear.” Well said LT. I would like to expand more on the “more gear” aspect.

I don’t argue the fact that helicopter missions are demanding and our mission sets are more varied but this notion that we rely on “more gear” I think deserves some push back, respectfully. As I mentioned in my column last issue, and I will paraphrase to make my point. Helicopter aircrew flight equipment technology is outdated and doesn’t meet the demand of the modern warfighter. I realize that’s a bold statement but I stand by it.

In other words, if our “gear” is outdated and doesn’t meet the demands of the modern warfighter, why would we want more of it? The point I’m trying to make here is simple, we shouldn’t be getting “more gear”, but instead we should be focusing on getting the “right gear.”

One example that comes to mind of some outdated helicopter aircrew flight equipment technology is the flight helmet.

Currently there are two primary rotary flight helmets in the entire DoD inventory; HGU-84 and HGU-56/P. Both these helmets have been in service as early as the 1990’s and continue to be purchased and issued by the DoD. Why is this information important and relative to this conversation? It’s important because the more we’re informed as a community and knowledgeable on the equipment that we put on every day to keep us safe in the aircraft, the better we’re prepared to address any issue or problems that may arise as a result of using such equipment.

Did you know, as early as the Vietnam conflict, the U.S. Navy’s SPH-3C helicopter flight helmet had been the primary helmet for Naval aviators. Of course, up until that point there had been many prototypes the navy experimented with but nothing came close to the capabilities of SPH-3H at that time. Post-Vietnam, the Navy decided to search for a replacement and developed Head Gear Unit No.84 (HGU-84/P). Oh so that’s what HGU stood for. On the Army side of the house, the primary helicopter flight helicopter was the SPH-4, which had been in service since the 1970’s. Like the Navy, the Army also experimented with different prototypes, but not far behind in search for a replacement. The Army’s replacement was Head Gear Unit No 56 (HGU-56/P). Also, known as “Darth Vader” to some aviators. Although, these two helmets were procured and developed for different performance specifications, the performance results were major breakthrough for their time. However, for the HGU-84 and HGU-56, the road for improvement or modernization had reached a dead end. Now, would it shock you if I told you that the DoD hasn’t reviewed or reexamined these helmets since they been released to the community? Well its true, but don’t take my word, just read what the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) concluded in a performance assessment that was conducted over 20 years ago.

“In 1996, the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM), Program Manager for Aviation Life Support Equipment (PM-ALSE), funded U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) to procure and evaluate the Navy HGU84/P against the U.S. Army HGU-56/P performance requirements. The performance areas evaluated included: impact protection, weight, center of mass, chinstrap strength, shell teat resistance, dynamic retention, and sound attenuation. Only the center of mass requirement was met by the HGU-84/P configuration. None of the other HGU-56/P requirements were fully met. The helmet performed equally as well as the HGU-56/P in the dynamic retention evaluation.” (USAARL, 1996).

Let’s bring it home. These agencies that conduct these tests aren’t solely to blame for what we use in the field. The process for procuring equipment or technology in the DoD is lengthy and political at times. However, we as a community must take responsibility for allowing others to make such impactful decision on our behalf and learn from those mistakes. Now, I’m sure there will be people reading this column who will argue that there is already a process in place to fix or upgrade equipment we use. I don’t argue that fact. My suggestion is to modernize our flight helmets using 21st century technology or at minimum avoid the absents of applying modern scientific research to gather the data necessary to better understand how flights helmets effect the ergonomics of aviators in the aircraft. Our message is clear, we can’t keep this up for much longer, people are getting seriously injured. That’s is for this issue of Door Gunner Dairies, and in closing, I like to leave you with a quote from a great mind who said, “As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.”

Albert Einstein

See you next time. Fly smart.

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The Firefighting Phrog

Industry and Technology

By Skip Robinson

Sky Aviation chose a colorful paint scheme for the CH-46Es to increase the visibility of the aircraft during firefighting operations.

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om Woodward and Bob Hawkins, the owner and vice president, respectively, of Worland, Wyo.-based Sky Aviation, had been interested in adding heavy lift helicopters to the company’s mixed fleet of fixed and rotary-wing aircraft for over 15 years. Its fixed-wing aircraft are used for aerial survey and agricultural work; while its helicopters, which include the Bell UH-1H Huey, 206 L4 and L3 LongRangers, and 206 B3 JetRanger, fly a variety of missions, including firefighting, game survey and capture, agriculture work, construction, charter and search and rescue.

Hawkins, who regularly visits the GSA website to see what aircraft are coming up for auction, noticed the appearance of the CH-46s soon after they were posted. He discussed the aircraft with Woodward, and the pair realized they were a perfect fit for the heavy lift missions they had talked about for years.

Both had prior experience of purchasing surplus government aircraft for civilian use — so felt they understood what needed to be done and how to do it.

They recognized that the previous evolution of the aircraft — the CH-46D — was used by the U.S. Navy for external load operations for over three decades, so they knew the aircraft would be more than capable of performing these operations. They also recognized the Marine Corps’ CH-46E had the much more powerful General Electric T58-GE-16 engine, giving a substantial increase in performance once the armor and other Marine Corps mission equipment was removed.

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After a couple days of deliberation, and after talking with his business partner Harry Oliver, Woodward decided they would bid on at least two of the four airframes on auction.

Prior to the auction, Woodward and Hawkins flew to Davis-Monthan AFB to inspect each CH-46E airframe, and review the helicopters’ log books. (Interestingly, two of the airframes ended their Marine Corps careers as HMX-1 aircraft.) They were pleasantly surprised at the condition of the aircraft despite all four having been stored outside, uncovered, in desert conditions for several months. They decided the aircraft could be restored to flightworthy status. To be allowed to bid in the auction, Sky Aviation had to quickly send in its $100,000 deposit.

On the day of the auction, the bidding staff at Sky Aviation were nervous, but excited. They did not know how many people would be bidding, or how high the bidding would go. As the first auction reached its allotted closing time, continued bids caused it to be extended. At the same time, two more CH-46 auctions opened. With three auctions in play at the same time, the stress level in the Sky Aviation office peaked.

In the end, Sky Aviation was able to win the first auction, but not without competition. It also won the next two airframe auctions — without competition. Finally, while there were competing bidders on the fourth airframe, to their shock, Sky Aviation ended up winning that one, too.

Getting the aircraft off the bidding block After the auction finished, the operator was notified via email that they only had 10 days to move the aircraft from Davis-Monthan AFB per GSA regulations. Thankfully for Sky Aviation, this timeframe was subsequently extended several times.

“Once we knew we won the auction, we immediately started to work on gathering and hiring qualified pilots and mechanics,” Alyssa Gaulke, Sky Aviation’s CH-46E project coordinator, told Vertical. “We were a bit flustered, not realizing we might have to move the aircraft so quickly. At this point we had not yet made any contacts within the CH-46 community.

However, GSA informed us that we needed to get cleared by the DoD [Department of Defense] to own the aircraft and they could not be paid for — let alone moved — from the AFB until we had a fully certified End Use Certificate [EUC].”

The company immediately got to work on its EUC, which was then finalized less than two months later, in May 2014.

“At this time we began asking about receiving copies of the maintenance manuals so we could start to get acquainted with the CH-46E,” Gaulke continued. “We were put in touch with various different Navy personnel and by the end of the process, I was working directly with NAVAIR [U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command] on our needs, having received a complement of manuals that cleared through their leadership and legal teams.”

With the EUC in hand, Sky Aviation began working with AMARG to get the CH-46s ready for removal. “AMARG is contracted by the Navy to remove any listed military use items not intended to be part of the sale, including armor, various anti-missile devices, etc.,” said Gaulke.

Woodward and Hawkins, together with two pilots and two

getting our maintenance and training programs fully signed off by the FAA. We were very lucky to work with Greg Bourne, Chip Wood, and Steve Sorich, who came up from the Fort Worth Aircraft Evaluation Group to vet our maintenance and training programs. Currently we are in the process of finalizing the helicopter’s qualifications to be ready to fight fires on our Forest Service contract.”

According to Woodward, when Sky Aviation set out on this project, it was the CH-46’s exceptional service record with the Marines that persuaded them to take a risk on the aircraft. “Their performance and service record was a perfect match for filling a niche within the civilian world,” he said. “We are excited to give these helicopters a new life in the civilian world fighting fires and performing heavy lift jobs.”

The work the aircraft will do in the civilian sector will At this time, two CH-46E airframes are to be put into service. be much in keeping with their past work for the military — vertical transfers, firefighting and search-and-rescue. mechanics, then headed to Tucson. A few days earlier, all four In the future, Sky Aviation will be running a weight reducCH-46s had been relocated to a local aircraft yard to have tion program to further streamline the aircraft. This will be any maintenance completed before being test flown. Over the accomplished by removing excess wires and other items that next two weeks, all four were brought to airworthy status, and are no longer needed.

“At some point, we anticipate having after flight testing the first CH-46E, they flew it cross country internal tanks for firefighting providing an alternative to using to Sabreliner Aviation in Perryville Miss., for further repair, our Bambi Bucket,” said Woodward.

“While the road from retrofitting, and repainting into its new company colors. (The purchase to a fully realized type certificate was not always easy, other three CH-46Es were flown to Sky Aviation’s headquarwe are excited for the opportunities that the 46s will bring ters in Worland.) Sabreliner’s work included an initial inspecour way.” tion, followed by the various additional demilitarization and Sky Aviation’s first CH-46 just launched on their first fire of weight saving modifications required by Sky Aviation. They the year during June in Utah. They have a “Call When Needthen installed the items that were needed to comply with ed” contract with the U.S. Forest Service .The aircraft flies U.S. Forest Service firefighting contracts. The aircraft received with a crew of just two pilots — a crew chief is not required to windshield defoggers, pulse lights, strobe lights, Garmin and be in the aircraft during flight — and uses a 900-gallon Bambi FM Radios, and a civilian GPS system.

Bucket with a load cell that allows the pilot to load more or One unique item that needed manufacturing was a pilot less water depending on conditions and weight requirements. door bubble window — required for long line firefighting and The CH-46 has already lived a long and exciting life as a construction work. This needed to be designed, manufactured Marine.

It has been to war, cruised the oceans, and worked and certified, and was created by free form blowing — the the presidential detail. With a new home in Worland, Wyo., benefit of this production technique is better clarity, but it has it begins a new life of excitement, fighting fires and doing the drawback of causing conformity concerns, as each winconstruction and other utility work. It’s a machine that could dow is not exactly alike. However, the window’s engineering quite possibly live for a century. specifications have a built-in Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) -approved deviance, within which the manufacturer can produce acceptable windows.

A Whirlwind of Work Gaulke said that while Woodward and Hawkins had taken government surplus aircraft through the type certification process before, they quickly discovered the process had changed quite significantly.

“From September through July 2014, it was a whirlwind of working with the FAA and Sabreliner Aviation to complete the type certificate,” said Gaulke. Sky worked through the Denver FAA office with Roger Caldwell, and a private advisor, Chip Adams. Meanwhile, Woodward and his brother Kelley worked diligently on creating a civilian log-keeping program for the new aircraft.

“Sabreliner Aviation did a great job on the aircraft, and on July 10, the aircraft finally headed home to Worland,” said The past and the future: The Marines loved the CH-46E, Sky Aviation hopes to have similar success with the aircraft.

Gaulke. “The final chapter to the type certificate process was 15

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FreeFlight Sensor To Provide ADS-B Position Source for HH­-60G Helicopter Fleet FreeFlight Press Release- July 2016

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reeFlight Systems announced on July 30 that its 1203C SBAS/GNSS sensor has been selected to provide ADS-B position source information for an upcoming ADS-B modification and compliance program for the United States Air Force’s Sikorsky HH-60G helicopter fleet.

The 1203C SBAS/GNSS sensor is known for its high performance, ease of installation, operational reliability and longevity. It will be used as part of an ADS-B modification program for the USAF HH-60G helicopter fleet. Strategic Enterprise Solutions, Corp. of Warner Robins, Georgia, was recently awarded the modification program, which includes installation of the 1203C USAF Pave Hawk EAA AirVenture Photo SBAS/GNSS sensor and the AN/ APX-119 Mode S Extended Squitter transponder with Mode 5 capability to provide a complete ADS-B Out solution for more than 100 helicopters.

The FreeFlight Systems 1203C SBAS/GNSS sensor is a certified, high-integrity position source in a compact, lightweight package that was designed to be modular and integratable with various other avionics. The 1203C pairs seamlessly with certified Mode S Extended Squitter transponders for a fully rule-compliant ADS-B Out system.

With several hundred 1203Cs in service today across airline transport, military, business aviation, and rotorcraft platforms, these receivers are known for their high performance, ease of installation, operational reliability and longevity.

The 1203C can also serve as the approved position source for select manufacturers of TAWS/FMS, RNP, and other NextGen applications, and allows customers to take advantage of the operational and safety benefits provided by the NextGen airspace transformation without the need for extensive and costly avionics upgrades.

With the ADS-B mandate now only 17 months away, aircraft operators need to prioritize ADS-B installations. Significant portions of today’s airline, business and military aircraft fleet will remain in service long after 2020, and in many cases an STC’d retrofit solution comprising of a transponder upgrade and the addition of a dedicated SBAS/GNSS receiver like the 1203C is the simplest and most cost-effective way to achieve mandate compliance, FreeFlight Systems says.

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Industry and Technology

Leonardo: Single-Engine TH-119 Packs Twin-Engine Punch For US Navy Trainer

By Dan Parsons (Reprinted from Rotor & Wing International, August 2018)

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ith the TH-119, Leonardo Helicopters is offering the U.S. Navy twin-engine performance, power and safety in a single-engine package that is less expensive to buy and maintain.

“With the TH-119, we are delivering what we are calling a full-spectrum training helicopter,” Andrew Gappy, Leonardo’s director of Navy, Marine Corps and federal programs, told R&WI. “It’s equally capable in one configuration to do every flight they currently do in the syllabus. It still has plenty of room to grow.”

“You’re basically getting twin-engine capability at a single-engine cost profile,” Gappy added. “There are times when having a twin-engine is a good thing. This just doesn’t happen to be one of them.”

The Navy is in the market for a commercial, off-the-shelf replacement for its TH-57 Sea Ranger training helicopter fleet. Plans are to start buying new trainers in fiscal 2020, just about 16 months from now, and have the entire TH-57 fleet divested by 2023. An industry day is scheduled for November, followed by a final RFP in February 2019. Final proposals likely will be due in April with a contract award in early fiscal 2020, according to Navy documents.

The TH-57 Sea Ranger is based on the Bell 206 Jet Ranger, which also served as the basis of the U.S. Army’s now-retired OH-58 Kiowa armed scout helicopter. Bell’s offering to replace it is the most modern version of the 407 — the GXi. Airbus is pitching its twin-engine H135, a cousin of the H145 chosen as the Army’s dedicated training helicopter and designated the UH-72 Lakota.

Leonardo’s TH-119 is derived from the light twin-engine AW109 Trekker, but with a single engine. It features a dual-display avionics system with modern glass cockpit compatible with night vision devices by Genesys Aero. More than 250 AW119s have been built at Leonardo’s plant outside Philadelphia.

Powered by a single 1,000-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6B engine, the 119 brings many of the safety and redundancy of a twin-engine helicopter into a simpler, more cost-effective airframe designed specifically for training, Gappy said.

“We evaluated what we had that meets the requirement and felt the aircraft that met that requirement the best and fits into the long history the Navy has with single-engine aircraft for undergraduate-level training,” Gappy said. “We evaluated both single-engine and twin-engine and came back with if we put a full IFR certification on the 119, it meets the requirement and will give the Navy the cost profile they’re after and simplicity they’re after with room to grow.”

Topping the Navy’s list of requirements published in a draft RFP in October is FAA certification to fly under instrument flight rules, or IFR, which is necessary for flying over the ocean or through weather where visibility is impaired.

The legacy TH-57C is IFR certified under an earlier version of the FAA’s current standards but would no longer pass.

Therefore, the Navy is insisting on IFR certification under the updated restrictions.

There has been a lot of effort on the part of manufacturers to get the FAA to revisit IFR training standards, but the surest way to clear an aircraft is to have it certified under current rules, Gappy said.

“The simple fact is, and it’s supported by a lot of safety data, is if you can fly IFR in a helicopter, it is a safer way to fly when there’s weather that forces you closer to the ground,” Gappy said. “Our approach to it was to say, ‘You’re right.

Then, let’s IFR certify our 119.’ … It’s the quickest approach, quite frankly, because trying to get the FAA to change or lower their restrictions … is a slow, onerous process.”

The 119 is in training fleets elsewhere and has enjoyed increased attention from countries in Europe and Asia since Leonardo has been marketing it to the U.S. Navy, Gappy said.

“The 119 is seen as the best of both worlds in terms of single-engine and twin-engine,” he said. “If you can combine these multi-engine capabilities — while keeping cost lower, because this is still a single-engine helicopter — with an IFR capability, you have something very, very, very close to a light twin but with greater performance than your usual light single.”

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From Boneyard to Brand New: Outside Contractor Gives New Life to H-53 Helos

By Jen Judson Reprinted from Defense News - Modern Day Marine

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fter sitting in the Arizona desert since 2004, a pair of MH-53 Sea Dragon heavy-lift helicopters were rescued by the Navy and Marine Corps in 2015 as candidates for refurbishment and re-entry into the fleet. But instead of going the typical depot route, the services chose an outside contractor to whip the aircraft back into flying shape.

The Marines, Navy and Naval Air Systems Command concluded that in order to meet emerging mission requirements, aircraft must be added to the fleet. But the helicopters have not been in production for some time.

A couple of the aircraft sitting at Davis Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, were selectErickson Inc. has already performed work on a CH-53E for the Marine ed for a Marine Corps squadron. The idea was Corps, shown, but it’s now preparing to deliver two overhauled MH-53Es to bring them back to a current Navy config- to the Navy by the end of the year. Image courtesy of Erickson Inc. uration and then use them for basic stick-andrudder flight familiarization for a training squadron at Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina.

But who would be responsible for the work? While the traditional depots probably could have completed the job, they have a planned capacity each year, according to Lt. Col. Kristofor Stark, a service lead in PMA-261, the NAVAIR program office for H-53s.

“So to throw this on their lap ... you would have basically bogged down the depots,” Stark said. Leaders at PMA-261 recently toured the facilities of a 47-year-old company out in Portland, Oregon, that specializes in manufacturing, maintenance repair and overhaul of legacy aircraft. The company believed it a good fit for helicopters requiring overhaul.

“Erickson Inc. was already doing some work for us, as they were a subcontractor to Sikorsky” working on tail pylons for the CH-53E Super Stallion, according to Stark. Additionally, because of the work they had done operating the S-64 Aircrane — which is the civil version of the U.S. Army’s CH-54 Tarhe that formed the basis of the CH-53E — “we were interested in seeing the kind of capability they had, and that is really what led us toward doing some work,” Stark said.

“I saw their facilities and I saw the quality of work and caliber of what they are doing out there in that facility,” Stark said.

“I was impressed with their capability, their organic capability and the product that they put out,” which he described as comparable to a “bird right off the production line.”

Stark added that a number of Erickson’s employees working on the helicopters are retired Marines and sailors that are used to turning wrenches on H-53s.

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NAVCENT Sailors Participate in Prototype Wear Test

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ive Sailors assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), volunteered to participate in a uniform wear test for a two-piece flame resistant organizational clothing variant since May 23.

Yeoman 1st Class Essence Toney, Yeoman 1st Class Abigail Lispier, Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Jessica Riley, Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Idamae Brown and Yeoman 2nd Class Carmina Flores agreed to support the four-month testing phase initiated by U.S. Fleet Forces (USFF) Command, May 13.

“Wear tests are of the utmost importance to introducing new clothing to the fleet. We need feedback from Sailors to ensure what we ultimately deliver is safe, functional, high-quality, professional looking and comfortable,” said Capt. Mark Runstrom, director USFF fleet supply operations and services. “From the onset, we’ve wanted this effort to be Sailor-driven and will rely heavily on Sailor input to make final design recommendations to Navy leadership.”

Testers, who were asked to volunteer, were given four different variations of the uniforms (Class A, B, C, and D) along with rules that they have to follow. Some of the rules are that they are not allowed to interchange the uniforms, such as wearing the pants from Class A and the top from Class C, they have to keep a log book, and they are not allowed to use starch due to the flame resistance material, they cannot use fabric softener, and they are asked to refrain from dry cleaning them, because shipboard Sailors will not have that option.

“I found ironing to be a challenge when preparing the type A uniform for wear,” said Flores. “The wrinkles were very difficult to get out initially, so it makes maintenance a challenge compared to uniforms already in rotation.”

“When I first saw the uniform, I didn’t like it at all, especially the light blue [top] dark pants,” said Toney. “But with any change to our uniforms, it will take time to adjust and identify whether the functionality of the design is ideal for today’s Sailor and the working environment we operate in.”

The reviews and feedback from Sailors is instrumental in assessing functionality and ultimately influencing the implementation of recommended uniform changes according to NAVCENT Staff Command Master Chief Brian J. McDonough.

“This is really just the first phase in the wear test of these new fire-resistant shipboard working uniforms,” said McDonough. “One of the goals is to give Sailors more flexibility when deblousing while doing dirty work or working in hot spaces vice rolling down the top of the coveralls, which could pose safety hazards.

McDonough also stressed this is simply a test phase to gain feedback.

“With the fire-resistant variants, while they hit the mark in being fire-resistant, they haven’t been hitting the mark in being comfortable or being durable,” said McDonough.

“In a lot of instances the material was too heavy, and it didn’t really provide the appropriate amount of cooling for the Sailor as well.”

More than 300 Sailors at 34 afloat and operational shore commands in the U.S. and overseas will participate in the wear test. The trial period will run until September 2018 to determine if the two-piece variant will support all of the requirements for operational units.

USFF most recently approved and introduced the Improved Flame Resistant Variant (IFRV) coverall for shipboard wear and began the phase-out of the legacy FRV coverall. Focus groups and post-test surveys held during IFRV coverall testing revealed a strong desire among Sailors for a two-piece variant, which can provide an option for de-blousing during certain evolutions or in hotter environments, and be worn in operational commands at Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Jessica Riley wear tests sea, in port, and off-base to reduce the number of daily one of the three versions of the two-piece flame resistant orclothing changes. ganizational clothing variant prototype at U.S. Naval Forces To learn more about the design features, wear test lo- Central Command (NAVCENT). She, and other Sailors at cations or to provide feedback about the two-piece wear NAVCENT, will test the three uniform prototypes to help detest visit http://www.public.navy.mil/usff/Pages/2-pc-fr/ termine if the two-piece variant will support operational unit requirements throughout the fleet. U.S. Navy photo by Mass main.aspx.

Communication Specialist 1st Class Bryan Neal Blair, USN

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useful Information

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin J. Steinberg, USN. U.S. 5th Fleet Public Affairs

Navy Personnel Command Customer Service Center Expands Operations Hours From Navy Personnel Command Public Affairs

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ailors seeking career assistance will soon receive greater support from Navy Personnel Command’s (NPC) Customer Service Center (CSC) as it transitions to round-theclock service beginning Sept. 24.

The CSC, which currently operates Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., Central Time, is integrating with MyNavy Portal to become the MyNavy Career Center (MNCC) contact center, available 24/7.

“The establishment of MNCC contact center is a significant milestone in our plan to deliver an enhanced customer experience to Sailors and their families,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Hughes, commander, NPC. “Our approach for the design of this call/transaction support center is to replicate the customer service practices of leading service providers in the private sector. This is a manifestation of a tremendous culture shift to ensure our focus is on the needs of Sailors and their families – you are the customer.” Hughes said. “Our intent is to both make it easier for you to conduct pay and personnel transactions and to improve our timeliness and accuracy in response. We want you to focus your precious time on becoming more lethal warfighters and achieving better life-work balance.”

Updates to the current contact center’s infrastructure and facilities in Millington are well underway to support the contact center’s expansion. The number of agents trained to respond to requests for assistance from Active and Reserve Sailors, retirees, and family members will also increase.

“The transition includes growing the number of customer service agents to 200 to improve our responsiveness,” said Alaina Eblen, operations lead, Project Management Department, NPC Information Management Office (IMO).

“We’re expanding to provide a single point of inquiry so you don’t have to guess who to call,” she said. “Call us and we will either answer your question, or we will get your request transferred to the subject-matter expert who can resolve the problem. We will be tracking those requests and making sure your issue is resolved.”

To support this customer service cultural shift, MNCC contact center also comes with an updated functional structure reinforcing it. With MNCC and MyNavy Portal integration comes a three-tiered level of service, explained James Christy, director, Project Management Department, NPC IMO. “MyNavy Portal is Tier Zero,” he said. “If you need greater support than what is available through self-service in our ever-expanding suite of services in MyNavy Portal, then you contact the MNCC contact center (Tier One), which is us.”

Examples of Tier Zero actions that Sailors will be able to initiate themselves include: viewing, verifying, and, if necessary, initiating a correction to their personal data, which is centralized in MNP under “My Record” data; submitting a Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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data record correction request and attaching supporting documentation; and submitting an electronic Personnel Action Request (ePAR/1306) to request spouse co-location, consecutive overseas tours or to extend a Projected Rotation Date; to name a few.

Tier One, the MNCC contact center, will be the initial customer service point of contact for the Sailor, retiree, or dependent beyond the self-service level.

“If we can’t directly resolve your problem, then we transfer you to Tier Two, which is the subject-matter expert who can answer your question,” Eblen said, adding, “MNCC contact center is the cornerstone in Navy customer service efforts, taking self-service and linking it up to subject-matter experts for action,” Eblen said.

“When the transition happens in late September, Sailors will have access to more features and better awareness of the status of their request,” said Ann Stewart, director, Pay and Personnel Management. Although the customer service capability of the MNCC contact center will be an improvement, it will not completely replace the functions of command administrative support personnel. “As the transition progresses, Sailors will still work with their Command Pay and Personnel Administrators (CPPAs) to process parts of their pay-and-personnel paperwork.”

This contact center improvement will ultimately consolidate transactional support to standardize quality of service, improve efficiency, and simplify management – and it is designed to evolve to take on even greater functionality to better support the customer base.

“As we receive feedback from Sailors and gain more insight and experience into what services Sailors need, we’ll add more capability to the MNCC contact center,” Stewart said.

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter. For more news from Navy Personnel Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/npc/.

Useful Information

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Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In 2018

Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join Up Schedule of Events October 22 - 26 2018 Monday

Time

Event

Location

0800 TH-57 Operations Begin Flight Line 1130 - 1600

NHA Fall Join Up Event Registration

Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

1130 - 1500

Welcome Aboard BBQ - Sponsored By Airbus Helicopters

Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

1200 - 1600

1300 - 1800

CBQ / Rental Car Check-In Window

1630 - 1730

Course Rules Brief for All Fleet and Industry Crews

Main Fleet Aircraft Recovery Window.

South Whiting Field (KNDZ) Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” Student Ready Room

Open Time/Evening

Tuesday Time

0800 - 1600

Event

Civil Aircraft Fly Window

Location Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

0730 - 0800 Morning Coffee - Sponsored By Airbus Helicopters Sikes Hall 0800 - 0815 Welcome Ceremony - Sponsored By Bell Sikes Hall Opening Remarks Sikes Hall 0815 - 0830 Why NHA? Sikes Hall 0830 - 0900 75 Years Of Naval Helicopters & Aircrew Viedo - Sponsored By Bell Sikes Hall 0900-0915 0915-1030

Community Introductons (HSC/HSM/HM/HMLA/HMA/USCG) Community Tables (Students Walk Around Table To Table To Learn About Each Community)

Sikes Hall

1030-1045

Transit To Flight Line

KNDZ Flight Line

1045-1145

HT Helicopter Skills Competition - Sponsored By Massif

KNDZ Flight Line

Sikes Hall

1145-1200 FOD Walkdown KNDZ Flight Line 1200-1330

Backporch Picnic - Sponsored By First Command

Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

1200 -1600 Fleet Fly Window Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” 1330 -1430 Commodores Community Panel Update (Students And Instructors) Sikes Hall 1430 -1445 Weapons School Update Sikes Hall 1445 -1530 IP Round Table / IP-IP Community Discussion (IP Only) Sikes Hall 1430 - 1700 Industry Display Set Up Naval Aviation Museum 1800 - 2200 Fleet Welcome Social - Sponsored By FLIR

Casino Beach Bar

Pensacola Beach

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Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-In and NHA Join Up Schedule of Events October 22 - 26 2018 Wednesday Time

0900 - 1600 0930 - 1600

Event

Civil Aircraft Fly Window Fleet Fly Window

Location

Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

0830 - 0945 Morning Coffee (by Culinary Productions) Sponsored By Sikorsky A Lockheed Martin Company 0900 - 1200 Industry Displays Open

Naval Aviation Museum Naval Aviation Museum

0900 - 0915

0915 - 1100

Aircrew Event Welcome Ceremony - Sponsored By Bell

Naval Aviation Museum

Aircrew Community Briefs - Sponsored By Bell

Naval Aviation Museum

1000 - 1100 1000 - 1100

HSC/HM Commodore / FRS / CO Brief (Instructors Only) Sikes Hall HSM Commodores / FRS /CO Brief (Instructors Only) Base Auditorium (Lassen)

1000 - 1100 1000 - 1100

USMC Brief (Instructors Only) USCG Brief (Instructors Only)

Base Ops Auditorium HT-8 Wardroom

1100 - 1145 Lunch Sponsored By Sikorsky, A Lockheed Martin Company 1100 - 1200 Lunch On The Flight Line - Sponsored By Airbus

Naval Aviation Museum Flight Line

1145 - 1200 1200 - 1500

Transit To Flight Line Fleet Aircraft Static Display NAS Pensacola

NASP Air Ops Quarterdeck

1230 - 1315

HX-21 Brief (W/TPS)

1300 - 1500

NHA BOD Meeting

1330 - 1415

FTS/SEL RES Brief

Sikes Hall

White House (Whiting Field)

1415 - 1430 Break

Sikes Hall Sikes Hall

1430 - 1530 Womens Leadership Panel Base Chapel 1500 - 2000 1700 - 2000

H-2 Seasprite Check-In H-2 Seasprite Reunion Informal Happy Hour

1830 - 2100 Airline Transition Assistance Briefing Sponsored By Envoy, Gojet, Skywest,TSA, USATS 1800 - 1900

Grand Hotel, Pensacola

V’Pauls Italian Restaurant

Dinner On Your Own/Open Time

Personnel involved in NHA events should avoid disturbing the official Fleet Fly-In events and vice versa.

The Department of the Navy does not endorse any company, sponsor, or their products or services.

NHA is a non-federal entity and does not represent the Department of the Navy.

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Thursday Time

Event

Location

0730 - 1000 0800 - 1600 0830 - 1600 0815 - 0845

Aircraft Static Displays – Civil Aircraft Fly Window

Fleet Fly Window FTS OCM Brief

NAS Whiting Flight Line Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” Naval Aviation Museum

0900 - 1700 0900 - 1000

Industry Displays Open Morning Coffee - Sponsored By Sikorsky A Lockheed Martin Company.

Naval Aviation Museum Naval Aviation Museum

0945 - 1000 0945 - 1015 1015 - 1145

Welcome Ceremony - Sponsored By TRU Simulation & Training Opening Remarks Captains of Industry Panel - Sponsored By TRU Simulation & Training

Naval Aviation Museum Naval Aviation Museum Naval Aviation Museum

1100 - 1200

Lunch on The Flight Line - Sponsored By Envoy

NAS Whiting Flight Line

1145 - 1300

Senior Officer Lunch Meeting

Naval Aviation Museum Radford Rm

1145 - 1300

Luncheon - Sponsored By Airbus

Naval Aviation Museum

1300 - 1430 Senior Officers Panel Panel/Q&A Sponsored By Lockheed Martin Rotary & Mission Systems

Naval Aviation Museum

1500 - 1600 H-2 Seasprite Reunion Ceremony - Sponsored by Seasprite Reunion Group 1600 - 1630 Reception - Cake Cutting and Light Refreshments Sponsored By Kaman, Leonardo & H-2 Reunion Group

..Naval Aviation Museum

1630

Naval Aviation Museum

Industry Display Breakdown

Naval Aviation Museum

1800 - 2200 Seasprite Reunion & Fly-In Farewell Social Sponsored By Leonardo, Sikorsky A Lockheed Martin Co., Kaman,

H-2 Reunion Group, USS Midway & NHA

2000 Skills Competition Award Presentation

Fish House Fish House

Friday Time

0700 - 0800

Event

Fleet Aircrew Breakfast (Grover T’s) - Sponsored By Skywest Airlines

Location Bldg 2977 “Back Porch”

0700 TH-57 Operations Resume Flight Line 0800 - 1100 Aircraft Departure Window

Crews Coordinate Rental Car Return / Rental Agency Bldg 2977 “Back Porch” 0800 - 900 0900 -1000

Hotwash Golf Skills Challenge

HT-8 Ward Room Stonebrook Golf Course

1000-1100

1000 - 1100 1000 - 1200

Clyde Lassen MoH Rescue - Lassen Crew Panel (API/MATSG/TW5 Volunteers) Sponsored By NHA Historical Society (NHAHS) ....... Atrium (Next To Chapel) Golf Tournament Lunch Sponsored By Airbus

..... Stonebrook Golf Course H-2 Seasprite Reunion Tour Whiting Field ........... Whiting Field

1100

NHA Golf Tournament - Sponsored By Airbus

Stonebrook Golf Course

1200-1400 Winging Ceremony Lassen Auditorium 1400-1700 Wingers Overtorque Reception (Private Event) Sikes Hall Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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Seasprite Reunion and Dedication National Naval Aviation Museum NAS Pensacola, Florida October 24-26, 2018 Welcome Home to the Cradle of Naval Aviation!

Fifty five years ago the Kaman Corporation completed and delivered the first of 240 Seasprites to the United States Navy.

In 1973 the SH-2F Seasprite was selected to serve as the LAMPS MK 1 helicopter to deploy on U.S. Navy Destroyers, Frigates and Cruisers. After 20 years of LAMPS service the SH-2F was retired from the Navy inventory and replaced with the LAMPS MK III SH-60B. It was decided that in conjunction with the planned placing of Seasprite BuNo 151312 into the National Naval Aviation Museum we should have a reunion to celebrate and recognize the many men and women who served as Kaman Tech Reps, administration personnel, aircraft maintainers, aircrew and pilots. Please “Come Home” and join us for this occasion October 24-26, 2018 in Pensacola Florida. POC: CAPT Ernie Rogers USN-Ret 434-841-6067 erogers@liberty.edu

Seasprite Reunion Schedule of Events Wednesday, October 24 1500—2000 1700—2000

Seasprite Reunion Check In Grand Hotel Seasprite Reunion Happy Hour Phineas Phoggs @ Seville Quarter

2000—Taps

Meet up with friends and enjoy Dutch-treat dinner downtown1 Thursday, October 25

0900—1600

Seasprite Reunion Check In

National Naval Aviation Museum

0900—1000 0900—1700 0945—1015 1015—1145

Morning Coffee Industry Displays NHA Fleet Fly-In Welcome Ceremony Captains of Industry Panel

National Naval Aviation Museum National Naval Aviation Museum National Naval Aviation Museum National Naval Aviation Museum

1145—1300

Lunch

National Naval Aviation Museum

1300—1430

Active Duty Senior Officer Panel Q&A

National Naval Aviation Museum

1500—1630 1800—2200

H-2 Seasprite Dedication Ceremony & Cake Cutting National Naval Aviation Museum H-2 Seasprite Reunion Gathering and Fleet Fly-in/NHA Join-Up Social Fish House Friday, October 26

1000—1500 1000—1200 1000—1200 1200—1700 1730—1930 2000—2200

Golf

AC Read Golf Course, NAS Pensacola.

Tour Whiting Field Tour National Naval Aviation Museum Free Time to tour old haunts of your beginnings H-2 Banquet Skopelos at New World HSL Squadron Reunions6– in banquet hall at Skopelos

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Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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Deployment: A Junior Officer’s Perspective Features

By LT Jonathan Kokot, USN

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wo sea bags rest at the bottom of the staircase like overgrown olive drab marshmallows. Each appears as if any disturbance may cause the contents to erupt from their canvas confinements. Nearby sits a pile of T-shirts, a pair of basketball kicks, the complete Seinfeld series on DVD, and other essentials that didn’t quite make the final cut.

Midmorning sunlight reflects off the windows of an adjacent San Diego high-rise, illuminating a barren living room. A lonely TV cable and the fresh tracks of recently evacuated furniture are all that remain. Two men of twentysomething lean on the kitchen counter, absorbing the final few minutes of home, or what home used to be.

They are about to move into their new home, a colossal vessel displacing over 95,000 tons Maintenance applies external power to BATTLECAT 712 before a and measuring longer than the height of the morning flight. Photo by YN2 Yap. Empire State Building. As they prepare for their departure, one looks to the other in a moment of panic, “You cancelled the internet subscription, right?”

Deployment is a cornucopia of emotions. For first-tour junior officers, excitement rushes to the forefront in the notion that the past three years of training will finally be on display for the world to see. Friends and family ask, “So how are you feeling about deployment?” to which the only consistent answer is, “I’ve trained for three years for this opportunity. Deployment is our championship game.” The next second, a dread washes over the scene when you realize seven months of voluntary confinement await. You start thinking of the joys left behind. San Diego weather will be replaced by something far less perfect. Interaction with spouses, significant others, and family will be reduced to cryptic emails and photographs. The farmers’ market in Little Italy, volleyball high fives, and acid-washed jeans on the sands of Pacific Beach seem to fade in your rearview mirror. Football season is in its infancy, and you cling desperately to one fantasy team in an effort to maintain a shred of normalcy, thinking, “I can still make the playoffs; I know I can.” As you pull through the gates of Naval Air Station North Island and behold the giant 71 painted proudly on the face of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), you realize that the life you knew is “As you pull through the gates of Naval Air Starapidly sinking into suspended animation. tion North Island and behold the giant 71 painted With great fanfare and excitement, the ship’s whistle proudly on the face of the USS Theodore Roosevelt sounds and “UNDERWAY” blares from the loudspeak(CVN 71), you realize that the life you knew is ers. As San Diego fades from view, the early days of the transit are filled with new and fascinating assaults on the rapidly sinking into suspended animation.” senses. The awesome power of a task force steaming in formation takes the breath away. The acrobatics of a pod of dolphins alongside a nuclear warship coats the situation with a thin layer of irony. As night falls, you catch 25 knots of wind through your perfectly coifed hair and take recess in your stateroom. Hours later, you awaken to the sound of aircraft propellers spinning mere yards from your head, muffled by a few feet of steel and insulation. The din of chains dragging across non-skid leaves you incredulous; simultaneously, one of your roommates commences a minute-long soliloquy in his sleep. Can this be real life?

In what seems like a flash, you’re three months experienced, a salty dog, standing on the flight deck while jets recover. The temperature is 80°F on a mild winter day in the Arabian-Persian Gulf. Another Super Hornet catches the three wire, throwing on afterburner with bone-rattling effect. As you watch the jet clear the landing area, you realize the subtle beauties of the aircraft carrier. Trying to picture haze gray steel and the smell of jet fumes as beautiful may prove difficult, but one only has to watch the flight deck during the launch and recovery of jets to realize there’s a half-century worth of training involved in each evolution.

The movement of six different types of aircraft, including fixed-wing and helicopters, transformed from parked and folded to engines full blast within minutes, is mind-boggling. 5,000 people aboard this floating fortress work around-the-clock to make this dance happen, and each member plays his or her role in a system of cogs which drives the most powerful peace machine on the planet.

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FEATURES In contrast to the magnificent madness of the flight deck, the life of the individual is simplified. One quickly finds him or herself in a groove, like the track of a vinyl record, each day with the potential for new adventure but sometimes hard to distinguish from the previous one. Despite the auditory assault experienced beneath catapult three, a unique calmness pervades the routine. The personal life, and sometimes even personality, melts away. The fear of missing out, or FOMO as we millennials call it, fades from the emotional palette. The crazy train of entertainment and media, which keeps one constantly distracted in land-based life is a hazy memory, almost as if one has returned to an era without data continuously accessible from the ether.

Enter: your new self. Working out becomes a religion in which you pray daily for an open bench press amongst a swarm of sweaty friends. Midnight rations satisfy nutritional needs with a hearty selection of French toast and bacon.

While your stomach is full, your mind hungers for some sort of replacement to the endless textual conversations and Instagram memes of the outside world. Naturally, you gravitate to Hemingway and Huxley to satiate your voracious appetite for mental stimulation. And finally, professionally, you train for flight, you fly, you go to a meeting or two, and then you start it all over again. Such is the life of a junior helicopter pilot on the carrier.

Before being transferred to the carrier, Battlecat 703 sits on the flight deck of the USS Sampson. Photo by AMCS Bauer, USN.

The pilots of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 73 when we’re not working out or eating or tanning on the flight deck, fly with four Hellfire missiles, 1200 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition, and M11s strapped to our legs. Our mission is to conduct sea control operations with combat ready MH- 60R aircraft and personnel deployed onboard an aircraft carrier and surface combatants. With the addition of our Hawaiian brothers and sisters along with two aircraft from the Easyriders of HSM-37, HSM-73 employs 13 aircraft, 46 pilots, 25 aircrew, and 300 maintainers and support personnel onboard one aircraft carrier, one cruiser (USS Bunker Hill), and three destroyers (USS Halsey, USS Sampson, and USS Preble), all in support of Carrier Strike Group 9 initiatives in both 5th and 7th Fleets. So what are sea control operations?

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The open-ended nature of the term blankets the wide variety of roles the MH-60R plays in the projection of U.S. Naval presence and the promotion of freedom. With a political and military environment that proves to be ever-changing and presents multiple threat axes, the mission is exceptionally dynamic. For this reason, HSM-73 trains to several mission sets, the foremost being Armed Surface Reconnaissance.

While in the Arabian-Persian Gulf, protection of the strike group from a surface threat is the highest priority. HSM-73 accomplishes such coverage through a refined process of detection, tracking, identification, and, if necessary, engagement.

Electronic support measures (ESM) detect radar energy from ships and land-based sites. With multi-mode radar, Pilots and Aircrew establish a surface picture of vessels in proximity to the carrier. A multi-spectral targeting system (MTS) enables visual identification via visible and infrared cameras and multiple fields of view. Finally, each crew is experienced in employing laser-guided Hellfire missiles and a door-mounted .50 caliber machine gun. With an arsenal of advanced equipment and extensive training, the Battlecats provide continuous, unbroken protection for the strike group through the entirety of deployment.

Return to the twentysomethings from the opening scene. As one of these former tenderfoots, now on the journey home to San Diego, I can relate to the Navy stories of yore told by my father. What’s more, I have my own memories, upon which I’ll reminisce and certainly bore my progeny. My favorite will be that of a multinational exercise involving three warships and a helicopter in the hunt for a foreign submarine. As years of training poured out in the cockpit, we utilized an array of active and passive sonobuoys, a dipping sonar, and intelligence from our surface friends to become the paintbrush in the art that is anti-submarine warfare. We tracked for two hours, and with the canvas colored in digital paint and the submarine within our metaphorical sights, we had them dead to rights.

Though it is debatable who won the exercise, we had a good laugh and a grand ambassadorial moment as we exchanged waves with the submariners the following day.

With the curtain closing on deployment, I write in amazement of the magnitude of achievement contained in this journey. Under the direction of our Commanding Officer, CDR Ross Drenning, the members of HSM-73 flew over 5,500 hours during our seven months at sea. We accepted brandnew MH-60R pilots from the Fleet Replacement Squadron into the fold, who, within just a week of arrival, flew armed helicopters over the Arabian-Persian Gulf. We identified a multitude of threats, protected the strike group during strait transits, provided an airborne asset to escort friendly vessels through treacherous waters, and conducted close air support training in Kuwait, among many other accomplishments. We acquired experience on both large and small ships alike, flew through sunrise in the international waters off Iranian coastline, and qualified six new aircraft commanders, all while enjoying the sweet melodies of latter-day Metallica.

www.navalhelicopterassn.org

What do I think of deployment now after completing my first? I’m sure I’m not alone when I confess that, on day one, I thought: “Well, I’m going to miss out on seven months of life. If I accept this now, I can put it behind me and just pick up next year where I left off.” Seven months later, I see now that I was foolish to equate deployment to the pause button on my remote control. Deployment isn’t something to dread. Deployment honed my skills and reinforced my confidence as an aircraft commander.

Deployment developed my leadership ability in a way that can’t be learned from Carnegie’s books or Tony Robbins’ seminars. Deployment gave me new brothers and sisters while strengthening the foundation of relationships with coBattlecat crew get ready to start up as the sun begins to set. workers and friends. Finally, it proved to Photo by AMCS Bauer. me that love isn’t bound by distance or cellphones or even each other’s voice. I thought I was going to miss out, but instead, I gained so much. For all this, I am grateful for my experiences aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), USS Halsey (DDG 97), and USS Sampson (DDG 102), and especially for those Sailors and officers I served alongside.

New Naval Aviator Career Path Announced From Chief of Naval Personnel Public Affairs

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avy announced the launch of the Aviation Professional Flight Instructor (PFI) program, designed to improve aviator retention by offering a new career path for officers who have successfully completed an aviation department head tour, Sept. 28, in NAVADMIN 241/18.

Aviators selected by the FY-19 PFI board will return from their department head assignment to serve as flight instructors for a minimum of 36 months, with an option to serve in repeated tours as a flight instructor beyond their initial obligation.

The program will provide selected officers career flexibility, greater assignment stability, and rewarding experiences training the newest naval aviators, with the goals of improving aviator retention and flight instructor manning.

Officers selected for the PFI program can serve until they reach statutory retirement with no further operational assignments, so long as they continue to meet applicable performance standards as a flight instructor.

Officers selected for PFI are no longer eligible for command consideration.

Applications for the first PFI board, scheduled to convene November Aviation instructor Lt. Benjamin Farnham, USN 20, are now being accepted from qualified 1310 and 1320 designated and aviation student 2nd Lt. Seth Montgomlieutenant commanders and commanders with a projected rotation date ery,USMC both assigned to Training Squadron 28 (VT-28) walk out to the flight line for a day of in calendar year 2019.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Full-Time Support and Selected Reserve officers are not eligible to training.

Specialist 2rd Class Victor R. Navarrete. apply for this program.

For program details, eligibility, and application procedures, visit the Navy Personnel Command Aviation Bonus website at https://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-npc/officer/Detailing/aviation/Pages/Professional-Flight-Instructor.aspx or read NAVADMIN 241/18 at www.npc.navy.mil.

Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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FEATURES

Carrier Strike Group 1 Welcomes New Commander

By LTJG Kristina Wiedemann, USN, Carl Vinson Strike Group Public Affairs

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ADM Alvin Holsey, USN relieved RADM John Fuller, USN as commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1 during a pierside change of command ceremony June 12 aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN70). VADM John D. Alexander, USN Commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, presided over the ceremony and thanked Fuller for his efforts over the past 11 months as strike group commander.

“Thank you for being the kind of leader I could count on, your fellow strike group commanders could count on, and most importantly your Sailors could count on.” said Alexander.

“Please know how very proud we are RADM Alvin Holsey, USN renders a salute during a change of command of you and your accomplishments.” ceremony on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson The strike group successfully com(CVN 70). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matpleted a sustainment training exercise thew Granito. in November and a Western Pacific deployment in April. The deployment included bilateral exercises with French and Japanese maritime forces as well as a historic visit to Vietnam, the first by a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in more than 40 years. Alexander presented Fuller the Legion of Merit award during the ceremony.

“It has been such an honor that I have been part of such a great team. I feel I gained so much more than I gave,” said Fuller.

“To my entire staff, thank you for being a family, leading by example and demonstrating great professionalism, humility and tenacity.” Fuller is scheduled to report to U.S. Northern Command in Colorado to serve as the director for strategy, policy and plans.

Holsey addressed strike group staff and leaders after assuming all duties and responsibilities as the CSG-1 commander.

“I am honored today to stand before you as your leader,” said Holsey. “We will take every advantage to execute with professionalism, with purpose, and with precision.”

Holsey received his commission through the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Morehouse College in 1988.

He commanded Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Light (HSL) 37 from 2007 to 2008 and the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) from 2013 to 2014.

Holsey reported to the strike group from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C., where he served as a deputy director for operations.

Carrier Strike Group 1 was formally established in 2009. The strike group includes aircraft carrier Carl Vinson; Carrier Air Wing 2; guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57); Destroyer Squadron 1 guided-missile destroyers USS O’Kane (DDG 77), USS Sterett (DDG 104), USS Dewey (DDG 105), and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112); and USS Michael Monsoor (DDG 1001).

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Helicopter Crew Takes Command of VT-3

By LT Austin B. Butler, USN

tinued in January 1965 and familiarization and basic instrument training was added in its place. In 1968, at the height of the Vietnam War, VT-3 consisted of 174 instructor pilots, 494 SNAs, 649 enlisted members, and 162 T-28 aircraft. By the end of 1968, VT-3 had flown almost 110,000 instructional hours and trained 902 SNAs in the basic prop-training course for that calendar year—these figures represent the record for any training squadron in the history of the Naval Air Training Command. It would not be until 1973 that VT-3 moved to its present location at North Whiting Field, when Advanced Rotary Wing Training began at South Whiting Field.

In 1980, VT-3 became one of the few commands selected to be alternately commanded by Navy and Marine Corps officers as Lt Col G. A. Brown became the Squadron’s first Marine Corps Commanding Officer. The Red Knights were honored again in 1994 when they became the Navy's only Joint Primary Pilot Training squadron to include Air Force students and instructor pilots and in 1995 Lt Col Shawn Elliott became VT-3’s first Air Force Commanding Officer—a position that would alternate between the Navy and Air Force until 2014.

The 21st century brought yet another phase in evolution where the Navy found a need to bridge the technological gap between its training aircraft and its sophisticated fleet aircraft. Being no stranger to innovation, VT-3 was tasked as the first Navy training squadron to fly the new Joint Primary Pilot Training aircraft—the T-6B Texan II. The T-6B is faster, more advanced, and more efficient than the T-34C, and is designed specifically to position SNAs for success in modern aerial platforms. Today, the "Red Knights" continue to provide the highest quality training to SNAs from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and several allied nations. Each SNA is instructed in Day and Night Familiarization, Precision Aerobatics, Basic Instruments, Radio Instruments, and Primary Formation. Upon completion of their training, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard SNAs are tracked for further training in Rotary Wing, Maritime, Strike, or Command and Control Communities.

VT-3’s most recent awards include multiple Chief of Naval Operations Aviation Safety Awards, the coveted Vice Admiral Robert Goldthwaite Training Excellence Award, and the Commander Theodore G. Ellyson Aviator Production Excellence Award. VT-3 has become the benchmark for standardization and procedural compliance and is renowned for its tradition of safety and excellence in the production of military aviators.

CDR Harris graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Minor in Japanese. He completed Primary Flight Training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma and earned his Wings of Gold from HT-18 at NAS Whiting Field in April of 2002, selecting the venerable SH-60B Seahawk. His first sea tour began in 2003 with the HSL-51 Warlords of Atsugi, Japan as Detachment 7 Maintenance Officer and Squadron Assistant Operations Officer. In 2008, he returned to South

Transfer of command

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n March 23, 2018, a historic first took place at Training Squadron Three (VT-3). Command and Execution of the primary fixed wing training squadron onboard NAS Whiting Field was assumed by two South Field trained fleet helicopter pilots. Commander Barnet “Luggage” Harris II assumed command with Commander Mike “Amelia” Gerhart assuming the duties as Executive Officer. CDRs Harris and Gerhart bring with them a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm that is characteristic of Naval helicopter pilots.

As one of the Navy’s five Joint Primary Pilot Training Squadrons, the “Red Knights” of VT-3 have a long and storied history. Tracing its roots back to World War II, Training Squadron 3, Detachment 8-B (VN3D8-B) was organized on February 15, 1943 at Saufley Field in Pensacola, Florida. VN3D8-B was relocated to NAS Whiting Field, Milton, Florida on July 1, 1943 and was later joined by VN3D8-A from Chevalier Field to form Training Squadron 3. VN-3 was decommissioned 18 months after the end of World War II in 1947 due to a reduced demand of military trained and war-ready pilots.

Training Squadron 3 was re-commissioned on May 1, 1960, at South Whiting Field and operated the T-28 Trojan to train Student Naval Aviators (SNAs) in radio instruments, air-to-air gunnery, and formation flying. Air-to-air gunnery was disconRotor Review #142 Fall '18

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FEATURES Whiting Field as an HT-8 Eightballer, later standing up the HT-28 Hellions, to mentor young officers and develop them into Unrestricted Naval Aviators. CDR Harris’s other tours include: the USS Essex (LHD-2) out of Sasebo, Japan as the V-3 Division Officer, Aircraft Handling Officer, and ship's INSURV Coordinator; HSL-37 Easyriders out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii as the Safety Officer, Det 2 OIC, and Squadron Maintenance Officer; the Naval War College and most recently CENTCOM as a Joint Planning Officer.

CDR Harris joined VT-3 as the squadron’s Executive Officer on 28 October 2016.

During his time as XO, VT-3 became the most efficient Primary Flight Training squadron thanks to a command dedicated to safe, quality training.

CDR Harris speaking as the new CO. CDR Gerhart, a fleet SH-60B and MH60R pilot, enlisted in the United States Navy in November 1992. While serving on the USS Kentucky (SSBN 737), he was selected for the Navy’s Enlisted Commissioning Program. He received his degree from Auburn University in 2001 and earned his Wings of Gold in January 2003. His first operational tour was with the HSL-46 Grandmasters in Mayport, Florida. He deployed aboard USS Spruance (DD 963) in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom and aboard USS Stephen W. Groves (FFG 29) participating in counter narco-terrorism (CNT) operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Other tours include serving in HSM-40 Airwolves as a Fleet Replacement Squadron Instructor Pilot; a tour on the USS Essex (LHD 2) out of Sasebo, Japan as Mini Boss, Flight Deck Handling Officer, and V-1 Division Officer; the Naval War College,; and USAFRICOM serving as Executive Officer for J8 Directorate.

CDR Harris assumes command of a squadron with a long and storied history of excellence, efficiency, and safety, having flown more than 812,000 flight hours without a Class Alpha mishap. Each of the 60 flight instructors and 5 civilian personnel assigned to VT-3 take great pride in serving an integral role in training Student Naval Aviators. Their combined effort is responsible for approximately 16,000 annual flight hours and the successful completion of over 220 primary SNAs per year. Together with the outstanding experience of CDR Gerhart, CDR Harris and the “Red Knights” will continue to set the standard of excellence set forth by its predecessors. The multi-platform experience of two fleet rotary pilots is sure to benefit the SNAs of VT-3 by adding new perspectives and diversity to the training of future Naval Aviators.

(L to R) CDR Biggs (former CO), CDR Harris (current CO), CDR Gerhart (current XO)

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Focus: Tactical Evolution

Complex Mine Warfare Training Complete in RIMPAC SOCAL

By MC2 Curtis D. Spencer, USN

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he tactical free play phase of Mine Warfare operations in the Southern California (SOCAL) area of operations in support of the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise finished n July 30, 2018. The tactical free play phase is one of the five phases of the exercise, and the most complex training for participating units in mine warfare operations.

Commander, Task Force (CTF) 177 U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Dave Welch served as RIMPAC's Mine Warfare Commander.

Welch also serves as Commander, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC) and the Navy's Global Mine Warfare Commander. SMWDC maintains the Navy's operational mine warfare battle staff, maintaining the capability to stand up a mine warfare task Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class John Jacops, USN (left) and force in all U.S. numbered fleet areas of Chief Naval Aircrewman Shaun Daniels,USN assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 14, explain how the MK-104 operation. acoustic minesweeping device functions to RADM Jim W. Kilby, USN, "I am immensely proud of the work our Commander, Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development CenRIMPAC Mine Warfare Task Force comter.U.S. Navy photo by LCDR Jeremy Braun, USN. pleted during the exercise to achieve national and international training objectives, and I am confident that the strong partnerships and inincluded the assessment of mine countermeasure forces in creased capability we developed will ensure our mutual confined waters and sea lines of communication. security and prosperity," said Welch.

CTF 177 operations in RIMPAC SOCAL were part of a CTF 177 was comprised of 26 units with approximatenumber of firsts this year. It was the first time that a Royal ly 1,100 personnel representing the United States, AusNew Zealand Navy (RNZN) commander led the UMCM eftralia, Canada, England, Japan, the Netherlands and New fort in a RIMPAC exercise; the first operational, fleet testing Zealand. The task force completed advanced mine warof the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) fare operations during the exercise, neutralizing more and Airborne Mine Neutralization System (AMNS); the than 50 training mines. first year that MSRT-W participated in the SOCAL area of Five combined task groups (CTG) served within the operations; and the first joint training between naval and task force to provide the commander a wide spectrum of merchant maritime experts in RIMPAC. surface, airborne (AMCM), expeditionary (EXMCM), Twenty-five nations, 46 ships, five submarines, 200 airand underwater (UMCM) mine countermeasures capacraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC bilities. The Royal Australian Navy's Mine Warfare and from June 27 to Aug. 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands Clearance Diving Squadron (AUSMCDSQN) (CTG and Southern California. The world's largest international 177.1), Commander, Mine Countermeasures Squadron maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training op(MCMRON 3) (CTG 177.2), USS Harpers Ferry (LSD portunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative rela49) (CTG 177.3), U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Security tionships among participants critical to ensuring the safety Response Team (MSRT-W) (CTG 177.4), and Helicopof sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC ter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 21 led each of the task 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971. groups.

The mine warfare training operations were structured into five phases: staging and integration; force integration training; two simultaneous tactical phases including the tactical free play phase; and a debrief and refurbishment period. The objectives for the CTF 177 team

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Tactical Evolution

Romeos Down Under

By LCDR John “Senator” Edwards,USN MH-60R MTT II Officer in Charge, HSM-35 Mobile Training Team Australia, provides an outstanding opportunity for a lucky few pilots and aircrewmen. In November 2017, Helicopter Maritime Strike Wing Pacific started sending MH-60R Mobile Training Teams to Australia under an U.S. Pacific Command sponsored Security Cooperation, Education and Training (SCET) agreement with the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm. Each team is comprised of two pilots and two aircrewmen, who embed with 725 Squadron, RAN’s MH-60R Fleet Replenishment Squadron, to advise and support Australia’s two Romeo squadrons. One year into the SCET agreement, MTT II is wrapping up a highly rewarding six month deployment to HMAS Albatross, New South Wales, Australia. The MTTs are paving the way for greater U.S. and Australian interoperability while advancing RAN integration of Romeo tactics. In return, the U.S. crews are gaining new skills and perspectives on uniquely Australian Romeo employment and operations.

Located roughly 3 hours drive south of Sydney, HMAS Albatross is sandwiched between pristine Jervis Bay and the wilderness (bush) of Australia’s Great Escarpment. Thanks to the exceptional location of the airfield, crews can easily employ the Airborne Low Frequency Sonar and then transition into multiple pinnacles and confined area landings in a two hour bag. Within a short 20 minute flight, you’ll find yourself deep into the Australian Bush with just Kangaroos and Wombats to keep you company.

Once arriving in Australia, the teams are immersed into an eight week long Australian Standardization training program that integrates the American crews into the Australian

flight system. It is a truly eye opening experience for American crews, who are suddenly thrust into a single piloted crew model. The Australian’s operate the Romeo with a Pilot, Aviation Warfare Officer (AvWO) and a Sensor Operator. The AvWO is a hyperspecialized left seat tactician that is unable to fly the helicopter. Therefore, the Australian and American pilots must operate RAN Romeos single piloted. In addition to the unique crew model, RAN crews are required to maintain a uniquely Australian set of skills that include practice night autorotation, night vertical replenishment, dry hoists to pinnacles and confined area landings of opportunity. Some of the skills and profiles flown in Australia could prove beneficial to American crews if adopted by the US Navy.

Following Australianization, the MTT crews focus on bolstering squadron currency and training (SCT) events along with advising on Australian NATOPS and tactics programs.

MTT crews can expect between 25 to 50 hours a month supporting SCT events, simulators and functional check flights.

As the SCET agreement continues to mature, additional opportunities are opening up for greater integration and training within the RAN’s 725 and 816 squadrons (816 is Australia’s operational MH-60R squadron). MTT II has helped progress Australian formation flying and integration of section tactics.

There is considerable interest in developing Australia’s Night Tactical Formation program along with advancing interoperability between USN and RAN MH-60Rs. The flying in Australia is without comparison to anything you will have ever experienced in the United States. Whether you are a senior pilot or highly experienced aircrewman, you will be challenged and find yourself shaping employment of Romeos by one of America’s closest Allies and partners. In addition to the rewarding flying and interaction with the RAN, there are incredible opportunities for team members to visit and get to know Australia. The successes of the first two MTTs have paved the way for MTT III and MTT IV to arrive in 2019. Hopefully, the success of the SCET agreement with Australia will open new opportunities for future MTTs in Australia and other MH60R foreign sales countries.

AWR1 Alon Heath cons Australian crew into CA of opportunity along NSW, Australia coastline

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A Hidden Danger

By Mike Hixenbaugh, The Virginian-Pilot; and Jason Paladino, Investigative Reporting Program.

Reprinted from The Virginian Pilot he U.S. Navy often stages pictures of aircraft carriers program office for mine warfare in the years following the first surrounded by other warships to show the size, power Gulf War. “Even if the new systems meet all their operational targets, they won’t be as good as the ships and helicopters and reach of American might. It’s an intimidation tactic.

The photo op in April of 2016 was different. These ships we’ve had in service for decades.”

CAPT Eric Wirstrom,USN, the commander in charge of weren’t loaded with fighter jets or missiles. Some were made carrying out the Navy’s mine-clearing mission in the waters of of wood. And instead of high-powered ordnance, they carried the Middle East, doesn’t worry about when future mine-clearadvanced sonar-mapping systems, remote-controlled undering systems will come online or how they’ll perform. The agwater robots and Navy divers from Virginia Beach. ing mine-clearing systems he’s got now are up to the task, he The promotional photo captured at the start of the Intersaid in an interview aboard the Ponce minutes before the aerial national Mine Countermeasures Exercise wasn’t meant to photo op in April. intimidate so much as to deter, to let enemies know, should “I’ve got the capacity that I’ve got in theater today, and it’s they place mines in international waters – as Iran threatened my job to make use of the kit that I have,” Wirstrom said. in 2012 – the U.S. and its allies will come together and clear “I’d love to have more capacity, and I’d love to have it sooner, them. So don’t bother. and I’d love to have it now, and I’d love for it to be deployed It’s a critical mission, even if it’s rarely called upon. Of the today.

But the fact of the matter is ... I’ve got some meaningful 19 U.S. Navy ships seriously damaged or sunk since World capacity that I can use to accomplish the mission.”

War II, 14 were done in by mines. And, according to experts, That mission, he said, is far more important than most peoa single naval mine in a commercial shipping channel could ple realize.“I view mines as the asymmetric threat.” throw global markets into crisis.

Yet U.S. ships and aircraft responsible for mine clearing The Mission have not received nearly the attention – or funding – given The threat of mines is real – and growing – according to to more high-profile ships and aircraft, like those waging the the Navy. offensive air campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and More than a quarter-million sea mines are held in the invenSyria. tories of 50 navies around the world, including Iran, China The latest chapter in a familiar narrative for anyone who’s and North Korea, and they come in more than 300 varieties. worked in mine countermeasures. Some have called the misThat figure doesn’t include underwater improvised explosive sion the Navy’s “red headed stepchild” – an imperative capadevices, which can be fashioned from fuel bladders, 50-gallon bility that only gets attention and funding after something bad drums and even discarded refrigerators. happens, like in 1991 when two Navy ships were damaged Mines are the kind of weapon that military strategists call an just an hour apart by sea mines, preventing an amphibious “asymmetric threat.”

That means a far weaker adversary could landing in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War. use them to do significant damage against the U.S. and othEven as Navy leaders have shifted hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years to improve the service’s existing mine-clearing abilities – leading to the rapid development and deployment of some new technology to augment the old – the failures of LCS mean the sea service must continue relying on aging ships and aircraft.

Perhaps more troubling, according to LCS critics and the Pentagon’s own weapons tester, is that even if the LCS mine countermeasures package meets all of its remaining development deadlines and enters service a few years from now, it won’t be able to clear mines as quickly or effectively as the old helicopters and ships it’s supposed to replace.

“We’re funding these new systems that, when you look behind the curtain, are not as capable as the systems that they are reA sailor aboard USS Sentry practices guiding the SeaFox unmanned unplacing,” said Bob O’Donnell, a retired derwater vehicle toward a dummy mine in the Persian Gulf. Photo by Mike Navy captain who directed the service’s Hixenbaugh The Virginian-Pilot

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Tactical Evolution er Western powers. In 1988, the frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts hit a $1,000 Iranian mine, causing more than $100 million in damage.

The Navy is increasingly concerned that the Islamic State or other terrorist groups could acquire and deploy cheap naval mines, which analysts say are available on the international black market to any group able and willing to pay.

One potential nightmare scenario: A few mines in the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East could shut down the key shipping channel for days or weeks. A fifth of the world’s oil supply moves through the narrow passage, the only route connecting the oil-rich Persian Gulf region to the open sea. Blocking it for even a few days could have a significant impact on global markets.

To emphasize the concern, the mine-clearing exercise Sailors signal an MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter assigned to the “Vanguard” of Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron led by the U.S. this spring tested how the international 14 (HM-14) to take off from the amphibious assault ship USS community would respond if a terrorist group placed Wasp (LHD 1). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialmines in Hormuz or in other strategic choke points in ist 2nd Class Rawad Madanat. the region. Reporters for The Virginian-Pilot and the Investigative Reporting Program traveled to Bahrain in April to The Sea Dragons observe the exercise.

The Sea Dragon, the oldest Navy helicopter in service, was Eight countries sent mine countermeasures assets to particisupposed to be retired beginning in 2005. pate, and more than 20 other nations sent support personnel, Why hasn’t that happened? including England, which shares responsibility with the U.S. “Because we’ve not found technology yet that can replace for maintaining open sea lanes in the region. For three weeks, them,” said Wirstrom, calling the helicopters “vital” to accomcrews from different nations fanned out across the Persian plishing his mission.

Gulf, testing their ability to communicate and work together The problem: After nearly two decades of research and deto find and remove dummy mines that had been placed by a velopment – and hundreds of millions of dollars – the Navy fictional terrorist group called “The Movement.” has yet to come up with a suitable replacement for its powerThe wargame scenario is a real possibility, VADM Kevin ful, minesweeping helicopter.

Donegan, the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central ComUnlike mine countermeasures ships, the Sea Dragons can mand, said at the start of the exercise: “Not only do we know be deployed anywhere in the world within 72 hours. They can that they have the capabilities, but we know they would want sweep more quickly and in choppy seas. They can pull multo disrupt sea traffic because impacting the global sea trade tiple devices to find or detonate different types of mines, and would make a big statement.” they can do so without placing sailors in the minefield.

Let’s hope it never comes to that, said Scott Truver, a WashBut that doesn’t mean it’s safe work. Over a three-year periington-based defense analyst who has spent 30 years studying od beginning in 2012 – as the helicopter aged beyond its origmine warfare. The best defense against naval mines, he said, is inal service life after initial replacement plans fell through – no preventing enemies from using them in the first place. other military aircraft crashed at a higher rate. That troubled “It’s difficult, dangerous work,” Truver said. “Mines are very, stretch came to a head in January 2014, when a Sea Dragon very difficult to detect and neutralize once they’re out there.” crashed off the coast of Virginia Beach. The crew had been It’s a complicated, time-consuming process, Wirstrom said. practicing towing a sonar device in the Atlantic Ocean when That’s part of the reason the mission is often overlooked, he old wiring chafed against a fuel line in the cabin, igniting a fire said. And no matter how much time is spent searching for that burned and blinded the pilots. Three crew members were mines – no matter how many sweeps have been made – there’s killed; two others were injured. always at least a small chance not all the mines will be found.

The tragedy put a spotlight on the often-overlooked heli“That’s when I have a conversation with the fleet commandcopter program and revealed age-related safety hazards prever, and I tell him, ‘I have applied this much effort and this is alent throughout the fleet. Most of the Sea Dragons were what I think the residual risk is. Are you comfortable with grounded for several months in 2015 while crews worked to it?’ “ Wirstrom said. “There will always be risk. My job is to find and replace hundreds of potentially unsafe fuel lines and minimize it, and to do it as quickly as possible.” wiring bundles.

To get the job done, the U.S. Navy relies primarily on a Since then, Navy leaders have made a priority of restoring dozen wooden-hulled mine countermeasures ships, 28 MHthe helicopters and giving the sailors who maintain and fly 53E Sea Dragon helicopters and divers trained in explosive them more resources to do the job.The four Sea Dragons forordnance disposal – capabilities that were developed and inward deployed in Bahrain were the first to be restored and retroduced a generation ago.

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turned to service, Wirstrom said. That’s because without them, his ability to clear a minefield is significantly diminished.

Keeping the aging helicopters in flying shape and its crew members trained on mine-clearing techniques is hard work, said Capt. Chris O’Flaherty, a British naval officer who serves as Wirstrom’s deputy in Bahrain.

“The 53 guys have a hell of a challenge,” O’Flaherty said.

“Not only do they have to aviate, they also have to mine countermeasure. And those are two different very interesting skill sets there that they have to (practice) constantly. Because if mines go in the water, I’m not going to sit there and wait for one of those skill sets to be regenerated. I’ve got to make sure they are top of their game right now.”

The Navy says it’s committed to retiring the Sea Dragons in 2025. That’s when officials hope the littoral combat ship’s mine-clearing package will be ready to take over the mission.

But even then, the military’s top weapons tester warns, none of the systems planned to be launched from LCS will replicate all of the Sea Dragon’s capabilities, including its ability to rapidly neutralize “near-surface mines,” those that are moored or anchored to the seafloor and float just below the surface. That job will have to be handled by divers trained to disable mines, and the LCS is not designed to carry them on a regular basis.

“Even if this (mine countermeasures) package meets all of its final increment requirements, legacy systems will be needed to perform the full range of mine clearance operations,” said Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway, a spokesman for the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, or DOT&E, which tests new weapons systems and reports to the Secretary of Defense. Rankine-Galloway said the Office of Naval Research is examining new technology that might be able to do the job and will work to develop it over the next decade.

In the meantime, the Navy is now exploring ways to keep some Sea Dragons in service even beyond 2025, possibly by restoring up to four used airframes acquired from Japan. That country replaced its Sea Dragons several years ago and replaced them with a smaller, more efficient minesweeping helicopter.

Mineman 1st Class Justin Crabtree lowers a mine neutralization vehicle aboard the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship USS Chief (MCM 14) into the water. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jordan Crouch.

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The mine countermeasures ship USS Chief (MCM 14) U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew P. Holmes.

The Avengers At first, it sounds preposterous: In 2016, the world’s largest military operates a small fleet of wooden warships. But there’s a good reason the Navy’s Avenger class of mine countermeasures ships were constructed with hulls made of wood: These ships are tasked with moving through live minefields.

Unlike other Navy vessels, a ship made of wood won’t set off magnetic mines. The ship passes over a minefield while towing various devices designed to set off different kinds of mines; the underwater bombs detonate in the ship’s wake.

At least that’s the way it’s supposed to work, said Master Chief Petty Officer Ronnie Auman, the top enlisted sailor aboard the USS Sentry, one of four U.S. minesweepers stationed in the Middle East.

“There’s always a risk going through a minefield,” Auman said while leading journalists on a tour of the ship in April.

Like the Sea Dragons, the Avengers have been kept in service longer than planned. When it was learned a few years ago that a majority of the ships weren’t in good enough shape to perform the mission, the Navy worked to restore and modernize the vessels with updated sonar and mine neutralization systems.

As with any old ship, it often takes more work – and money – to keep them running.

Lt. Al Argante of Virginia Beach, the chief engineer aboard Sentry, said he and his crew take a lot of pride in keeping the old ship going. A few weeks before the exercise, Argante said Sentry had to go into a drydock for unscheduled maintenance to replace the shafting after the ship lost propulsion at sea.

That’s part of life on an old ship, he said.

“It requires a lot of commitment,” Argante said. “You have to be on top of things, expecting what’s going to break. You have to plan ahead and make sure you have the parts available to support your repair and the bodies available and properly trained personnel to maintain your equipment.”

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Tactical Evolution In 16 years in the Navy, Auman has never been called on to clear mines in a real-world scenario. That’s part of the challenge of funding mine countermeasures: The threat is there, but it’s rarely in the headlines.

“We just have to stay ready in case that day comes,” Auman said.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 3rd Class Jake Ballard and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician 1st Class Ruben Villegas, both assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 5 (EODMU-5), swim to a buoy before diving during underwater mine countermeasures training in Apra Harbor, Guam. U.S. Navy photo by

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Stacy D. Laseter.

Man In The Minefield The Navy’s future mine countermeasures force has been in development since the 1990s. The original idea was to launch a suite of mine-clearing systems from aboard destroyers, but plans shifted a decade ago to the LCS, a small surface vessel designed to operate close to the shore and carry out a variety of missions.

The Navy’s underlying goal for the past 20 years of mine countermeasures research and development: “Get the man out of the minefield.”

In other words, develop remote systems to do the job and minimize risk to sailors doing the work. Not everyone, though, agrees that’s been the best approach.

“You know, if I were to grouse for a second,” Wirstrom said aboard the Ponce, “the mantra has been ‘We’re going to get the man out of the minefield.’ And from my perspective, that is the absolute wrong thing.”

A more important goal, Wirstrom said, should be finding ways to clear minefields more quickly and to a greater degree of certainty, effectively reducing the risk to ships passing through afterward. That’s the heart of the mine countermeasures mission, Wirstrom said. Reducing risk for sailors doing the work should also be a priority, he said, but it can’t be the overarching goal.

“My commanders ask me how long it’s going to take me to do my job,” he said. “And then the second question is ... ‘how much risk am I going to assume.’ So I think they are focused

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on time and risk. I’ve never been asked how many men I can get out of the minefield.”

Wirstrom said he understands why the Navy has invested so much on unmanned systems, and he agrees with the goal of finding alternatives to the Avenger-class minesweepers, which represent “a ship with a price tag on it, and a bunch of souls on board.” But if clearing a minefield faster means sending in sailors, he said, then so be it.

“It takes a heck of a lot of effort to accomplish the mission.”

The LCS mine-clearing strategy gets men out of the minefield, but will it do the job better?

According to Pentagon weapons evaluators, right now the answer is “no.” Assuming the mine countermeasures systems planned for LCS all work as planned, together they likely won’t be able to find mines and clear them as quickly or to the same level of certainty as the systems in place today, said Rankine-Galloway, the DOT&E spokesman.

The weapons testers laid out their concerns in scathing detail last fall: Critical counter-mine systems planned for LCS, including a laser mine-detection system, “are not reliable.” The ship itself “is not reliable.” Overall mine-hunting capabilities “are limited” in anything other than calm seas. And the airborne mine neutralization system – the ship’s primary means for disabling underwater explosives – “cannot neutralize most of the mines” the Navy is likely to encounter; Navy divers would have to handle the job most of the time.

In summary, Rankine-Galloway said, Pentagon weapons testers concluded that the mine countermeasures mission package, as it exists today, “would not be operationally effective nor operationally suitable if the Navy called upon it to conduct mine countermeasure missions in combat” and that a single LCS equipped with the first phases of the mine countermeasure mission package “would provide little or no operational capability.”

The Future Problems with the LCS program came to a head this spring, when the Navy canceled the Remote Minehunting System, which was supposed to be a centerpiece of the future mine countermeasures force.

Although Navy officials and the system’s manufacturer Lockheed Martin argue that the system could effectively hunt for mines, the Navy agreed to stop production and instead deploy three different developmental vehicles to tow its unmanned sonar system. The remote system wasn’t the first LCS mine countermeasure device to be canceled over the years.

Since 2005, according to DOT&E, the Navy has scrapped a gun that would have neutralized mines from the cabin of an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter, canceled plans to have the underpowered helicopter tow sonar and mine-neutralization devices, and moved away from plans to station divers and dolphins aboard littoral combat ships to identify mines in shallow waters.

CAPT Scott Burleson, the head of the Navy’s mine warfare program office, said the new systems will eventually be able to get the job done. Once the LCS and its mine countermeasures systems are fully operational, he said, “there are no capability www.navalhelicopterassn.org

The LCS concept was designed to adapt to emerging technologies and can be reconfigured in response to any individual system failures, said Colleen O’Rourke, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command, which oversees the procurement of new systems. In other words, the Navy remains confident that LCS will be up to the task.

Time is running out to get it right, though. The Avengers retirement is scheduled to begin in 2019. The last Sea Dragon is slated to be retired sometime after 2025.

Sometime in that window, the LCS mine countermeasures package is expected to finally enter service and reach full operational capability. But what if there are more delays? More system failures? Extending the old helicopters and ships for additional years is not an option up for consideration, Burleson said.

The threat of sea mines is only getting worse, leaving little room for error.

“We’re bumping right up against that point where you need to be procuring and doing some of the final certifications ... before we start to retire some of the existing capabilities,” Burleson said.

O’Donnell, the retired Navy captain, has closely followed development of LCS and its mine countermeasures systems over the years. He agrees that the goal of removing sailors from the minefield – the underlying premise driving LCS mine countermeasures development – has distracted from the more crucial goal of clearing mines quickly and with increased certainty.

“For some reason they’ve gotten fixated on getting the man out of the minefield,” said O’Donnell, the retired Navy captain. “But they haven’t asked, ‘Is that helping our real mission, which is getting the ship or the aircraft carrier through the minefield?’ You may have gotten the man out of the minefield, but you also may have made it more dangerous for the ships transiting through afterward, which is the actual mission.”

For now, in the Middle East and in other contested waters, the Sea Dragons and Avengers remain in service years longer than planned – patched up with recent repairs and upgrades – representing the U.S. Navy’s first-line of defense against what might be its enemies’ most efficient weapon.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 conduct floating mine countermeasures training supported by a MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lucas T. Hans.

gaps.”

“We go about it a different way,” Burleson said. “But ... we are not taking any gaps from the current in-service capabilities with the LCS.” A DOT&E spokesman responded to the comment in an email: “DOT&E does not question that Capt. Burleson was expressing the Navy’s current intentions, but we currently cannot predict with any confidence when the LCS will reach full mine countermeasures capability and what that capability will be.”

Burleson has the difficult job of providing resources to the Navy’s existing mine countermeasures fleet while also funding the development of the future systems, dividing limited resources between current systems while simultaneously developing their replacements.

He acknowledged that job becomes more difficult each time the future technology is delayed. Right now, his office spends about 45 percent of its $1.4 billion budget on support for existing mine countermeasures assets, like the Avengers and Sea Dragons. The rest of the money goes to the development of the future systems to be launched off the LCS. That means making tough choices, Burleson said. For example, his office provides about $20 million a year for Sea Dragon mine-countermeasures operations. That’s about about 50 percent of what the squadron says is needed, Burleson said.

Money for maintaining the helicopters comes from a separate budget.

“It’s a constant challenge,” Burleson said. “We’ve got essentially a limited amount of resources, and we’re trying to ensure that, if we have to fight today, that we’ve got a capability out there that the regional commander is going to be able to use.

That’s a priority. But at the same time ... if we can’t ever get the new systems to the fleet, it’s hard to take the old stuff away from the warfighter out there.”

A prototype of the Remote Mine Hunting System is lowered from a littoral combat ship during sea trials.

Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin.

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2005 - Hurricane Katrina: Response and Lessons Learned John “Bear” Moseley, CGAA Historian

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he response to Hurricane Katrina, one of the largest natural disasters in our nation’s history, illustrates both the capabilities of the United States Coast Guard and its operational principles that promote leadership, accountability, and delegation of authority to qualified personnel at the lowest possible level, facilitating rapid response and maximizing effectiveness in dynamic environments. The result is an exceptional high standard of performance. This narrative addresses the search and rescue effort and is focused on the aviation activities.

Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005, then crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane and strengthened rapidly in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. RADM Robert Duncan, Commander CGD8, authorized the evacuation of dependents and relocated elements of the District Staff from New Orleans, Louisiana to St. Louis, Missouri. Warnings were broadcast to mariners and the offshore community. District aircraft and surface units were pre-positioned to places which insured their survival and their ability to respond immediately as per the District Commander’s intent. Liaison was established with state and local authorities and the Atlantic Area Commander was regularly appraised of the situation and possible assistance required.

Atlantic Area Operations Forces, CAPT Neil Buschman, had been monitoring the storm since formation as a tropical depression and coordinated potential asset requirements with the District As Katrina became a Category 4 storm it became apparent that a large response would be necessary.

Preparation normally goes through four phases, each with an increased number of assets. Certain assets are Area controlled and others by the District. Aviation forces asset availability is coordinated with the District OSR and the Air Stations because of minimum SAR requirements and the fact that the aviation assets are first responders. CAPT Steve Taylor, Aviation and Force Manager Atlantic Area, stated that by Sunday the 28th the response had become a maximum effort. The District Commanders gave everything they could and still maintain minimum SAR. LANTAREA, Vice Admiral Vivian Crea, authorized the temporary suspension of OBAT to provide more helicopter aircraft. Both Captain Buschman and Captain Taylor alluded to the fact that aviation units are pro-active and as a result began phasing for deployment on the 28th to pre-position themselves so that they would be on scene and operational as soon as possible after hurricane passage.

Katrina was upgraded to Category 5 at 7:00 am on the 28th and was projected to hit in the New Orleans area. The Coast Guard air station at New Orleans evacuated its five HH-65 helicopters in the early afternoon – three to Lake Charles and two to Houston. ATC Mobile evacuated aircraft to HITRON facilities at Cecil Field Jacksonville. The Hurricane came ashore, on the morning of the 29th, just east of the Mississippi River as a Category 4 hurricane with weakening Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

Hurricane Katrina

winds. The New Orleans helicopters were airborne in the late morning for Houma, 35 miles southwest of New Orleans, so as to be in position to render assistance as soon as the weather permitted. When the winds reduced to 60 kts, the maximum wind that the helicopters could turn the rotor for starting, two helicopters launched and proceeded to Venice via Grand Isle and then northbound up the river. There are a lot of small towns that line the river and a lot of people. The pilots reported utter devastation: houses were shredded into bits; boats were everywhere up on top of the levee, on top of bridges, and in the woods; heavy flooding; homes under water; and people in distress. The first of the rescues was at 2:50 that afternoon and they continued on into the night. The remaining three helicopters launched shortly thereafter for New Orleans via the Coast Guard air station located at the Joint Reserve Air Base, New Orleans. They were over the city shortly after 16:00 and rescues commenced and continued through the night. Five Houston HH-65 helicopters arrived at the New Orleans air station that evening and began rescue operations.

ATC Mobile aircraft commenced the return shortly after noon but had to make intermittent stops due to the strong weather bands on the east side of the hurricane. They arrived at Mobile in the late afternoon. Rescue operations commenced immediately along the Alabama–Mississippi Coast and on into New Orleans. Mobile operations also continued on through the night. Others began to arrive. Within 12 hours after landfall a quarter of the Coast Guard’s entire helicopter fleet were conducting rescues over New Orleans and the Mississippi coast. – An amazing feat. - The number of aircraft and crews continued to increase during the next two days.

Mississippi suffered extensive damage. Although the storm had weakened the wind driven storm surge peaked at 28 feet at landfall because of large waves, in excess of 30 feet, that were generated when Katrina was a Category 5 storm. The city of Biloxi was decimated; major east west highways in southern Mississippi became impassable due to storm debris; down42

Tactical Evolution town Gulfport was under 10 feet of water and structures flooded for miles inland; Wa v e l a n d was devastated leaving no inhabitable structures; Aerial View of Long Beach, Mississippi and communications infrastructure was described as non-existent. Alabama also suffered significant damage resulting in large amounts of debris.

New Orleans sustained far reaching damage as the hurricane passed to the east on the morning of August 29. Many high-rise buildings suffered blown out windows, while roof sections of the Louisiana Superdome, where over ten thousand people had sought shelter, were stripped away. The storm surge, extreme amounts of rain, and high winds stressed the city’s extensive levee system. The levee on the 17th street canal gave way shortly after 9:00 am and the city began to flood.

This was followed by 28 additional breeches over the next 24 hours. It was these breeches and overtoppings of the levee system that flooded the city and turned a severe hurricane into a disaster of catastrophic proportions. The New Orleans primary and secondary power sources were lost rendering the pumping stations, which could have prevented some of the flooding, inoperative. There was also widespread destruction of the communications infrastructure which made it extremely difficult for state and local responders to effectively evaluate or address the situation.

Both the New Orleans air station and ATC Mobile sustained hurricane damage; New Orleans much more severe than Mobile. At New Orleans there was heavy damage to the hangar and attached buildings. All of the locker rooms, maintenance office spaces, maintenance shops, crew lounge, eating area, and the berthing area were rendered unusable by flooding which took place because the roof pealed back on the hangar and surrounding buildings. With no berthing area on-board station personnel slept on cots and the floor of the administration building. Limited electrical power was provided by an auxiliary generator and there was no air conditioning.

For the first seven days Air Station New Orleans personnel subsisted on bottled water and packaged Meals Ready to Eat (MRE’s) flown in by Coast Guard C-130’s. The ramp area, however, was serviceable. Mobile lost part of the hangar roof and the operations center. Initially communications consisted of satellite phone and limited cell phone availability. The rest of the buildings were damaged but serviceable.

Air Station New Orleans is eight air miles south of the center of the city - well within the rescue area - and thus became the forward operating base. ATC Mobile, 50 minutes flight time to the east of New Orleans served as the major staging area, force provider and maintenance facility for aircraft and crews that were cycled continuously to and from the New Or43

leans area. In addition ATC Mobile had rescue responsibility for the Alabama and Mississippi area. Almost all airborne rescue operations in the Mississippi area were completed within 36 hours of Katrina’s landfall as the Mississippi first responder infrastructure worked well. The Mississippi National Guard, police, and fire personnel were on scene rapidly and coordination between these units and the Coast Guard allowed for quicker completion of the rescue mission.

Tactical control was shared between ATC Mobile and CGAS New Orleans. Aircraft and supplemental crews from air stations around the country operated out of Mobile. They received initial tasking at Mobile. Those assigned to the New Orleans area would refuel at CGAS New Orleans, debrief, eat and then tasked by CGAS New Orleans based on updated information. The NAS fuel facilities were made operational by Coast Guard technicians and additional fuel was flown in by Coast Guard C-130 aircraft. The missions were scheduled for six hours and at the end of scheduled mission time the helicopters would return to Mobile and debrief. The crews would be replaced by fresh crews who had been briefed and tasked and the helicopters again departed for the New Orleans area.

The operations ran 24/7. The three training branches HH60, HH-65 and HU-25 became operations and scheduling for their respective aircraft. Captain David Callahan, Commanding Officer of ATC Mobile said the debrief, brief and tasking were conducted in a make shift operations building using white boards in a manner that was similar to that used during World War II. By the third day 43 aircraft and 2000 personnel had arrived at ATC Mobile. Personnel slept on cots wherever space could be found and base support personnel did an outstanding job in feeding that number using facilities designed to support far fewer.

Almost all airborne rescue operations in the Mississippi area were completed within 36 hours of Katrina’s landfall.

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Viewed from the air the city of New Orleans was a shocking sight of utter destruction. Vast stretches of the city resembled a community of houseboats. Twenty-block neighborhoods were under water as high as the roofs of the houses.

People were everywhere; on top of houses, on the roofs of apartment buildings and the balconies of high-rises. Some were in trees and others on the tops of submerged vehicles. During daylight people waved anything that would attract attention, wrote messages on roofs, large sheets of plywood or any cardboard they could find.

At night they used flashlights to draw attention resulting in a thousand twinkling lights against a black background. Most helicopter hoists, made in obstacle-strewn environments over power lines and downed trees, challenged both pilots and hoist operators to his or her limits.

Nighttime operations were conducted using night vision goggles. Daytime operations were The swimmers would set priorities and determined who needed conducted in temperatures in the high nineties immediate evacuation. A disabled person in a wheelchair, a diabetic or the elderly would go first.would go out first. with the humidity in the 90 percentile; often in power limited HH-65B aircraft. When the helicopters refueled at New Orleans between sorties the pilot tree. Mayor Nagin predicted that there would be 10,000 lives and co-pilot would switch seats to compensate for the strain lost. The final count was 964 directly attributed to the storm. of holding rock solid hovers and operating the aircraft on its There were a number of reasons for this difference such as the margin all the time in the worst possible environmental con- rapid response of the Coast Guard, its ability to adjust to the ditions. situation, and in a very real sense the proficiency and ability There was an urgency felt by all crews to continue rescuing of the rescue swimmers who came in direct contact with the a seemingly endless supply of increasingly desperate survivors survivors. The swimmers would set priorities and determined as the dark nights and hot days wore on. It was a sustained who needed immediate evacuation. A disabled person in a maximum effort that was possible only because of the Coast wheelchair or a diabetic or the elderly would go out first. Next Guard’s standardized organizational structure based on sound would be the mothers with small children and the able bodied operation principles coupled with standardized training. This would have to wait a day or two. In addition the swimmers makes possible the mixing of personnel and assets from any- would find or designate a man in charge who was tasked with where in the country to form highly competent operational organizing the survivors. It happened many times that the perresponse teams. CAPT Jones addressed the subject this way: son in charge was last to leave. The swimmers interaction with “The fact that you can take a rescue swimmer from Savannah those they rescued was superb. and stick him on a helicopter from Houston with a pilot from The magnitude of the operations placed the helicopters in Detroit and a flight mech from San Francisco, and these guys close proximity to each other. Traffic control was self provided have never met before and they can go out and fly for six hours using eyeballs and a common frequency much the same as small and rescue 80 people and come back without a scratch on aircraft at airports without a control tower. Communications the helicopter is something no other agency, commercial or with personnel on the ground including those at hospitals and DOD, can do.” at staging areas were difficult to non-existent depending on The conditions encountered by rescue swimmers included the location of the helicopter. LT Beth McNamara, a C-130 flooded houses and buildings; steep slippery roofs; submerged pilot on an environmental evaluation flight during the initial and hidden objects; and water contaminated with sewage, response recognized this and redirected her mission within the chemicals, and fuel oil leakage. Rescues were made by basket scope of her own authority creating the first airborne commuand by strop which is a webbing and stainless steel harness that nication platform in the area. Coast Guard C-130s continued fits under the arms with a crotch strap to keep the survivor to provide this service until the third day when the task was from falling out of the harness. The rescue swimmer would taken over by Navy E2C’s and Customs P3B’s. It was decisions hook his harness plus the strop harness to the hoist cable and like this, performed by numerous competent personnel, both signal the hoist operator to winch them up. Fear and panic can aviation and surface forces, that significantly contributed to be obstacles. Some people would yell and scream when they the effectiveness of Coast Guard operations. realized there was nothing below them and they were suspendOn the second day Naval units began arriving and Rear ed by a wire rope. “You just hold on to them and tell them it Admiral Kilkenny USN placed H-60s and H-53s under is going to be OK,” said Coast Guard swimmer Josh Michel- Coast Guard control for operational mission taskings. CGAS Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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Tactical Evolution New Orleans operations were conducted from the Coast Brown was comptroller and arranged for procurement of Guard ramp and the adjacent VR-54 ramp. The aircraft mix supplies and needed materials. The telephone and at times a was Coast Guard H-60s, H-65s, C-130s and Falcons, Navy credit card was the primary means of procurement back-up and Marine Corps H-60s and H-53s and Army helicopters. paperwork followed when time permitted. Coordination was CAPT Jones stated that at one point there were 70 aircraft maintained with the Maintenance Department so that the that were being tasked. Parking and taxi control was provided aircraft configurations were correct for the scheduled loads. by air station personnel without mishap.

Regular reports on operations were provided to LANTAREA. The Coast Guard commands placed liaison officers with the (C-130s were Area assets) to provide them visibility on what other agencies involved in the Katrina operations in order to was taking place. be cognizant of developing situations. CGAS New Orleans The supply warehouse and hangar were delivery points for had liaison officers with Task Force Belle Chase as well as the consumables. Contracts with multiple vendors in the Central/ National Guard’s Eagle Base, which was their massive search South Florida area were secured to buy bottled water by the and rescue effort. The National Guard and the Coast Guard pallet. Based upon lift capacity arrangements for delivery of conducted two simultaneous search and rescue and evacua- up to 20 pallets per day was made and loaded directly onto tion and recovery air operations almost independently of each waiting aircraft. Likewise thousands of MREs were procured other. The liaison officer kept the air station briefed on what and delivered as were blankets, diapers and other personal the National Guard forces were doing and what was needed. items. Working with a network of local churches, donations of When the Eagle base people needed assistance Coast Guard consumables ranging from five to seven truck loads a day were aircraft and crews were provided. It was not a fully integrated received in Supply, re-packaged for air transport and loaded. air operation between Coast Guard and National Guard but In addition first responder items including heavy equipment it was both cooperative and effective. In fact it was the Coast such as forklifts, ground handling equipment and generators Guard Liaison, LTJG Shay Williams, who planned and set up were flown to CGAS New Orleans and ATC Mobile. the massive air evacuation from the Convention Center to the Toward the end of the week, when the Incident ManageNew Orleans airport. ment Teams (IMT) established a footing, coordinated efforts The effectiveness of the rescue operation would not have began and often the supply schedule was rolled into an IMT been possible without superb maintenance personnel and requirement. It was just shy of four weeks -post Katrina- bethe outstanding aircraft maintenance program. Maintenance fore FEMA supply lines were established to the point where personnel from across the country instantly formed effective Coast Guard procured/donated and delivered supplies were no teams at ATC Mobile and at CGAS New Orleans and kept longer required. The breadth of the C-130 operation and the aircraft flying to save lives. Standardization of maintenance multiple capabilities of the C-130 was demonstrated in that in procedures enabled maintenance personnel to assess, repair, addition to relief supplies the C-130s served as communicaand maintain the same type of aircraft at any unit at any time. tions platforms, conducted surveillance missions, transported Helicopter support kits were supplied by CGAS Clearwater. DART teams, MSST units, fuel cells, medical personnel and The Coast Guard uses a computerized scheduled maintenance supplies, evacuated stretcher patients out of the area to receivsystem, airframe specific, for scheduled maintenance which ing hospitals, and even 100 buoys were flown in from CGD9 is designed to provide maximum availability of the aircraft for use by Sector Mobile. for operational needs. Aircraft service parts supply is linked to the aircraft maintenance data base. Each morning a HU-25 would depart AR&SC and fly a round trip to Mobile, New Orleans, and Houston with high priority items.

Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, under the command of CAPT Mike Emerson, was the hub for Coast Guard C-130 operations.

The operations continued throughout Hurricane Katrina and rolled right into support for Hurricane Rita which followed. Five Clearwater C-130s were supplemented by C-130s from the Aircraft Repair and Supply Center and the Elizabeth City, Sacramento, and Kodiak air stations. Operational aircraft maintenance was performed at Clearwater.

An MH-60T Jayhawk Helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station ClearLCDR Eric Riepe, with able assistance, water, Florida, evacuates three adults, one child, and two dogs from Rocky scheduled the C-130 operations. A support Point, North Carolina, due to flooding caused by Hurricane Florence. A total plan, often using immediate feedback from re- of 26 adults, 11 children, seven dogs and four cats were evacuated from turning sorties, was developed. LCDR Bruce the same neighborhood by an Air Station Elizabeth City crew in the hours before. Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Dustin Williams, USCG .

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Why Military Aircraft Maintenance Data is Becoming More Valuable

By CAPT Joe Beel, USN (Ret.) Reprinted from Rotor & Wing International

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ircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) has progressed incredibly over the past 20 years. Maintenance is no longer just about turning wrenches because aircraft are incredibly complex and highly computerized.

Today, the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) recognizes that the right technologies will help it better understand how aviation systems are performing and gain predictive insights that optimize MRO readiness and the cost of sustainment.

VADM Paul Grosklags, USN (Ret.) then-commander of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), reflected in 2017 that “One of our priorities … is to develop a more predictive capability for readiness.

What we now need to do is become more Aviation Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class David Cooper performs maintenance predictive so that readiness issues never get on an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter aboard the guided-missile destroyer to the point where we have to be sending USS Sterett (DDG 104) during the at-sea phase of the 2018 Rim of the Pa‘fire teams’ to deal with them.” cific (RIMPAC) exercise.U.S.Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist While innovative manufacturing and 3rd Class Alexander C. Kubitza.

MRO practices have allowed military aircraft to become safer and far more capations such as connectivity, protocol translation, data filtering ble, agencies are still facing critical adoption challenges. For and processing, etc. Gateways can also serve as a computing example, efficient aircraft maintenance now requires MRO platform and enable edge or fog computing right where mainsoftware, which recognizes and packages individual tasks tenance is performed. where they fit best according to scheduling parameters (opBecause manufacturing and MRO data can be very sensierational, revenue, maintenance, etc.). This means detailed tive, the data needs to stay secure as it is extracted and moved. visibility of individual components and their maintenance Technical specifications for a part to be manufactured by a requirements are crucial for MRO practices to work correct- computer numerical control (CNC) machine or additive ly. But most machine data is not viewed. Most data viewed manufacturing machine must be protected to prevent loss of today is predominately for anomaly detection and control, intellectual property or data corruption, which could lead to not optimization and prediction, which provide far greater improper manufacturing of parts causing operational interbusiness outcomes. ruption, equipment damage or even loss of life. Encrypted In order to use Internet of Things (IoT) system data (i.e. IPSEC tunnels between gateways, data centers and cloud(s) machine data) to deliver enhanced visibility and efficient should be used to help protect data. Also, virtual private netmaintenance packaging, the DOD needs to make sure devic- works (VPN) and port forwarding should be used to enable es and sensors are reliably connected, secured and managed, secure remote access to devices behind the gateway. and then the data is programmatically moved, computed and controlled.

Controlling and Computing Once data is extracted and secured, the next step is to proConnecting, Securing and Extracting Data grammatically move and control that data. It should be simple Machines used in manufacturing or MRO for aviation — get the right data to the right processes and people at the have many different protocols for their communication and right time to drive improved mission outcomes. data. Extraction of this critical data can require a gateway, in However, it’s not that simple. IoT machines and devices are this case an IoT Gateway, to aggregate the sensor data, trans- very diverse and represent numerous manufacturers, purpose, late the protocols and process the sensor data before forward- age, etc., and can be geographically distributed at numerous ing for extraction. The gateway performs several critical func- sites. So data control policies are needed to ensure that the Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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Tactical Evolution right machine data is unlocked, securely moved to the right applications and finally accessed by only the right people as needed. For example, continuous extraction and monitoring of a milling machine’s vibration levels, electric consumption and other variables will allow depot MRO operators to avoid unplanned downtime by identifying and responding to early indicators of impending failure. Advanced machine learning software can consume the extracted machine data and identify trends indicating impending failure that can interrupt or shut-down critical MRO production.

Additionally, event processing at the edge, or in the cloud, will enable data policy rules to execute on data Sailors assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 3, Southern in real time or near-real time, driving California Offshore Range (SCORE) detachment, discuss a maintenance plan to return an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter to full mission capability status data movement related to operationat San Clemente Island, Calif. al measurements. For example, maU.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chad M. Butler. chine data may be transmitted once every minute when internal pressure is below a given threshold. If that threshold is exceeded, the machine data may be transmitted every few seconds. If the temperature exceeds a secondary threshold or increases at a specific rate over multiple observations, the data may trigger a specific action. That action could be alerting an operator or it could be initiating a graceful shutdown of the machine to prevent catastrophic damage.

There is no doubt that defense agencies can further utilize data to transform maintenance and aircraft MRO. In fiscal year 2016, the DOD spent $35.2 billion maintaining 13,935 aircraft, just a portion of the overall maintenance requirement when vehicles and ships are considered. Matching continually improving processes with advanced information technology will unlock a massive amount of machine data available in operational systems and maintenance facilities, leading to significant improvements.

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HELICOPTER FIRSTS

About Helicopter Firsts: Eduardo Galean, soccer’s pre-eminent man of letters, is quoted as saying; “History never really says goodbye. History says, See you later”. That being said, we continue “Helicopter Firsts” Rotor Review’s newest department. If you have a “First” to share with Rotor Review readers please send to loged@navalhelicopterassn.org. If printable, we will print it.

The First U.S. Navy Helicopter Pilot: CDR Charles T. Booth, II, USN

By CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.)

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he Navy ordered and received its first helicopter on 16 October 1943.

The helicopter was a Sikorsky YR-4B, Navy designation HNS-1. It was accepted at Bridgeport, Conn., following a 60 minute acceptance test flight by LCDR Erickson. CDR Charles T. Booth, USN, delivered this helicopter to NAS Patuxent River, Md., on 22 October 1943. As stated by a memo from CDR Booth, he had arrived at Bridgeport “to continue instructions and to deliver to NAS Patuxent the first Navy helicopter. Six hours additional flight time was obtained by CDR Booth prior to his return to NAS Patuxent, Md., on 22 October 1943.”

The above paragraph was taken from “Appendix 31, List of Early Helicopter Pilots,” United States Naval Aviation 19101995 by the U.S. Navy History Center. The original article is available at http://www.nhahistoricalsociety.org/index.php/cdrcharles-t-booth-usn-first-us-navy-helicopter-pilot/ Many thanks to CAPT Tom Ford, USN (Ret.) for digging up the rest of the story on VADM Charles T. Booth, the first Navy Helicopter Pilot. Interestingly, VADM Booth failed to include this singular accomplishment as the First U.S. Navy Helicopter Pilot while at Pax River in his official bio which Tom unearthed. I have rectified this for our web page using the historic data researched originally by CAPT Vincent Secades, USN (Ret.) in his very good Naval Rotary Wing History Pamphlet which is the basis for the NHAHS webpage helicopter timeline and along with some additional details from the Navy’s comprehensive history of Naval Aviation to make this clear in his biography now up on our web page at the link above.

A Navy Cross awardee in early WWII, VADM Booth would eventually be the commissioning Commanding Officer for the USS Ranger (CV-61) in the 50s which many of us flew from in the 60s/70s/80s as well as COMNAVAIRLANT at retirement in 1965. Thank you Tom for the “finale” to Booth’s early naval career as a Navy Test Pilot.

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Sikorsky YR-4B, Navy designation HNS-1.

Bell’s First and Last Tandem Helicopter

By LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

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he Bell HSL (Model 61) was developed in the early 1950’s as an ASW helicopter for the Navy. In terms of size, it was a beast of a helicopter, with a 39 foot long by 5.5 foot wide fuselage and grossing out at over 26,000 pounds. It was powered by a single Pratt & Whitney 2800 cubic inch radial engine delivering 2400 HP which could handle its large size. For some perspective, the engine was twice as big as any other contemporary helicopter power plant, providing more than enough power to run its twin 51 foot teetering rotor systems. It had a rectangular fuselage cross section and a unique fixed four-leg, six-wheel landing gear and operated by a crew of two pilots and two SONAR techs.

The prototype first flew in March of 1953 built to satisfy the Navy’s requirement for an Anti-Submarine Warfare heIn 1957 this HSL-1 was put into storage in Norfolk, Virginia. It was stuck off licopter. The Navy initially contracted service with just 225 hours on the airframe. Jeff Evans Collection Photo. for 160 aircraft, setting aside 234 Bureau Numbers for them, with 18 intended for the Royal Navy.

General Characteristics However following two Class Alpha category accidents, the second of which killed the project officer, the Navy capped the production run at only 50 aircraft. After further test Crew: four and evaluation including dipping SONAR, sled and ship Length: 39 ft 1 in (11.9 m) (fuselage only) towing and all aspects of current day shipboard operations, Width: 11 ft 6 in (3.5 m) (rotors folded) the program was cancelled. Although 50 helicopters were Height: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m) built and delivered to San Diego, Norfolk, Pax River and Gross weight: 26,500 lb (12,020 kg) Panama City none were ever put into fleet service. The helo Rotor diameter (both): 51ft 6in (15.7m) was deemed cumbersome for shipboard use due to its size Rotor disc area: 4,170sq ft (387.4sq m) and difficult manual blade fold process and loud outside Powerplant: 1 × Pratt & Whitney R-2800-50 18-cyl. and inside noise signature. It did get good handling marks two-row air-cooled radial piston engine, 2,400 hp from pilots who flew it with superb autorotation characteristics due to its high inertia rotor system. The HSL lost (1,800 kW) the ASW competition to the Sikorsky HSS (H-34).

Performance All of the 50 aircraft built were eventually destroyed Maximum speed: 115 mph (185 km/h; 100 kn) so that no examples of this unique helicopter exist. If Cruise speed: 96 mph (154 km/h; 83 kn) you would like more information and history on this Range: 350 mi (304 nmi; 563 km) amazing aircraft, get The Forgotten Bell HSL by Tommy H. Thomason ISBN 0-942612-70-1 produced by Steve Ginter out of Simi Valley, CA.

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The Coast Guard in Vietnam - Part 2

Combat SAR

(continued from Rotor Review Summer Issue #141)

By LCDR Tom Phillips, USN (Ret.)

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his is part two of a history of US Coast Guard Combat SAR during the War in Southeast Asia, more familiar to most of us as the War in Vietnam. But it was combat in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and even bleeding a little into Thailand; which was base to a great chunk of the US Air Force: in other words pretty much all of Indo-China. For how the Coast Guard found itself augmenting the Air Force with seasoned helicopter pilots, refer to the first part in RR 141. Part One also highlighted the experiences of Jay Crowe, of the third (of four) cadre, to set the hook.

The three of the original cadre were Lieutenant Commander Lonnie Mixon, and Lieutenants Lance Eagan and Jack Rittichier. They reported to the 37th ARRSq (Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron: today more familiarly denoted RQS, although the 37th is no more) and went right to work. In the next two months, the “Coasties” (a term of respect and camaraderie favored by the Air Force ) conducted five of the ten rescues the squadron would make, in addition to performing numerous additional non-rescue missions.

On April 21, 1968, eleven days after checking in to the squadron, Lieutenant Rittichier was copilot on a volunteer make-up crew needed to back up another HH-3E Jolly in the A Shau Valley trying to rescue eight Army helicopter crewmen from two downed Hueys. The Low Jolly for the rescue had been shot up and had to return to Da Nang. His backup, the High Jolly, holding not too many miles away, called for backup of his own and waited for its arrival before attempting to try the rescue again.

The first three Coast Guard helo pilots to augment the Air Force in the 37th ARRSq standing in front of a USAF HH-3E helo.

Left to right: Jack Rittichier, Lance Eagan, Lonnie Mixon.

The Army airmen on the ground had observed the first Jolly take heavy fire and abort after repeated attempts to get to them. The two Sandys on station were then augmented by Army regular gunships and aerial rocket artillery (ARA) gunships to lay down a tremendous amount of ordnance around the hill the Army men were on with the attacks being controlled by the downed airmen on their survival radios. By the time the Jollys made their pickup attempt, the hostile fire had been reduced to a few scattered rounds and each Jolly hoisted four men, two at a time on their penetrators, and returned them to Da Nang for steak dinners before they reverted to C rations back at LZ Sharon. The close air support kept the hostile fire down, with one Sandy strafing and killing an enemy soldier ten meters from a downed friendly. That’s how close the Spads could get and how good they were.

Four days later, Rittichier’s second rescue mission was supporting Air Force RCC Ron Spray’s crew as they made an unopposed rescue in Laos of 602nd ACS Spad pilot, Lieutenant Colonel H.D Schultz. Rittichier remarked it was nice to know they could pick up those who help them.

This is a boat hook

Shortly after arriving, Lonnie, Lance, and Jack noted a problem the 37th had with water rescues. They were having trouble getting close enough to men in the water when they landed in the water to pick them up, the survivor’s raft being pushed away by rotor wash or the helo being set by wind against the fuselage. A quick requisition to the Coast Guard delivered enough boat hooks for each Jolly HH-3E to have one, and Mixon conducted training on the proper use of an ancient and very handy naval tool: strict and solemn nomenclature, utility, technique. Not the last opportunity for these members of the “Ancient Order of Pterodactyls” to expose the Air Force to the lore of the deep; opportunities never passed up. How much confusion and speculation was generated in the USCG supply system remains lost in the mists of time.

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The 37th managed to make a rescue on May 1 without Coast Guard involvement, but the next day, Rittichier was again involved; part of a somber mission. They went into the always-dangerous A Shau Valley to investigate a recently-detected crash site. It was the wreckage of an O-2A from the 20th TASS which had been missing since April 28. At the crash site, with their PJs on the ground checking the wreck, the weather closed down like a door slamming, driving the RESCAP away and trapping the helicopters in the valley before they could get their PJs back aboard. They were able to confirm the death of FAC pilot Captain James F. Lang, but were unable to recover the body. Two days later, on May 4, 1968, Rittichier, by then an RCC, teamed with Air Force RCC John Hannon in a second bird, rescued the crews of two squadron helicopters downed on a rescue mission, in the A Shau Valley. All eight crewmen were rescued, and the helicopters were hooked out

by CH-54 Skycranes the next day.

The close relationship of the 37th ARRSq with the Army and Marine ground forces and ground support aircraft was natural because of the area of responsibility surrounding the base at Da Nang, compared to the operating area of the 40th ARRSq, basing from Udorn and staging out of Lima sites in the middle of Laos into areas where no friendly U.S. ground forces operated. On May 12, 1968, an attempted extraction of a Marine ground party by a Marine CH-46 turned to worms when the Sea Knight crashed on takeoff, fetching up on the side of a 4,000-foot steep-sided, tree-covered mountain.

The crash site was on a steep mountainside in a bomb crater, under overhanging trees. It would be a tricky rescue at best. Rittichier descended vertically 200 feet between the trees while it was still daylight with the close coordination of his copilot, Air Force Captain Hicks, and his crewmen, FE Sergeant Enricas, and PJ Sergeant Baker, all of whom carefully checked clearances. Rittichier lowered the helicopter to the bottom of the “well” and then moved forward under the tree overhang so the distance from the personnel door behind the pilot to the sloping ground was only 20 feet. From there, with the helicopter surrounded by trees and its nose buried in trees on three sides and above, Baker and Enricas hoisted four men aboard. That’s all the HH-3E could carry because of the 2,500 foot altitude of the site.

The crash site was on a steep mountainside in a bomb crater, under overhanging trees.

It would be a tricky rescue at best.

Night fell as three other Air Force helicopters hoisted fourteen more men slowly from a 200-foot hover under the flickering light of parachute flares. Rittichier returned to the scene with extra litters, but the weather closing in made a solid overcast halfway up the mountain, and prevented the helicopters from continuing with the rescues “normally.” Rittichier thought he could still find a way in. He went to the side of the cliff where the top of the mountain met the clouds, sticking out of the solid overcast, and hugging the mountain side closely, flew down the slope in a descending forward hover, his crew 53

Skycrane

keeping visual touch with the slopes using floodlights, hover lights, and the controllable spotlight in the few yards next to the mountain where the clouds were imperceptibly thinner.

They spiraled down the mountain right over the treetops, going around it as they descended, having started so that they would arrive at the 2,500 foot level near the crash site. Pulling off this incredible feat, they hoisted five litter patients, turned away from the mountain, and climbed back through the thick overcast in instrument visual conditions that is, no visibility at all breaking out on top and returning to Da Nang for an instrument approach landing. In all, 29 men were rescued from the crash site using innovative, original, and aggressive flight techniques only justified by the combat situation. Rittichier was proving himself to be a leader and innovative thinker in a variety of tactical challenges.

The other two ARRS Coasties, Lieutenant Commander Lonnie Mixon, and Lieutenant Lance Eagan, had been as busy as their colleague Jack. On May 21, 1968, Lieutenant Lance Eagan was the high bird for two Jollys on a mission to rescue Major Gerald T. Dwyer, an O-2A FAC pilot from the 23rd TASS out of NKP. He was down on a wooded slope close to the Ho Chi Minh Trail near Kay Bong, a very small remote village, almost exactly halfway between Pakse, on the Mekong River, and Da Nang. As he descended in his parachute, enemy soldiers fired on him and once on the ground he was pursued by five of them. Dwyer evaded through the trees, firing as many as 30 rounds from his .38-cal. revolver as he moved.

When he turned into a shallow ravine going upslope on the hillside, a North Vietnamese pinned him down from behind two trees about four inches apart. Exchanging fire, Dwyer was rapidly improving his marksmanship watching his own tracers fly, once out of standard ball ammunition. With this assist, he was able to place a round right between the trees and the North Vietnamese did not fire again.

He still had four enemy at the entrance to his ravine and knew he had to change his tactics if he wanted to be still at large when the rescue helicopter arrived. He waited for the www.navalhelicopterassn.org

next A-1 bomb hit, which always caused the Vietnamese to duck. As the bomb exploded, he also exploded from his concealment, leaping down the slope, letting out a loud yell. The enemy took one look, turned and ran. One of them tripped and fell, and Dwyer shot him. The others had just entered the edge of the trees across the clearing when a bomb hit right there, maybe 20 yards from him. Dwyer saw one body fly through the air, and received no more enemy gunfire. He retreated back up the ravine to near the top where it was only a foot deep and lay flat in the ravine, invisible except from above. That’s where the Jollys found him.

The Jolly crew found the ocean around Tiger Island teeming with sharks, a bad place to go into the water. Beresik was never found.

Lying on his back, Dwyer could see tracers erupt, flying all around the Jolly, hitting it frequently. He could also hear the explosions of heavier shells going off. It was too much for the helicopter, which limped away after several tries. As the Sandys bombed the trees edging the plateau, Lance Eagan moved right in where the other helicopter had been and, despite the heavy fire and the warning of Dwyer, held his hover under fire and made the pickup. Gerald Dwyer had contributed immensely to his own rescue with a cool head, accurate pistol marksmanship, and audacity, audacity, audacity!

The next day, May 31st 1968, RCC Jack Rittichier was assigned the rescue staging orbit over the Gulf of Tonkin for strikes into North Vietnam. Happily, no American aircraft went down and Rittichier and his crew were not needed and the Jolly headed home. As they arced around Tiger Island, a prickly little island about 13 miles from the mainland and 12 miles north of the 17th parallel (the latitude of the DMZ), they were alerted to a downed aircraft at the island. An isolated and strategically worthless chunk of North Vietnam, Tiger Island was nevertheless vigorously defended, and was the target of numerous attacks throughout the war. On this day, a squadron mate of Colonel Phillips in the 469th TFS, Major Eugene P. Beresik, was down over the island during one such attack. Unable to get a precise location from Beresik’s wingman only that he had made it feet wet Rittichier set up a cautious search of the water, taking fire on three occasions when he ventured close to Tiger Island. He received four conflicting positions of the downed pilot, and a report from the wingman, first that he was in his raft, then that he had lost sight of him, but the Jolly crew could find no sign of the downed man.

The search and TACAIR and Sandy strikes for AAA suppression ended after dark in the lowering overcast. The Jolly crew found the ocean around Tiger Island teeming with sharks, a bad place to go into the water. Beresik was never found.

A mid-air can ruin your whole day, as every aviator knows.

On June 6, 1968, two A-1Es of the 1st ACS collided while deploying electronic detection sensors in the mountains just south of the eastern end of the DMZ. The solo pilot of one was killed in the mishap as well as one of the two pilots in the other. Captain E.E. Kirkpatrick, although badly injured, Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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managed to extract. Coast Guard pilot Lieutenant Commander Lonnie Mixon, his copilot, Air Force Captain William Byrd, and their two crewmen, arrived at the scene and were faced with a challenge: Kirkpatrick had come down on a 5,200-foot mountain, above the hovering capability of the HH-3E, according to the book. On a mountaintop 15 miles northwest of Khe Sanh, Kirkpatrick was in as wild and inaccessible a spot as the region had to offer, and if he couldn’t be rescued by Mixon and his crew, it was not likely he would be, given the enemy control of the area.

The thin air a mile above sea level reduced the efficiency of helicopter rotor blades dramatically, and a helicopter had to be lightened in overall gross weight to allow for the reduced efficiency. The high humidity of the subtropical area in the hot month of June increased the “apparent” altitude the helicopter would “feel” by another thousand feet; 5,200 feet above sea level would feel like 6,200 feet this day. Mixon’s charts told him it was not possible to make a rescue in these conditions.

He jettisoned all the weight he could, his external fuel tanks, his ammunition, non-essential equipment, but it was still not going to be enough. Calling King to rendezvous with him and orbit nearby, Byrd dumped all the fuel he had remaining in his fuselage tanks, except enough to make the pickup and get to the HC-130P hawking the scene.

Mixon chose an approach heading into the wind curling over the peak, to minimize his power required to hover slightly, and so he was headed down slope. Should he not be able to hover, he could regain forward speed by diving down the slope beyond the peak if necessary. Then flying a very sedate profile, minimizing the movement of his flight controls, he carefully made his approach to a hover, acutely sensitive to the “messages” his machine was giving him, and tuned to the

HH-3E Jolly Green Giant. Note the different location for the rescue hoist and personnel door from the Navy H-3. It has a stern ramp like an H-46, and extra fuel tanks outboard of the main landing gear sponsons. Tricycle landing gear rather than the Navy SH-3 tail wheel and main mounts a bit further forward of the HH-3E main mounts.Also note the in-flight refueling probe projecting ahead of the cockpit.

Combat Sar reports of his co-pilot Bill Byrd, who was carefully scanning the engines’ exhaust temperatures (a measure of engine power and health), the transmission torque (a measure of capacity of the giant gear box to transfer the engine power to drive the rotor blades without damage), and the rpm of the main rotors, which could slow (or “droop”) perhaps eight percent below the 100% setting before they were in danger of ceasing to fly at all. Closing in, Mixon added the direction commands of his FE to his considerations as he lost sight of the survivor’s position as the man slid beneath his nose under the helicopter.

But they pulled it off, got Kirkpatrick out of the trees before Mixon had to make the dive he had planned as his out should the attempt fail. The extra weight of Kirkpatrick was all it took as he was hoisted off the ground to gradually (within a few seconds) compromise the careful hover. Diving down the slope, as soon as the airspeed built up to about 60 knots, Mixon maneuvered to rendezvous with King for a very timely plug. This rescue was made at a higher altitude than any made by the H-3 for the entire war. A great and dangerous feat of airmanship, and not a shot fired to endanger them further.

Three days later, on June 9, 1968, a Marine A-4E Skyhawk of VMA-121 was knocked down attacking what appeared to be a weapons cache 20 miles east of Hue, South Vietnam. The pilot, First Lieutenant Walter R. Schmidt, ejected successfully but ended up with a broken leg, unable to evade. The low Jolly, Jolly 22, RCC Major Art Anderson, with his backup Jolly 23, RCC Lieutenant Jack Rittichier, USCG, moved into position for a rescue attempt after extensive suppression runs

by Marine A-4s in cooperation with the Sandys.

Approaching the parachute which marked the immobilized Marine airman, Art Anderson was driven off by heavy fire.

More suppression followed and a second and third attempt proved just as fruitless. Anderson had to break away due to low fuel state, having dumped fuel to be able to accommodate the downed aviator in the June heat.

Sandy Lead asked Rittichier if he would continue the rescue attempt solo, and he answered in the affirmative. Marine helicopter gunships, A-4s, and Sandys scoured the area with renewed attacks and under the covering fire, Jolly 23 made its approach. The intensity of the enemy fire drove Rittichier from his hover and he broke away. The attack aircraft pounded the area again and brutalized the enemy down in the jungle.

Jolly 23 reported to Sandy that his HH-3E was OK and he was going in for another attempt, and, closely escorted by two helicopter gunships and two Sandys, he made his approach, calling out the direction to enemy fire as he flew.

In the hover, FE Staff Sergeant Elmer L. Holden lowered PJ James D. Locker on the hoist. As the PJ left the aircraft on his way down, hits on the left engine area caused fire to break out which was visible to the supporting A-1 pilots, who radioed the word: “You’re on fire, Jolly! Get out of there!”

Only a serious rupture of an engine fuel line could cause such a large fire in the engine compartment. Without a doubt, in the cockpit a bright red #1 ENGINE FIRE warning light must have confirmed the Sandy call and the fuel-starved engine certainly dropped off the line even as copilot Richard 55

Yeend shoved the #2 engine throttle to the full power position and activated the fire extinguisher bottles in the #1 engine compartment. Rittichier had no choice but to attempt to fly away, even with his PJ hanging on the hook. As they climbed away from the hover, the hoist reeling back in, overhead, pilot Bob Dubois called: “23, there’s a clearing about 1,000 meters ahead if you have to set down.”

“Roger, I’m going for the clearing.”

Dubois watched as the stricken helicopter moved along the treetops and neared the clearing, still on fire and under fire. He then clearly saw the main rotors slow down, and the big helicopter fell into the clearing, bursting into a fire ball when it smashed into the ground out of control. There was no chance to escape the inferno, the entire aircraft was in flames which consumed the structure within seconds. All four airmen certainly perished almost instantly. With one engine out, the second must have failed from further battle damage which caused a catastrophic loss with the collective full up demanding all the single engine could give to let them make it to the clearing. A failure under those conditions of power demand, would certainly cause the rotors to slow, go divergent, coning above the helicopter, and no amount of pilot skill would bring it back or prevent the no-longer-flying nine tons of machine from crashing violently.

With the Jolly melted beyond recognition as a flying machine or anything else, the SAR task forces withdrew.

The rescue attempt continued the next day, but now with no sign of Schmidt, who failed to turn up in POW camps after the war and was probably killed by troops in the area.

(The area proved to be a large NVA encampment area teeming with soldiers.) The rescue was then called off as it was felt the pilot was being used as bait and the enemy fire could not be suppressed sufficiently to offer a chance of rescue.

Some ARA also featured a 40mm-automatic grenade launcher turret on the nose to add to the rain of explosives.

When configured with the 40mm nose turret they were called HOGs.

www.navalhelicopterassn.org

Upcoming Rotary Wing Squadron Reunions in 2018-2019 HAL-3 51st Anniversary of Formal Establishment (4/1/67), September 2-7, 2018 at the San Diego Wyndam Hotel San Diego POC: Gary Ely, Treasurer, Seawolf Association http://www.seawolf.org. Email:elysoflakeside@cox.net HS-15/HSC-15 Red Lions America Vets Reunion September 2018 Mobile, Alabama. For more information check the HS-15/HSC-15 Facebook Group HSL-33 Reunion September 21-24, 2018, San Diego & Coronado.

HSL-33 Facebook Group POC Jawona Chrisman jawona@sbcg Seasprite Reunion October 25-27, 2018 Will be held during the NHA Gulf Coast Fly-In, National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida. POC; CAPT Ernie Rogers, USN (Ret) 434 841-6067. Email: erogers@liberty.edu HS-6/HSC-6 Reunion during 2019 NHA Symposium May 15-18.

2019 at Viejas Casino & Resort, Alpine(San Diego),Ca. Still in the planning and talking stage.

POC: Dick Lynas email: sdlynas@sbcglobal.net and POC: Dave Bean email: dfbean@san.rr.com.

Check the NHA website www.navalhelicopterassn.org for the most current information on anniversaries and reunions or contact Mike Brattland. His email is retiredreunionmgr@navalhelicopterassn.org. If you need more information or are interested in helping organize an event, contact the listed POCs.

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Helicopter History

Preserving the History and Heritage of Naval Aviation

T

he National Naval Aviation Museum is the world’s largest Naval Aviation museum and one of the most-visited museums in the state of Florida. Share the excitement of Naval Aviation’s rich history and see more than 150 beautifully restored aircraft representing Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard Aviation. These historic and one-of-a-kind aircraft are displayed both inside the Museum’s nearly 350,000 square feet of exhibit space and outside on its 37-acre grounds.

There’s so much to see and do, you’ll want to stay all day! Admission is free! Hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s. For more information, call 1-800-327-5002.

An icon of the Vietnam era, the UH-1 Iroquois, more commonly known as the “Huey,” was an indispensible workhorse for U.S. military forces.

Used for heliborne assaults, medical evacuation, search and rescue and light attack, the Huey was a capable platform for a variety of missions. The most famous Navy Huey squadron, the “Seawolves” of Helicopter Attack Squadron Light (HA(L)) 3, used the Huey to support river patrols in the Mekong. The Museum’s HH-1K is painted as a HA(L)-3 helo.

Thinking about having a Reunion?

NHA can help.

Contact CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) at NHA (619) 437-7139 retiredreunionmgr@navalhelicopterassn.org.

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“Let us know what your most rewarding non-flying tour was. While all aviators are hesitant to take a step away from the cockpit, these tours are valuable to the Navy, and our career development. While you maybe weren’t looking forward to it, and might have been counting the days until you got back to flying, what tour outside the cockpit do you look back on that gifted you some life lessons and helped you get where you are today.”

From: CAPT Mike Middleton, USN (Ret.) “Best Shore duty memories: Spent three years at BUPERS as your Head Aviation Enlisted Detailer, Pers 404, under future CNOs Admirals Mike Borda, & J. Johnson. Highlights included multiple round the world trips, detailing Battle Groups just prior to deployment, and out of CONUS enlisted aviation heroes. But the true highlight was an opportunity to decommission multiple P-3 Orion Squadrons. Warmed my heart when we took that ATM machine out of those aging birds.”

From CAPT Monte Squires, USN (Ret.) “The 5-Sided Puzzle Palace. My first 14 years as a Naval Officer were spent as one aggressive “cockpit jockey,” if not the monthly “Flight Hog,” I was surely the unit’s “Night Owl.” My mid-career days were spent in the FRS enjoying duties such as Quality Assurance Officer where I tried to bag nearly every PMCF hop Maintenance Control produced or as the AIRPAC Evaluator, visiting the squadrons and traveling the Western Pacific to fly with all NATOPS’s Officers for standardization. Now comes Department Head time so it’s a no-brainer to follow one of two squadron mates (command selectees), both ‘true operators,’ to their future squadrons. Let’s see will it be Doug Yesensky’s Eightballers or HS-6 with Mike Middleton? This will be fun but, before leaving the FRS, two COs, both wise mentors, RADM Bill Terry and Captain Rick Grant, had some advice for this log-hog…”Squires, you’re a late bloomer, and could possibly do well in our Navy but, you’ve got to leave the cockpit and broaden your career possibilities. You’ll make Commander and possibly even get your own command if you head for Washington D.C. after your D/Head tour in HS-6. Do well, and keep your nose clean, and we’ll see you back here in a couple of years.” …”A couple of years”…ouch! The Pentagon tour was as painful as advertised…tough commute, long hours, hard work, strange new territories and little recognition. Did it broaden my horizons and help my career?...absolutely. Those “seasoned” Squadron Commanders knew what they were talking about. Promotion to O-5 and operational Command followed.

Whether you head for D.C. to work the CNO Staff, Personnel, NAVAIR, Acquisition, JCS or a dozen other opportunities, numerous scales will be lifted from your cockpit jockey’s eyes. You’ll become a better officer, benefit your service and will always remember a D.C. tour.

From Brad Holmes “Rewarding” is a strong word, but there were some positives I was able to take away from my disassociated sea tour as air department on an amphib. Overall, the tour did not help career progression because my community has been hijacked by make-believe tactics and SWTIs - I ended up in the discard pile.

Ultimately it was good to see how the “other side” lived and maybe help and mentor some baby SWOs and make their life tolerable. But probably the greatest single lesson I learned during my disassociated tour was to appreciate every single day after it. It hasn’t mattered which subsequent tour but on my worst day of that tour, year, month, week, any time frame I could tell myself: “Yeah, this may be bad/not fun/whatever, but at least I’m not on the boat.”

From CDR Robert A Close USN (Ret.) Helo Pilot #153 (May 1949) and 2018 recipient of the CAPT Mark Starr Helicopter Pioneer Award I had three essentially non-flying tours: 1951-53: BAR Morton PA (BuAer Reps office at Piasecki helo. Handle the USAF contracts for the AF and Army H-21 helo. In addition, was the industrial security officer for Piasecki Helo and Prewitt A/C (maker of HUP metal blades). Also did acceptance test flights on first 18 H-21’s for the AF. 1957-59: Security control officer in the Aircraft Nuclear Power branch of the Division of Reactor Development of the Atomic Energy Commission.

1963-64: Chief of systems Engineering, Research and development Branch, Division of Military Applications (the nuc weapons division) of the Atomic Energy Commission.

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Radio Check From CAPT Mike Murphy, USN (Ret.) “I had the privilege to serve as the PERS 431B CDR rotary wing detailer as well as PERS 432 Head JO Detailer. In accepting the position, I knew that it was considered a hard job working orders for your constituents/peers and was a bit apprehensive. I quickly learned that I had to gain the trust of my constituents, advocate for them yet also have frank conversations when orders/location/etc. did not coincide with expectations. I learned that although negotiating for orders, promotion boards and command screen boards are not perfect, they are as good as they can get given the human element. We went through great pains to ensure the selection process was fair. The experience allowed me to critically look at my JO’s fitness reports and provide sound career guidance. Lastly, you get to work with the best detailers and placement officers that Naval Aviation has to offer. It was by far my best non-flying tour. I’d recommend Detailer/Placement billets for either junior or senior officers. The experience is invaluable.”

From CDR John Manly, Jr.,USN (Ret) “After finishing my second sea duty tour at HSL-37 at Barber’s Point, and having been selected for O-5, I wanted to stay in Hawaii and fly on shore duty. Unfortunately, the last flying job (UC-12F at Barking Sands) was just given to an old HT-18 classmate of mine, but my detailer did find an O-5 billet coming open at CINCPAC on the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP). So, I departed Barber’s Point for short moves to Camp Smith and Hickam AFB. As an EC-135 Battle Staff member, I found myself in a truly “joint” command for the first time. I was a Battle Staff Emergency Actions Officer (EAO). My Battle Staff Commander was a Navy Captain and an H-3 and A-1 pilot. My Assistant EAO was an extremely sharp E-8 USAF guy.

After a little over a year in that sometimes Dr. Strangelove-like job, and with a recent assignment as the Emergency Actions Standardization Officer, I was re-assigned as one of the CINC’s three (Army, Navy/Marines/USCG, USAF) Operations Briefers, the CINC’s mouthpieces. In both CINCPAC jobs, I was surrounded by aviators from all services who were “doing time” in a ground assignment. We all commiserated about our glory days in the air, and we all longed for our next flying assignment.

I once gave a Pacific Area Update briefing to then-SECNAV John Lehman (former A-6 BN), after which I thanked him on behalf of CINCPAC Naval Aviators and Flight Officers on his return of brown shoes to aviation officers and chiefs’ uniforms.

Yes, we lost brown shoes for a few years, read about it. The CINCPAC at that time was ADM. Ron Hayes, an A-6 driver. My boss, and the USAF briefer (J-335) was a LCOL Buff pilot, the Army briefer was a LCOL Huey Dust-Off pilot. Our boss (J-33) was an Air Force BGEN fighter guy, and the J-3 was a MGEN USMC H-46 guy. Representing the CINC and his command to military and civilian audiences, foreign and domestic, US Congressional Delegations and foreign heads of state was challenging and rewarding. The Toastmasters training, I got while a recruiter came in handy in that assignment. It was my best non-flying job because it was my ONLY non-flying job in 21 years. Great people, great job, still wearing a flight suit to work, and still living in Hawaii. Hana hou!”

From CAPT Vincent C Secades, USN (Ret.) “Since I had previously obtained a technical degree at the Naval Postgraduate School, upon the completion of a tour of duty with HLS-33 in 1976 I was due to a “payback” tour where this technical knowledge would be used. In March I reported to the Navy Space Systems Activity (NSSA), collocated with the Air Force Space and Missiles Systems Organization (SAMSO) in El Segundo, California. NSSA was a field activity of the Naval Electronics Systems Command (NAVELEX). Its primary mission was to provide the Navy participation in the management of the acquisition of joint DOD space systems. For the next two years I was involved in an entirely new, extremely interesting line of work. I entered the defense research and development and special intelligence worlds and gained knowledge about many of the most technically advanced and sophisticated space systems in existence or under development at the time. From this tour, I obtained a systems acquisition proven sub-specialty designation. In fact, in September 1983, I returned to NSSA for a three-year tour as the Commanding Officer. During my CO tour NAVELEX became the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) and the Navy created the Navy Space Command, with astronaut Richard Truly, recently promoted to RADM, as the Commander.”

From CAPT Terry Jones, USN (Ret.) “During my 26 plus years Naval career I had three non-flying tours. Ships Company on USS Belleau Wood (LHA-3), The War College, and multiple tours in Washington. Felt all the tours were valuable in my career development. Ironically my favorite tour was Ship’s Company. It gave me an understanding of the heart and soul of the Navy, managing a ship at sea. Plus an understanding of the role of the Marine Corps. The War College was truly a great learning experience with emphasis on the interagency process and a keen understand of the linkage between the Military and the Federal agencies. The tours I will focus on for this question were my tours in Washington in BUPERS, at the time located in Washington, OPNAV N-80, and The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Military Assistant in the Office of Personnel Affairs.

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The tours in Washington were the most valuable in expanding my careers in and out of uniform. They gave me an understanding of how policies get made and how money gets distributed not only in the Navy but the other services. Despite it being my most valuable tour I also hated every minute. Hated it to a point that when I hear another officer, regardless of service, says “I liked my job in the Pentagon”, the warning flags about that individual would spring up “Danger Will Robertson, Danger”.

My job in the Pentagon started at 06:30 in the office to 19:00 walking out of the office if I was lucky. It was non-stop as my main responsibility was managing the flow of paperwork in and out of the building. My son asked me once during a weekend dinner, “Dad, do you ever see the sun during the week”? I told him, no.

Despite those negative feelings it is important and necessary that Naval Officer spend at least one tour either in Washington DC or those administrative tours in branch of the Washington bureaucracy in Millington Tennessee or NAVAIR in Paxs River Maryland. One of the problems I saw especially in my ODS tour was the lack of Washington experience in Flag Officer. Once I was criticized for that opinion. My critics noted Flag officers were smart and capable of learning quickly. Unfortunately, I was not the only one who noticed this issue as it also came from the civilian leaders I worked for in the Pentagon. First the budget process is difficult enough but also understand the bureaucratic maze within the Washington DC Beltway take time. It is easier for an O-4 or 5 to ask question then an O-7.

In 2006 I transitioned from the Navy into the civilian work force in Washington DC. Discovered I hated Washington DC civilian job as much as my time in uniform. After eight year and getting my last child out of college I quit or as some say “retired-retired”. Before retiring in 2014 I noticed a change within the leadership in the Navy. We were starting to get more Flag Officer who had previous Washington DC experience. Noticed that the Navy had set up training programs on understanding the Washington Bureaucracy. They were sending not only Junior officers but Senior and Flag officers to those courses. Things are improving. Guess change is slow. As noted, we need to send Naval Officer into these jobs at an early age.”

From CAPT Jim Ellington, USN (Ret.) “In 1974, not too long after the Navy had gone from wooden to metal ships, I actively sought a job on an LPD as the air boss. Admiral Roger Rich had had this job earlier in his career and spoke most highly of it. I reported aboard as a brand new LCDR and the fourth senior officer in ship’s company. I found running the tower and two-helo flight deck to be a great deal of fun and very rewarding. The single highlight of the tour was making an evacuation of American citizens from Beirut during a one-hour cease fire. The only down side was the 1 in 4 duty section rotation but the work and camaraderie on the ship was incredible! Getting my surface warfare qualification was a bonus for me although there were several stretches where we took up to 45-degree rolls requiring bridge watches with an inverted battle helmet under one arm and a box of saltine crackers under the other. I believe my old ship, USS Coronado (LPD 11), is still in business and I feel certain I could still run that tower with feet up on the instruments and a radio in each hand.

Those surface guys liked me so much, they conducted a midnight fire drill in my stateroom the night before I left. What a great bunch of guys!”

From CAPT Carl Robertson, USN (Ret.) “I was had two. Both in the Pentagon. As an O4 served as senior emergency actions officer for ops team 2 under then onestar Hugh Shelton. Then as an O6 served as Deputy Director of the Navy Staff under RADM Bud Langston, CNO J Johnson and VCNO Don Pilling. Details on request. My email is cdrob01@gmail.com. “ From Ralph Deyo “The best semi non-flying billet was October 1978 to October 1982. I had the distinct privilege of working for RADM Raymond Winkle, the PM for air and sea of the LAMPS MK III Project.

I reported to the Admiral in Washington DC in October 1978 and was informed that I was to head for the IBM facility in Owego, NY. My immediate responsibilities were to initiate a liaison with the DCASPRO and IBM in the establishment of the Resident Integrated Logistic Support Detachment (RILSDet). I was promoted to Senior Chief in November after repo0rt in to the facility, For approximately eighteen months I served as the senior member of the team. Of course, for the first eighteen months the team consisted of two members, Petty Officer First Ed Lambert and me. Over the next six months we received ETCM McKinnon who took over as the senior member of the team. The rest of the team was fleshed out with an AVCS, STGC, and an EWC. It wasn’t until the end of the third year that LCDR Karr arrive as the OIC. One of the most memorable events of the tour was on 5 April 1980. On that date I was the first naval aircrewman to fly in the SH-60B BUNO 161171. the crew consisted of Sikorsky Chief Test Pilot Gene Dixon as the HAC, LT. Larry Larson (CAPT) as the 2P and me as the SENSO. Two days later the first all navy crew manned the aircraft with LT. Larry Larson as the HAC, LCDR Wynn Montgomery as the 2P and again me as the SENSO. Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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Radio Check We ferried the 171 bird to Pax river on 13 June 1980. The FSD installs were completed and the flight checks were done in June and transferred to Pax also. The 173 bird finished its FSD installs and check from September to October and it went to PAX river on 19 October 1980.

One unusual note about flying in the SH-60B at the that time was the fact that there was only preliminary checklist and a rough draft of a NATOPS manual. Also, there were no guidelines for NAPTOPS qualification or designation yet. So, in March of 1980, during a meeting in Washington with RADM. Winkle and his chief of staff NATOPS designation was brought up and how do we fly without qualifications. Simple answer, blanket letter from the Admiral for each of the three original crewmembers to be NATOPS designated in the SH-60B. Easiest qualification I ever did.

So, for a non-flying tour, I had a total of 43.1 hours in the SH-60B FSD birds, and I did not get back int an SH-60B until March 13, 1983 as the HSL-41 Training Department Leading Chief.

As a closing comment, I must include the last flight of BUNO 161171 was made from NAS North Island on 9 February 1984 to Davis Mothan AFB, aka the Boneyard. The crew was LCDR Bill Turville as the HAC, LCDR Beal as the 2P and yours truly AWCS Ralph Deyo as the SENSO.”

An MH-60S Sea Hawk assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5 and an MH-60R Sea Hawk, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 74, prepares to take off from the flight deck of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ryan Carter.

Radio Check Question for the Winter Rotor Review

“Working with international partners obviously is a critical part of our Navy’s mission. Considering the port calls, deck hits, dinner ceremonies, volunteer COMRELs, exchange programs, and all the rest, what has been your most rewarding experience training, operating, and deploying, with our foreign partners?”

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Chief of Naval Air Training (CNATRA)

Change of Command

RDML Gregory Harris,USN relieved RDML James Bynum, USN July 12, 2018

Commander Naval Base Coronado

CAPT Timothy J. Slentz, USN relieved CAPT Scott T. Mulvehill, USN August 1, 2018

CDR Teague Laguens, USN relieved CAPT Richard Whitfield, USN September 20, 2018

HSM - 72 Proud Warriors

HSC 26 Chargers

CDR Kelly K. Harrison, USN relieved CDR Lawrence Behr, USN September 6, 2018

CDR James T. Pokorsky, USN relieved CDR Brian A. Binder, USN May 06, 2018

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HSM - 40 Air Wolves

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Commander Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 1

HSC - 22 Sea Knights

RADM Alvin Holsey, USN relieved RADM . John Fuller, USN June 12, 2018

CDR Matthew Persiani, USN relieved CAPT Shawn Bailey, USN August 30, 2018

HSC - 8 Eightballers

CDR Justin Issler, USN relieved CDR Jeremy Clark, USN August 29, 2018

HSM - 46 Grandmasters

HSM - 71 Raptors

CDR Manuel J. Pardo, USN relived CDR Ross A. Drenning, USN August 2, 2018

CDR Russell H. Everitt USN relieved CDR Matthew Kiser, USN September 8, 2018

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One Great Day, One Awesome Tour

There I Was

By LCDR Chris “Rexy” Yost, USN

M

y only non-flying tour was an absolute blast! For 18 months, I served as a Catapult and Arresting Gear Officer onboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), homeported in North Island, CA. I felt very fortunate to receive orders as a shooter to a boat in San Diego, but I had no idea what an incredible time I would have and that it was actually more enjoyable at times than my squadron experiences. Most days were good days during my tour, but one day during RIMPAC specifically sticks out in my mind and captures the diversity of the experience.

At the time, I was fully qualified as a shooter and standing bridge watch every day while working on my Officer of the Deck (OOD) qualification. I started the day as the Conning Officer during a series of formation drills with ships from Japan and Korea. Following my watch on the bridge, I was the Event 1 bow shooter on a beautiful day in the Hawaii OPAREA. After “Launch Complete,” I had just enough time to grab some food before heading to Ready Room 3 for my flight brief with HSM-78.

The squadron Operations Officer had asked me earlier in the week if I wanted to fly in the front seat, but I kindly declined, recalling my frustrations as a JO when random pilots from other units rolled in to steal valuable stick time from JOPA. Riding in the back during the EMATTEX that day helped refresh my tactics, communications, and button-pushing skills. After the flight, I joined some of the Blue Hawk pilots during evening meal, happily answering all of their questions about life after the JO tour.

I shot the waist during one of the nighttime cycles, which most shooters will agree is the most challenging scenario.

Finally, I finished the night in the tower as the Helicopter Control Officer (HCO), coordinating helo recoveries prior to shut down. When the HSC-4 aircraft asked for a few extra bounces for H2P proficiency, I gladly approved, knowing the bridge didn’t have anything pressing and I could totally relate to the pilots flying. “Take all the time that you want, I’ll stay here as long as you need,” I called over the radio. As I watched the aircraft circle towards the downwind in between passes, I reflected on the day and thought, “That was pretty damn cool!” I didn’t care that I was exhausted and had to get up in less than 5 hours to stand watch. I am one of those people that thrives on learning something new and putting in the effort to succeed at it. The shooter tour presented several opportunities to overcome new challenges with regularity.

Throughout my second sea tour, I enjoyed a number of incredible experiences that I will never forget. My best friend was the HAC on a VERTREP flight in which I was the HCO. I definitely couldn’t hold back a “Hey brother!” on Button 1.

The E-2 pilot on my very first launch as a qualified shooter was none other than my first Navy on-wing student when I was an instructor at VT-28 (I’ll never forget that salute). Driving the aircraft carrier through the channel past Point Loma

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and around North Island as the Conning Officer makes DLQs on a small boy seem like a cakewalk. Celebrating with the 150-person wardroom during an event on the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor rivals any squadron callsign outing. Without question, I served under the finest leaders, alongside incredible officers, and with the most professional Sailors. I left the tour with so many memorable and rewarding experiences that served me well as a squadron Department Head.

Shooters work for the Air Boss and Mini Boss within the Air Department. My ship had eight shooters from various backgrounds: P-3, EP-3, E-6, C-2, and H-60. I was a direct replacement for the other helo guy who departed about three weeks after I arrived. The non-shooter officers within the Air Department were mostly LDO/CWO types with over a century of combined CVN experience. The diversity of backgrounds within the Air Department and the ship’s wardroom has no equal when compared to other operational units. I cherished my opportunities to dine with nukes, JAGs, dentists, Admin LDOs, AIMD CWOs, the Gun Boss, and a crazy number of Supply Officers, learning more about the Navy than I had to that point in the entirety of my naval career. I made a lot of great friends from different communities that I still keep in touch with today.

I never imagined how much the shooter tour would help in preparing me for my tour as a squadron Department Head.

The biggest learning experience resulted from my time as the V-1 Division Officer, leading 160 Sailors with only one senior chief and five chiefs. It was a steep learning curve and I received a crash course on prioritizing, delegating, and trusting but verifying unlike any of my previous leadership experiences. All of these lessons would serve me well when assuming the role of squadron Maintenance Officer, responsible for the roughly the same number of Sailors as V-1, but with many more division officers and chiefs to assist.

Additionally, I discovered the challenges of leading my portion of the Ship’s Force, disaggregated throughout the ship and under-tasked, continuously faced with the plethora of distractions that San Diego has to offer. I cannot understate the value of being present as a leader, routinely spanning the ship’s compartments to observe the troops completing tasks, addressing their concerns, and sharing moments of human interaction in the midst of “Driving the aircraft carrier through the channel past Point a relatively dull mission in the yards.

Loma and around North Island as the Conning Officer makes Those of you that know me well know that I love to fly more than anyone. I was a DLQs on a small boy seem like a cakewalk.” little nervous about leaving the cockpit for a while, knowing I would miss those mothe inter-workings of the ship and the extensive level of co- ments of bliss in the air. All the advice I received up to that ordination between different entities made it easier to solve point encouraged me to diversify my resume because it plays problems when fulfilling the DH role. On the flight deck, I well on boards. Whether or not that proves to be true over learned all about cycle requirements, deck spotting rules, flight time, it doesn’t matter to me anymore. Reflecting on my exdeck communications, and who to talk to on the ship when perience as a shooter, the time away from the community was issues arise. Being a lifeline for the squadron’s SDO during a refreshing distraction. Similar to starting a season in sports frequent moments of crisis in the ready room was very reward- following the offseason, I reported to the squadron for my DH tour at 100%, full of determination, and ready to tackle ing, largely as a result of my time as part of ship’s company.

Midway through my tour, the ship entered an 8-month any challenge.

This article doesn’t cover all of the less than glamorous facets maintenance phase as part of Planned Incremental Availability (PIA). The Captain appointed me as his direct representa- of the job, but I can tell you in all honesty, that the worst days tive and contractor liaison on one of the major projects that during my non-flying tour were not any worse than the worst had fallen months behind timeline. I spent my days climbing days in the squadron. I look back on my tour as one of my scaffolding and exploring every weapons sponson, fueling sta- favorite times in the Navy. It didn’t hurt that I knew that it tion, and boat deck. I attended daily meetings with project was only temporary and it wouldn’t be long until I was back managers from Newport News Shipbuilding and Puget Sound in the cockpit.

Naval Shipyard, learning a great deal about ship repairs and the dynamics of contract work.

I recall reporting to the ship, thinking I knew it all because my JO tour was with a CVW squadron and I had more underway time on the CVN than all of the other shooters. Well, I was wrong. I quickly realized that I only knew my safe Air Wing zones on the boat, having steered well clear of all the spaces with green, yellow, and blue doors. My knowledge of

Pulling Chocks

Time for a Change?

If you are leaving the Naval Service NHA wants to hear from you!

Please send us an email at pullingchocks@navalhelicopterassn.org.

Let your squadron mates and shipmates know where you are.

We will publish it in “Pulling Chocks” section of Rotor Review.

Pictures you want to share are welcome and encouraged.

Are you transitioning to civilian life?

Be sure to check out NHA’s Transition Assistance section of the NHA website.

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Movie Night

Aviation movies, there are thousands.

Is it all just Top Gun and Devil Dogs of the Air? Rotor Review presents Movie Night, so you don’t have to spend the entire evening browsing Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime looking for that great flying flick.

The Bridges at Toko-Ri

Reviewed by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

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ietnam is usually considered the helicopter war, but before that rotary-winged aircraft were used in combat. Rotored flying machines in the form of autogyros were first used by the Marines in Nicaragua in the 1932, then helicopters by the Germans throughout WWII and the US in the last two years of that war before being used more extensively in Korea. The Bridges at Toko-Ri give us a view into that part of aviation history.

What makes Toko-Ri such a great movie is its authenticity.

Using actual Navy ships and aircraft what is presented is real life aircraft carrier flight deck and both fixed wing and helicopter operations. The Navy gave the film crew and actors full access to all phases of operations even to the extent of teaching lead actor Academy Award winner William Holden how to taxi a jet on the flight deck for close up shots. Holden, incidentally, was no mere Hollywood pretty face, he served as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps during WWII and his brother was KIA in the South Pacific as a Navy fighter pilot; when it comes to playing this part, he knows what he is doing.

Pulitzer Prize winner James Michener’s story follows Lt Harry Brubaker through several weeks in the South China Sea off the coast of Korea showing shipboard life, flight deck and inflight ops and even including liberty call in Yokosuka, Japan. Mitchner penned his story two years before while a correspondent aboard carriers off the coast of Korea, his story based on real life incidents at the time.

Brubaker is a Lieutenant in a fighter/attack squadron flying the F-9F Panther. He’s a reservist who has been called back to active duty much to his dislike; he had his fill of combat as a fighter pilot in the South Pacific during the previous war.

The airborne action starts immediately when a forced ditching gets Harry pulled from the icy waters by an HO3S Dragonfly II flown by a Chief Petty Officer enlisted pilot Mike Forney played to a showman’s hilt by Academy Award winner Mickey Rooney along with Airman SAR Swimmer Nestor Gamidge played by Earl Holliman. The carrier is the USS Oriskany CV-34, the “O-Boat”, the helicopters from HU-1 at Imperial Beach and the F-9’s from VF-192 at Miramar.

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The operation is to take out a series of bridges at Toko-Ri, a main supply conduit for enemy forces in the south. But not before an R&R liberty call in Yokosuka, Japan. Harry and wife Nancy, played by Academy Award winner and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly, have pulled strings to be able to get together during the port call. There is brawling with Mike, Nestor and the Shore Patrol as well as romance with Harry and Nancy on liberty. All of the liberty action is played with real Sailors and Marines on the pier and in the bars and dance halls of Yokosuka.

Combat action gets underway with the ship again off the coast of North Korea, but not before Mike and Nestor get transferred to a helo barge closer to the coast. Their transfer is by means of highline to an accompanying destroyer, a visual treat in itself with Mike donning his trademark green silk scarf and tophat while the ship’s band plays “The Man on the Flying Trapeze”.

The bridges are recce’d by CAG in a photo bird with Harry flying cover. CAG’s bird takes hits from the terrific volume of triple-A, disabling his hook. You get to see what landing a high performance disabled jet on a straight wooden deck carrier entails, especially tense because Harry’s plane is next and running on fumes; tension builds as Tilly is rolled out.

In spite of Harry’s sweat drenched nightmares, the mission pushes on; Mike has told him how to deal with it, but Harry would much rather be back in the Midwest somewhere being a lawyer.

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The mission goes off, but not without complications and a combat SAR by Mike and Nestor.

I’m not going to elaborate on the rest of the story, that’s for you to find out. Don’t Google or Bing it, but watch it! Heck, you can see the whole thing on YouTube, but that’s not the way to do it justice. Get the DVD (through Amazon for pennies) and settle down in front of the big flat-screen with popcorn and your drink of choice. You will not be disappointed seeing the best Naval Aviation movie (by my account anyway) ever made. “The Bridges at Toko-Ri” written by a Pulitzer Prize winner, directed by Academy Award winner Mark Robson and with a cast of five Academy Award winners (Fredric March and Robert Strauss in addition to Holden, Kelly and Rooney) rates two thumbs up (more if I had ‘em) from this reviewer. Earl Holliman is also no light weight, being a Golden Globe winner and the movie also has Dennis Weaver of Gunsmoke fame in a speaking role.

As an aside, keep this in mind. Toko-Ri was made in 1954, a generation and a half before the advent of true to life CGI. The highly realistic combat and crash scenes were a genius mixture of modeling and actual footage skillfully linked, winning the movie the Academy Award for Special Effects. All of the other aircraft scenes with F-9’s, AD’s (Skyraider) and HO3S’s (also called affectionately the Horse) are all actual naval aircraft. In addition to seeing Paddles doing his job, you’ll also see what “pin-wheeling” an aircraft carrier entailed. I’m told by an older veteran that the maneuver even used jets in addition to props and was a necessity for carriers berthing in Yokosuka. Other vets in the movie, all of whom served during WWII, were Mickey Rooney in the Army and Earl Holliman and Dennis Weaver in the Navy where Weaver was a Navy fighter pilot flying the F-4U Corsair.

Finally, the Midway Museum has an HO3S in its flight deck displays, embellished with green tophat and scarf in the cockpit.

Reviewed by CDR Jen Evanko, USN (Ret.)

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magine living at the bottom of a pool, neutrally buoyant; but you can breathe, and there’s no resistance from the water when you move your body. That’s how it felt to Scott Kelly, who lived on the International Space Station for an entire year. All of his daily functions (such as sleeping, eating, “standing” in a room by hooking his toes under bars in the floor, “sitting” at a computer, running, peeing, etc.) had to be adjusted in some way.

Captain Scott Kelly was a self-proclaimed knucklehead kid who didn’t do well in school and had very little motivation in life until he read The Right Stuff as a teenager.

That was when he decided to become an astronaut, so he quickly learned how to study, got decent grades for the first time in his life, and earned a spot in Naval Flight School.

He takes the reader through his initial T-34 training in Pensacola (which is certainly nostalgic for all of us to read), his time in the Navy as an F-14 pilot, and then through the Astronaut pipeline. Ultimately, he is selected to become one of the first two people to spend an entire year on the International Space Station (ISS). The other person, by the way, was a Russian dude, who became a good friend of his. The Space Station is truly international. During his time on the Space Station, he lived with astronauts from Russia, Italy, Japan, and the UK. Life on the ISS is fascinating, and I couldn’t read enough about it! Captain Kelly focuses on the daily life onboard, but he also goes into detail describing how to fix a space toilet and the procedures for his two nail-biting spacewalks that he was able to perform. Simple everyday problems on earth can become life-threatening in space.

Captain Kelly speaks to the reader in layman terms, which makes it an easy read. The difficulties of living in space can be comedic, especially the way he describes it. His casual tone, humble demeanor, and gracious outlook on life makes his memoir a captivating read. Get it!

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Book Review

Endurance - A Year in Space. A Lifetime of Discovery

by CAPT Scott Kelly, USN (Ret.)

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Funny but True

Harry Carry and the Great Pig Hunt

By CAPT Mike Reber, USN (Ret.)

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arry Carry (not his real name) was a second tour LT in HC-4 Det Norfolk around 1966 or 67. He was known as a superb pilot and an interesting guy who was rumored to have flown an H-34 down a railroad track at night at 10 feet of altitude toward an oncoming train with his landing light on. By the time he pulled up there were sparks and flame coming from the train wheels. We can only imagine the comments from the Engineer. He was also rumored to have been assigned TAD to the CIA for operations in South East Asia in the late 1950’s. He was a fun guy with a reputation for free thinking. The following story is one recollection that I have of Harry which I call “The Pig Hunt”.

One day on my way to work at HC-4 Det Norfolk, I noticed that Harry Carry was following close behind and I gave him a wave. He acknowledged my wave with what sounded like a short burst of a police siren. When we got to the hanger parking lot I asked him about his strange “horn”. He told me that he was driving a police car. Sure enough, under the hood of his big ford sedan was a police pursuit engine, a siren and all the other paraphernalia that showed he was not kidding.

When I asked how he acquired such a vehicle he told me this story.

It seems that before reporting to HC-4 Det Norfolk, Harry was the Communications Division Officer and a SAR pilot at NAS Jacksonville. The SAR aircraft at Jax at the time was the tandem rotor, single piloted, Piasecki HUP. One fine Jacksonville day the Communications Division decided to schedule a morale building all-hands Bar-B-Que. Harry volunteered to do his part by providing a pig to roast for the event. A few weeks prior, Harry had sighted some wild pigs in a Georgia wilderness area north of the air station. He thought it would be a fine idea to shoot one from the HUP and bring it back for the BBQ. His regular aircrewman was also excited about the plan and recruited a sharpshooter friend from the Security Department who had a rifle. Armed and ready, Harry and the two sailors took off early on a Saturday morning for the hunt.

A couple of sailors from Harry’s Division were left standing by at a remote helo pad to act as his “ground crew” and off load the pig … if the hunt was successful Sure enough, Harry was able to quickly locate a small herd of wild pigs and the sailor from security nailed one on his first shot. The aircrewman sent the shooter down on the hoist to secure the pig and hoisted both the shooter and the pig into the HUP. Harry headed back to NAS Jax with his prize bleeding all over the flight deck of the helo but happy about the success of the mission. However, when they passed over the St Johns River on the way home, Harry noticed a person alone in the middle of the river who appeared to be in distress. He radioed the Jax tower and told them what he had seen and informed them that he intended to affect a rescue. Everything went like clockwork and before you could say roast pig, a struggling teen-age civilian was safe and sound in the helo and headed for Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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NAS Jax. When the crewman asked the young man how he came to be in the middle of the river, he said he had been riding with some friends in the rear seat of a speed boat driven by his older brother when he leaned the wrong way in a turn and fell out. Apparently no one had noticed that he was gone and the boat had continued around a bend in the river without turning back to pick him up. All this information was passed to the Tower at NAS Jacksonville.

When Harry arrived at NAS Jax, he intended to land in front of the OPS building where an ambulance was waiting, off load the person he had pulled out of the river, and air-taxi over to where his ground crew was waiting to off load the pig. However, as he began his approach, the tower informed him that they had learned that the young man he had rescued had been reported missing and there was a large search already underway. Unfortunately, communication with the rescue team had been lost and the Tower asked Harry to return to the scene and notify the searchers that the boy had been found. Harry did as the tower requested and when he was again headed back to NAS, the tower informed him that the hospital staff had become alarmed at the large amount of blood they had found. A thorough examination had revealed no wounds, the patient couldn’t remember seeing any source for the blood and the Hospital staff could find nothing to explain it. Harry assured the Tower that no harm had come to the young man, that the blood was not his and that he would explain upon arrival back at Jax. Harry landed at a pad somewhat remote from base ops where his men were waiting to offload the pig and wash out the helicopter. The pig was quickly spirited away and Harry headed to base ops to personally explain the curious circumstances. But no sooner had he started back, when he noticed a small party of men approaching led by the Commanding Officer of the Air Station. The party included a uniformed State Police Officer and a civilian who was unknown to him. The CO introduced the civilian as the Colonel in charge of the Florida State Police and the officer in uniform as part of his security detail. Harry’s visions of Courts Martial and prison turned quickly to joy when the Colonel immediately stuck out his hand and thanked Harry for rescuing his SON! Seeing a smile on the CO’s face encouraged Harry to immediately confess the pig hunt and its role in the finding of blood on the boy’s clothes. Everyone departed the scene in a mood of gratitude and relief….but not before the CO assured Harry that they would be meeting later for a “short visit”.

The “Short Visit” with the CO turned out to be a minor slap on the wrist as the CO was very pleased about his newly enhanced relationship with the State Police. The Communications Division BBQ came off successfully and Harry and the Aircrewman were invited guests of the State Police Colonel for dinner at his home. At dinner the Colonel explained that the State Police had a contract with a local Ford Dealer

for supplying State Police vehicles and he assured Harry and the Aircrewman that if they mentioned the Colonel, the Dealer would respond with a considerable discount on a new Ford. Harry took advantage of the Colonel’s offer and the result was Harry in possession of an unmarked police cruiser by which we were standing in the HC-4 Det Norfolk parking lot. Yet another amazing story of heroism and quick thinking by a Navy Helicopter pilot.

HUP from HU-2 on USS Roosevelt.

Never Done this Before

By AFCM Bruce Browne, USN (Ret.)

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uring the Vietnam war I was the crew chief on the USS Valley Forge’s ships helicopter, Bearcat #1. After a meeting wth all the captains for the ships that had come aboard for a meeting on the Valley their ships had steamed away in several directions and I was tasked to return these captains to their ships.

One of these captains was a very overweight ex-submariner who was in his whites. This guy was so scared his complexion almost matched his uniform.

The first thing he said to me was “I’ve never done this before.” I said, “Don’t worry Captain this is very easy.” I set him in the door with a horse collar around him on a nice clean towel and gave him instructions on what was going to happen. I lifted him up a few inches and set him down so he could understand the process. This guy was petrified and must have told me 100 times “I’ve never done this before”. So we arrived at his ship after about ten minutes and the sea state is not real good and his ship did not have a place to land so we pull into a hover about 30 ft above his deck and I said here you go and the last thing he said to me was “I’ve never did this before”. I lifted him up about six inches, turned him around to face me and I said “Captain, don’t worry, I’ve never done this before either”.

USS Valley Forge (LPH-8) at anchor in 1965, location unknown. Note UH-34 Seahorse helicopters and a single UH-1B Seawolf on deck. US Marine Corps photo.

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Around the regions

Scramble the Seawolves Premiere on Midway for HAL 3 Reunion

By LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

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rom 2 to 7 September HA(L)-3 (Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three) held their reunion in San Diego. Two key events that Rotor Review was able to attend were the premier of the movie “Scramble the Seawolves” aboard the USS Midway and a Barbeque in the HSC-85 hangar at NAS North Island. More specifics in a minute, but first some background. HA(L) stands for Helicopter Attack (Light). HA(L)-3 is the only Navy squadron to be established and disestablished and have its entire operational history outside of the United States. They were developed from an HC-1 detachment and established in 1966 as a specific helicopter gunship squadron to support the Brown Water Navy or Riverine Forces in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam. They were known as the Seawolves operating in support of PBR patrol boats and SEALS until they were disestablished in 1972.

The Seawolves held a movie night on September 4th aboard USS MidHAL 3 in Vietnam. way flight deck. The evening event was the world premiere of the movie “Scramble the Seawolves”. The HA(L)-3 event coordinator CDR Ian Refo expressed the heart felt appreciation of all of the squadron members to RADM Mac McLaughlin USN (Ret.) CEO of the Midway Museum who donated the flight deck and his crew to host the event. Guest speakers preceded the movie which was attended by more than 1000 people, mostly HA(L)-3 members and their families. The movie, produced by Arballo Entertainment with the KPBS Broadcasting Network, chronicles the history of HA(L)-3 in Vietnam from their genesis as an HC-1 detachment through their disestablishment. They operated several detachments throughout the Mekong River Delta region flying UH-1s off of anchored LSTs, AGPs and APBs as well as short steel matting strips ashore. Their mission was to support the “Brown Water” Navy PBRs and Swift Boats as well as Navy SEALs and other special operation forces in the region. They did this mission 24/7/365 including 24 hour non-stop operations during the TET Offensive. In addition to the operational history, the movie includes numerous interviews of squadron aircrew, maintainers and support personnel. Interviews which document not only the stress of flying and maintaining hand-me-down Army aircraft but also the personal tragedies and stress of PTSD suffered by many of them to this day.

The barbeque event at NAS North Island on September 5th was hosted by HSC-85 in their hangar. It was attended by over 500 HA(L)-3 members and their families. The HSC-85 skipper CDR Joe Zack and CMC Mark Bower said that it was the squadron’s great pleasure to be allowed to host the event for the amazing veterans and their families. In addition to tables, chairs and BBQ pit and chow lines, the squadron set up a HH-60H and MH-60S with crews to show the vets the latest in helicopter combat support technology and equipment. HSC-85 is currently transitioning from the Hotel to the Sierra. The camaraderie shared by the hundreds of vets, their families and active military was palpable with sea stories, hugs and tears throughout the hangar. HSC-85 even laid out a rotor blade to be autographed by the Seawolves.

The Scramble the Seawolves movie premiered on KPBS television on September 18 and can be found through the KPBS website with video copies obtainable through the HA(L)-3 Seawolf Association website http:// www.seawolf.org/index.asp .

BBQ at HSC-85.

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Command Updates

HM 14 Supports Mine Countermeasure OPS during RIMPAC SOCAL

By Lt. Andrew Thompson, Rim of the Pacific Public Affairs

Members of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Royal New Zealand Navy jump from an MH-53E Sea Dragon, attached to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14, as a part of dive operations during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise off the coast of Southern California, July 13, 2018. 25 nations, 46 ships, five submarines, about 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participed in RIMPAC. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Curtis D. Spencer.

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elicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 14 conducted airborne mine countermeasure (MCM) operations during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in the Southern California (SOCAL) area of operations as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 177.

HM 14 delivered mine detection and airborne mine sweeping capabilities to the exercise. They were also able to use their MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters to support diving operations for multiple evolutions.

RIMPAC provided the opportunity for HM 14 to train and work with both U.S. and international partners in support of Commander, Task Force 177. HM 14 participated in the exercise with USS Harpers Ferry (LSD 49), Mine Countermeasures Squadron (MCMRON) 3 and Mine Countermeasures Division (COMCMDIV) 31. They also supported international partners during the exercise including the Royal New Zealand Navy Clearance Diving Team, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, Royal Canadian Navy coastal defense vessel HMCS Whitehorse (MM 705) and Royal Netherlands Navy Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Unit during the exercise.

25 nations, 46 ships, five submarines, 200 aircraft, and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 27 to August 2 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world's largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security of the world's oceans. RIMPAC 2018 is the 26th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

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Marine Corps Reactivates ‘Ugly Angels’ as MV-22 Squadron By: Gidget Fuentes Reprinted from USNI August 20, 2018

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ix years since its squadron of CH-53D medium- the squadron to Hawaii and Marine Aircraft Group 24 at lift transport helicopters was deactivated, the “Ugly Kaneohe Bay. There, it joined in the unit deployment rotaAngels” will return to life – this time to fly the MV-22 Osprey tions to Japan in 2002. In 2007, the squadron did its first tiltrotor. combat deployment to Iraq, working from Al-Asad Air Base On Friday, the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing will activate Ma- in Anbar province. rine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 362 at Miramar In 2009, on its second combat tour in Iraq, the “Ugly AnMarine Corps Air Station in San Diego, Calif., wing officials gels” got orders to deploy aircraft to Afghanistan. Maintenance announced. The squadron commander, Lt. Col. Matthew T. Marines replaced both engines on 10 aircraft that boosted the McSorley, an Osprey pilot, is scheduled to speak at the acti- power and range the helicopters would need to fly in highvation ceremony. er-altitude terrain in Afghanistan. Air Force C-17s transported The activation kicks off what will become a busy year build- the Sea Stallions into Afghanistan. ing the squadron, which joins Marine Aircraft Group 16 at In 2010, the squadron’s CH-53Ds supported Marines with Miramar. “The squadron does not yet have all of its MV-22s 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, in training Afghan National Army or Marines, but they are on schedule to be fully equipped and coalition forces near Jahazi, in Helmand province, during and manned by early 2020,” a 3rd MAW spokesman, 2nd Lt. Operation Stargey, according to a Marine Corps news story.

Frederick D. Walker, told USNI News. “At full strength, the In its early years, the “Ugly Angels” formed as HMM, or squadron will have approximately 200 Marines and sailors.” medium-lift squadron. In Vietnam, starting in 1962 and from This new Osprey squadron will carry on the “Ugly Angels” 1967 to 1969, the Ugly Angels flew several aircraft including long, historic lineage of 60 years of service that ended with its the UH-34D as HMM-362, including combat operations at deactivation on Nov. 30, 2012, at Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Marble Mountain, Phu Bai and Hue. The squadron was the Base, Hawaii, and the service’s retirement of the CH-53D Sea first squadron to receive the CH-53D and was redesignated as Stallion transport helicopter.

HMH-362 at New River MCAS, N.C. The Sea Stallion proMarine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, known as the vided a workhorse aircraft for assault and transport missions ‘Ugly Angels,’ completed a memorial flight over Helmand and with greater cargo and lift capacity than others along the province, Afghanistan, Aug. 9 2012. US Marine Corps Photo flight line, including the medium-lift CH-46 Sea Knight. The At the time of the deactivation, the Marine Corps’ long- squadron kept flying the twin-engine CH-53D while the Marange planning had eyed the “Ugly Angels” for reactivation rine Corps upgraded to the heavier, triple-engine CH-53E, or as a CH-53K squadron, the service’s long-anticipated but de- Super Stallion, starting in the 1980s. layed Super Stallion’s replacement.

Its manufacturer, Sikorsky, delivered the first CH-53K King Stallion in May. The Marine Corps’ 2011 Aviation Plan stated: “HMH-362 stands up in FY18 on the East Coast to be the first squadron to transition to CH-53K.” A few years later, the 2015 Aviation Plan stated “VMM362 will stand up beginning in FY18 in Miramar.”

The squadron, which dates back to 1952, had seen its last combat missions – and the CH-53D’s final operational flights – in Afghanistan in early 2012.

Over the years, the “Ugly Angels” operated during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in 1994 before the Marine Corps transferred Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, known as the ‘Ugly Angels,’ memorial flight over Helmand province, Afghanistan, Aug. 9 2012. U.S. Marine Corps Photo

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The HSM 35 Magicians, America’s Squadron, Complete USS WASP Certification and SSANG YONG Exercise 2018

By LCDR Dave “Brisket” Kiser, USN and LT Aimee “Elmo” Brenner, USN

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he Detachment 2 “Savages” of HSM 35 deployed to 7th Fleet onboard the USS Dewey (DDG 105) from January until May 2018, as part of the USS Wasp (LHD 1) “Up-Gunned” Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG). HSM 49 Detachment 3 onboard the USS Sterret (DDG 104) joined the “Savages” to provide a complete “Up-Gunned” concept for the WASP ESG. Detachment 2’s mission was to complete the certification of the USS Wasp following its homeport shift to Japan, replacing the USS Bonhomme An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Magicians” of Helicopter Maritime Richard (LHD 6) as a forStrike Squadron (HSM) 35, takes off from the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer ward deployed naval asset.

USS Dewey (DDG 105) prior to a live-fire exercise, July 18, 2018. U.S. Navy photo by Detachment 2 consisted Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Devin M. Langer, USN. of two MH-60R aircraft, HEX 30 and HEX 33, wenty-one maintainers, six pilots, and three aircrewmen. The detachment worked long hours each day to support ASW, SUW, MIO, SAR, and VERTREP missions. The MH-60R detachments provided the Wasp ESG with organic and innovative ASW support, incorporating sonobuoy integration with the HSC 25 detachment onboard USS Wasp. Among many advances during the deployment, a major highlight included the first operational deployment of the F-35B Lighting II from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121, the Green Knights, embarked on the USS Wasp. Both MH-60R detachments flawlessly integrated with the F-35B during numerous tactical evolutions, proving the importance of both platforms in a forward deployed arena.

In addition to the CERTEX, the “Up-Gunned” ESG also supported the annual SSANG YONG exercise with the Republic of Korea Navy. While the temperatures were cold and the skies were gray, the airspace remained busy. TACRON 12 had their hands full coordinating airspace around the Korean peninsula. The airspace shifted daily, making planning for the next day’s events very challenging. Despite the continuously changing OPAREA and procedures, Detachment 2 fulfilled all required ASW, SUW, and logistic events in SSANG YONG 2018. The Wasp ESG coordination with the Republic of Korea Navy highlighted the US Navy’s ability to effectively operate safely on a multi-national level.

Detachment 2 was fortunate to be a part of this historic deployment showcasing the interoperability of the MH-60R with the F-35B in addition to operating with the Republic of Korea and the Royal Navy. America’s Squadron is continuously training for future deployments supporting 3rd 5th and 7th Fleet AORs.

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Two Merlins Win Daedalian 2018 Orville Wright Achievement Award

By MC2 Patrick W. Menah Jr., USN

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LtCol Dave Bartnett, USAF (Ret.)and LTJG Abigai New, USN.

he Order of the Daedalians took pleasure in recognizing two student pilots from the “Merlins” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 3 as the recipients of the 2018 Orville Wright Achievement Award, Aug. 9 at the Admiral Baker Golf Course clubhouse. LTJG Edward Reed and LTJG Abigail New were selected from among their peers across the Navy’s Naval Air Training Command, the Air Force Air Education and Training Command, and the Army’s Army Aviation School, for their superior academic excellence, flying skills, leadership and military bearing.

“LTJG Reed and LTJG New each excelled in all aspects of their pilot training requirements and ended up at the top of their respective classes during their training periods in 2017,” said Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Dave Barnett, Daedalians Flight 13 flight captain. “Recognizing the achievements of these of these young aviators is important for their own self-esteem, but also to set an example for all their fellow pilots to follow.”

LTJG Reed, originally from Orinda, California, said helping his peers and fellow student pilots in newer classes allowed him to stand out. “Aside from my normal training expectations, I spent a lot of time after hours going over old briefs and preparing new students for their flight events” said LTJG Reed. “I wanted to mentor others so they could learn from my mistakes and be successful. It is an immense pleasure to be recognized for hard work, and I am very thankful for this award.” LTJG New, who graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2015, said she wishes to lead by example in her future endeavors.

The Order of the Deadalians was founded in 1934, and is comprised of military pilots advocating the spirit of patriotism and service to country.

LtCol Dave Bartnett, USAF (Ret.) and LTJG Edward Reed,USN.

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HSC-25, EODMU 5 and Australian Forces at Pyrocrab

By LT Mary Smith, USN, Commander, Task Force 75 Public Affairs

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ailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 and members of the Australian Army began the biennial unit level training event, Pyrocrab, at U.S. Naval Base Guam August 6, 2018.

The training focuses on building closer relationships between the nations and enhancing the interoperability of their military units. “This is the third iteration of unit level training with the Australian forces,” said CDR Michael Tollison, USN, Commanding Officer of EODMU 5. “I am excited to see the improvement in the bilateral cooperation since our last opportunity to work together.”

Sailors attached to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 Service members focused on moand Australian Army soldiers conduct a hostage rescue drill using an MH-60S bility, survivability & specialist techhelicopter from the “Island Knights” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) nical EOD capabilities. The training 25 during the unit level training ‘Pyrocrab’ at Anderson Air Base. U.S. Navy helped foster the overarching goals Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kryzentia Richards, USN. of enhancing cooperation, interoperability, and tactical proficiency amongst nations that have strategic maritime interests in the Pacific. “The biggest takeaway from this experience is really the integration between us and how close partners we actually are. We historically deploy as partners and it is essential that we train hard together when we can.” said Warrant Officer Class Two Chris Schaefer. “I’ve never been more impressed in regard to how well the U.S. can provide assets and training areas to give full integration like this. This training will better prepare the U.S. Navy and partner nation forces to be more versatile, and that in turn will make cooperation easier in various contingencies including disaster and humanitarian assistance missions.

Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5 and Australian Army soldiers fast rope from an MH-60S helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25, the Island Knights, during the unit level training ‘Pyrocrab’ at Naval Base Guam. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kryzentia Richards.

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HSC-25 DET 6 Update LT Scott Brady,USN

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nti-Surface Warfare (ASUW), SOF support, and maritime Personnel Recovery (PR) are the HSC community’s three primary warfighting mission sets. HSC-25’s Det 6, based out of NAF Atsugi, Japan has been successfully pursuing the application of the MH-60S systems to accomplish HSC’s warfighting missions safely and efficiently.

HSC-25 Det 6 conducted joint training at MCAS Iwakuni to combine efforts on integration with VMFA-121’s Joint Strike Fighter and HSM-51’s MH-60R. The Island Knights focused their efforts on integrating datalink and weapons employment systems with the Joint Strike Fighter and MH-60R. HSC-25 later planned and conducted Link-16 based training events to spearhead demonstration of the capability of integrating with 5th Generation F-35 aircraft via Link-16. This paved the way to integrate multi-platform ASUW capabilities into Defense of the Amphibious Task Force (DATF) exercises.

The Island Knights deployed its first Amphibious Det capable of delivering Air-to-Surface Unguided Rockets. HSC-25 has historically deployed with Precision Guided Munitions but added the capability of rapid employment of UGR to support the ASUW and DATF mission sets. HSC-25 Det 6 participated in Expeditionary Strike Group Seven’s first DATFEX featuring live employment of Unguided Rockets against a towed target with lethal results.

In response to the growing need to provide VBSS capability in 7th Fleet, the Island Knight pilots planned and led a robust HVBSS assault mission that involved coordination of seven rotary wing assets during 31st MEU’s Certification Exercise (CERTEX). HVBSS evaluators for CERTEX boasted that this was the best blue-green integration that they had seen and the most efficient HVBSS plan to date. HSC-25 remains the primary assault support platform for 31st MEU and solidifies its role as the most viable HVBSS platform in 7th Fleet.

HSC-25 Det 6 conducted the first ever Maritime Contested Search and Rescue (MCSAR) exercise underway on USS WASP. The squadron continues to train to MCSAR and develop TTPs for near peer contested SAR. They worked with VMFA-121 personnel to ensure the Det rescue element was properly trained and outfitted to conduct overwater recovery of F-35 pilots in addition to crewmembers of legacy platforms in contested waters. Challenges overcome by the Island Knights include training to navigate and disentangle a new suite of JSF survival gear that they may encounter again during a contested SAR. The first active sonobouy was successfully launched from an HSC-25 aircraft during an Anti-Submarine Exercise off of the USS WASP. HSC-25 was assisting the HSM-35 Magicians in conducting an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Exercise, consisting of deploying sonobouys and communicating via Link-16. HSC-25 prosecuting submarines shows the diversity of capability that the MH-60S platform provides to the rotary wing community and the Expeditionary Strike Group.

The Island Knights train to provide maximum warfighting readiness to its combatant commanders.

HSC-25 conducted flight operations aboard USS WASP professionally, safely, and enthusiastically. The Island Knights met the challenges of integrating with the Joint Strike Fighter, employing the Unguided Rocket weapon system, and successfully introducing new perspectives to evolving mission sets of MCSAR and DATF. HSC25 will continue to refine its TTPs to ensure that we are the best in the world at sinking anything that floats!

HSC-25 aircrewman employing the newest weapon system

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Joining Forces: HSC-25 DET 3 and ROK Navy 631st Squadron By : LCDR Sean “Ogre” Rice, LT Craig “CTAF” Pierce, LTJG Ashley “Hulk” Ambuehl

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strong alliance between the United States and the Republic of Korea is increasingly important as the Korean peninsula moves toward ending the six decade stalemate of the Korean War. Strengthening and continuing this alliance was a major focus of joint training conducted between the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) 631st Squadron and Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 Detachment (DET) 3.

As the Navy’s only forward deployed MH-60S expeditionary squadron, HSC-25 annually deploys DET 3 onboard 7th Fleet’s T-AKE Class T-Fill ship in support of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and Carrier Strike Group Five (CSG-5).

During their 2017 deployment, the “Boomers” of DET 3 onboard USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10), led by OIC LCDR Richard “Sancho” Brannen, identified an opportunity during the ship’s mid-voyage repair (MVR) in Chinhae, Republic of Korea. Working through US Naval Forces Korea, they established a relationship with the ROK Navy 631st Squadron and conducted several weeks of joint training. This year, coming off USNS Cesar Chavez (T-AKE 14), the “Lift Kings” of HSC-25’s 2018 DET 3 were eager to continue the legacy.

The ROK Navy 631st Squadron is located in Pohang, Republic of Korea and is part of the ROK Navy’s 6th Air Wing.

The squadron consists of 25 Pilots, 18 Aircrew, 4 Rescue Teams, and 50 maintenance personnel, who fly and maintain both UH-60Ps and UH-1Hs. The squadron truly lives up to its motto “Anytime, Anywhere,” standing a constant alert with both types of aircraft and regularly supporting the ROK Fleet with SAR, PMC, VERTREP, SOF Support, CAS, and other mission sets.

The Lift Kings arrived with their two MH-60S to a warm welcome in Pohang on 24 July. The rest of the detachment and its equipment arrived via pier-side offload in Chinhae the next day. Unfortunately a ROK Marine helicopter experienced a fatal mishap just a week prior to DET 3’s arrival and prevented the DET from parking with and working out of spaces owned by HM-14 DET 2A. However, the 631st stepped in and provided spaces in their own hangars for maintenance personnel and graciously provided parking next to their own H-60s.

DET 3 immediately went to work receiving detailed course rules and operational briefings from the 631st. After several familiarization flights in the local area, the two units went about planning their first joint training evolution, Day TERF. Only a few days after arriving, King 04 launched with Harmony 131, a 631st UH-60P and conducted dual ship TERF routes created by both units.

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With interoperability being a primary end state of this joint training, DET 3 and the 631st conducted joint briefings with the crew of the ROK Navy Il Chul Bong (LST-66), thoroughly discussing procedures for helicopter operations on ROK vessels. After these briefings, both King 04 and 11 were again able to join a ROK UH-60P as part of “Harmony Flight,” conducting three aircraft section DLQs to the two spot Il Chul Bong. During the event, King 11 was able to land on Spot 2, behind Harmony 131 on Spot 1, the first time two H-60s had ever been on deck simultaneously on an ROK LST. The 631st was also able to coordinate access to the nearby Su Seoung Range, owned by the ROK Marines. Tucked into a deep valley southeast of Pohang, the range maintains multiple tank targets used for crew served and fixed forward firing weapons. As part of a LVL III STAN evaluation, AWS2 Forrest Morgan was able to provide a ground school teach-back on the M-240D to ROK aircrew of the 631st. Subsequently, both King aircraft conducted aerial gunnery training along with ROK aircrews. Su Seoung provided an opportunity for DET 3 aircrew to conduct high fidelity aerial gunnery training, marking the first time most of them had ever fired at overland targets. The 631st was also able to coordinate access for DET 3 to conduct MIO/GOPLAT training at a SOF facility near Chinhae, allowing for the completion of AWS2 Morgan’s evaluation.

The Lift Kings quickly embraced a strong mentality within Korean culture of hard work, while making time to forge strong relationships. 631st leadership immediately hosted a welcome dinner for DET 3, introducing their American peers to good Korean barbeque and soju. The Lift Kings happened to be in Pohang for the 38th Anniversary of the 631st Squadron and were able to join their new friends for a day at the beach, taking full advantage to teach them about American barbeque and corn hole.

Continuing relationship building outside of flying, DET 3 joined the 631st in a joint community relations volunteer event at the Sunrin Aeyukown Orphanage in Pohang. The Orphanage was originally founded by the First Marine Air Wing after the Korean War and was unfortunately damaged by an earthquake in 2017. The Lift Kings spent part of the day with their Korean peers working on clean-up and renovation efforts at the orphanage, a rewarding experience for all and a perfect opportunity to give back to the community which welcomed them so well.

Lift King aircrew were also able to join 631st aircrew at the ROK Navy water survival center, just a short drive from Pohang. The facility maintains a helo dunker and hoisting simulators similar to those found at facilities in the U.S.

forces with ROK Navy SEALs and US SEAL Team 17A to conduct live HRST, MEDEVAC, and CASEVAC training at a ROK SOF facility near Chinhae.

In their last scheduled week in Pohang, DET 3 was granted access to an ROK training facility at Josari, just to the North.

Josari consisted of several landing pads spread out across over a hundred acres of open sloping TERF. There the Lift Kings were able to conduct several OVLD SWTP training events. The last week led up to a culminating SOF FMP event involving a 631st UH-60P and UH-1H as well as DET 3’s two MH-60Ss with ST-17 and ROK SEALs. Unfortunately Korean weather again kept the aircraft grounded, but the capability of two international units, flying three different aircraft, to successfully plan and brief a live SOF FMP was a significant milestone.

Unfortunately operational commitments and multiple typhoons delayed Cesar Chavez’s planned pick-up of DET 3 by a week.

In that time, the Lift Kings were able to make maximum use of their local knowledge, completing several SWTP CAS events, and refreshing NATOPS maneuvers and instrument proficiency; knowledge easily decayed during long months at sea.

Throughout their time ashore, the Lift Kings were also extremely well supported by the Vulcans of HM-14 DET 2A, who maintain a standing Det in Pohang. DET 2A supported mission planning and operations spaces as well as maintenance support and personnel requirements. With the additional time in Pohang, DET 3 was able to conduct cross platform training with pilots and aircrew of DET 2A, supporting currency requirements and AWS advancement exam training.

DET 3 was finally able to re-embark Cesar Chavez on 25 August, having spent a little more than a month ashore in Korea.

The Lift Kings left with heavy hearts, as they had established life-long friendships with their Korean peers. Not only did they get to fly in a complex joint/international environment, all had the opportunity to experience Korean culture and hospitality first hand. HSC-25 and particularly DET 3 are looking forward to continuing a relationship with the 631st Squadron and hope to make this joint training an annual event.

HSC-25 provides a multi-mission rotary wing capability for units in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations and maintains a Guam-based 24-hour search and rescue and medical evacuation capability, directly supporting U.S. Coast Guard and Joint Region Marianas. HSC-25 is the Navy’s only forward-deployed MH-60S expeditionary squadron. The Detachment Three “Lift Kings” will continue to support logistical requirements of Carrier Strike Group Five and 7th Fleet through the end of the year.

However, DET 3 aircrew were extremely impressed by wave generators, fog and wind machines, lighting and noise effects, utilized in the ROK facility. Teams from DET 3 were able to hone their skills in challenging simulations and verify their SAR procedures remarkably similar to their ROK peers. This high fidelity pool training was conducted with the intention of conducting live SAR jumps from both units’ aircraft. Unfortunately SAR jumps were unable to be completed due to adverse weather, despite several attempts.

In their third week in Pohang, the Lift Kings were extremely pleased to welcome Skipper Will “Easy” Eastham and Command Master Chief Keith Wilkerson. Both Skipper and CMC were able to conduct high level engagements with Captain Sung Dae Kim, ROK Navy 63rd Group Captain, and RDML Ki Jae Kim, Commander ROK Navy Air Wing 6. ROK leadership expressed their enthusiasm for the continuation of training between the 631st and DET 3, while HSC-25 leadership restated their immense gratitude for the hospitality and opportunity.

The Skipper and CMC did not limit their visit to meetings alone. Both were able to fly with the Lift Kings around Pohang, were hosted to Korean dinners and visits to cultural sights in the local area, and were able to engage with DET 3 Sailors throughout the week and in particular during a Sailor 360 event.

Through the week, the Lift Kings continued to fly and take advantage of overland ranges provided by the 631st. Building on previous TERF work, DET 3 crews were able to brief and fly a dual ship Night TERF event along with a ROK UH-60P. With the help of the 631st, the Lift Kings were able to combine

Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 Det. 3 rescue swimmer Naval Air Crewman Second Class Ty Nichols rescues a ROK Navy rescue swimmer during Search and Rescue training at the ROK Navy’s water survival center in Pohang. HSC-25 Det. 3, based at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, are conducting joint training with the ROK Navy 631st Squadron to enhance mutual friendship and interoperability.

U.S. Navy photo by LCDR Sean Rice, USN.

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Northern Strike 2018: HSC-6 Succeeds in Joint Operations

By LT Katie Chambless, USN

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he month of August presented the San Diego based Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6 Indians a unique opportunity to participate in one of the country’s premier joint exercises. With three MH-60S aircraft and 79 Sailors, HSC6 participated in Northern Strike (NS18), a National Guard Bureau-sponsored exercise uniting over 5,000 service members from many states, multiple service branches, and nine coalition countries. The three day 2,000mile transit to Michigan was an adventure and learning experience for the junior aircrews.

The cross country transit went smoothly and the crews arrived ready to train with co-located Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps air HSC-6 teams up with an Army Blackhawk from 2nd Battalion, units.

238th General Support Aviation Regiment to conduct fast rope The Indians kicked off the exercise by coninsertion training with US Army and Lithuanian Special Forces. ducting maritime strike training with HelicopPhoto credit: LT Alden Marton ter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75 flying the MH-60R and close air support with live Joint Terminal Air Controllers (JTACs). During these flights, the crews conducted simultaneous simulated strikes orchestrated by the Army and multinational JTACs, as well as convoy escort for the National Guard troops conducting training against USMC opposing forces. The coordination between all units involved was impressive and filled with learning opportunities.

The experience gave the junior pilots valuable opportunities to train with other branches of both U.S. and foreign militaries.

The multiple opportunities for such training at NS18 created realistic scenarios for the ground and air units involved. These joint training flights further demonstrated the capability of joint and coalition forces when using common terminology and joint standards on the battlefield.

Combat Search and Rescue training missions with the 104th and 107th Fighter Squadrons further demonstrated the importance of joint training and was one of the highlights of Northern Strike. The Maryland and Michigan based Air National Guard A-10 pilots were phenomenal in performing rescue escort and rescue mission commander duties. Additionally, the pararescue specialists of the 103rd Rescue Squadron executed their portion of each rescue with expert quickness. During these training events, HSC-6 aircrewmen had the opportunity to learn and practice ground rescue element procedures while the pilots gained valuable mission planning and execution experience.

The Indians also teamed up with Army Blackhawks early in the exercise to conduct mixed section Helicopter Rope Suspension Technique insertions for US Army, Lithuanian and Latvian special forces. Through this opportunity early in the exercise, the Indians forged a relationship with all parties involved, which would contribute to their success in later Direct Action and caAn HSC-6 aircraft fires a 2.75� Unguided Rocket using the newly sualty evacuation training missions. Indian integrated Helmet Display Targeting System (HDTS), improving aircrews again teamed up with Army Blacklethality of the FFFW systems. Photo credit: AWS2 Aaron White. hawks and pararescue specialists to evacuate Rotor Review #142 Fall '18

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and treat multiple patients during a mass casualty evacuation drill. This exercise provided the aircrewmen and SAR Medical Technician a realistic and unique medical training opportunity.

As HSC-6 integrated with each new joint and/or coalition asset, the Indians demonstrated the capabilities of the MH60S, its role in modern warfighting, and the future of joint and coalition interoperability. Looking toward the future, the integration of the MH-60S into various joint mission sets provides a lethal and flexible platform with the capability to support or prosecute. Exercise NS18 and similar joint training opportunities are vital to ensure interoperability and full utilization of the MH-60S.

On top of all the joint training missions, HSC-6 was given the opportunity to train on and display the capabilities of its newest targeting technology: the Helmet Display Targeting System (HDTS). The Indians successfully prosecuted overland and overwater targets while expending 2400 20mm rounds and 38 Unguided Rockets. Combining the lethality of fixed-forward firing weapons with the precision of the HDTS, the MH-60S proved its ability to execute in a joint environment.

NAS Whidbey SAR Rescues and MEDEVACs 53 as of September 23

By Michael Welding, Public Affairs Officer

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Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island rescued a hiker who had suffered injuries after a fall on Granite Mountain on Sunday, September 23, 2018.

The hiker suffered head lacerations and potential spinal cord injuries after a falling over twenty feet. The injured hiker was hoisted aboard the SAR helicopter and flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

NAS Whidbey Island SAR has conducted 53 total missions throughout Washington State this year, including 39 rescues, eight searches and six medical evacuations, delivering 62 people to a higher level of care.

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HSC-3 Aircrew Students Have Earned Their Wings FRAC Graduation Class 800600 September 21, 2018

AWS3 Wilbur, AWS3 Arvidson, AWS3 Bostaph, AWS3 Buriak, AWS3 Humphreys, AWS3 Kainoa, AWS3 Paogofiebuiten.

Keep your chin up!

AWS3 Arvidson, AWS3 Bostaph, AWS3 Buriak, AWS3 Humphreys, AWS3 Kainoa, AWS3 Paogofiebuyten, AWS3 Wilbur.

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July 13, 2018

TOP ROW: Lt. Col. Gregory R. Curtis, USMC, Executive Officer HT-18; 1st Lt. Collin R Wheeler, USMC, HT-18, LTJG Danial W. Rose, USN, HT-8; 1st Lt. Matthew P. Desrochers, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Samuel P. Crockett, USN, HT-18; 1st Lt. John E. Schneider, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Stephen M. Walker, USN, HT-8; 1st Lt. Sean P. Kelleher, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Wesley W. Goodrun, USN, HT-18; Col. David C. Morris, USMC, Commodore TRAWING 5.

MIDDLE ROW: Lt. Col. Aaron J. Brunk, USMC, Commanding Officer HT-18; LTJG Ryan L. Frederick, USN, HT-28; LTJG Thomas J. Courtney, USN, HT-28; LTJG Cory D. Trotter, USN, HT-8; Capt. Zachary T. Stewart, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Christopher H. Mckee, USN, HT-28; 1st Lt. Carl Y. Chen, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Kelley A. Robinnson, USN, HT-28; 1st Lt. Luke G Ritter, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Michel L. Richardson, USN, HT-28.

BOTTOM ROW: CDR Jessica R. Parker, USN, Commanding Officer HT-8 ; LTJG Colleen M. Fricke, USN, HT-8; ENS Olga A. Lantuh, USN, HT-8; LTJG Bradley J. Williams, USN, HT-8; LTJG Nathan G Beatty, USN, HT-8; LTJG Madeline C. Hyde, USN, HT-8; LTJG Colby W. Shinholser, USN, HT-18; LT Kristin B. Euchler, USCG, HT-28; LTJG Daniellle N. Mcknight, USN, HT-28; 1st Lt. Jonathan Hernandez, USMC, HT-8; CAPT Alan M. Worthy, USN, Commodore Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic (guest speaker).

July 27, 2018 TOP ROW: Lt. Col. Gregory R. Curtis, USMC, Executive Officer HT-28; LTJG Benjamin B. Hannon, USCG, HT-8; LTJG Chad D. Alvarez, USN, HT-28; LTJG William H. Hamiter, USN, HT-28; 1st Lt. Jason T. Motycka, USMC, HT-18; LTJG David M. Miles, USN, HT-28; Col. David C. Morris, USMC, Commodore TRAWING 5.

MIDDLE ROW: Lt. Col. Aaron J. Brunk USMC, Commanding Officer HT-18; 1st Lt. Toni E. Taylor, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Dana N. Andres, USN, HT-28; LTJG Shane M. Bohn, USN, HT-8; Ens. Roy D. Billodeau, USN, HT-18; LTJG James F. Sireci, USN, HT-8; 1st Lt. Stephen M. Lennon, USMC, HT-28; CDR Barnet L. Harris II, USN, Commanding Officer VT-3 (guest speaker).

BOTTOM ROW: CDR Jessica R. Parker, USN, Commanding Officer HT-8; LTJG Rachel M. Boelsche, USN, HT-28; LTJG Jane C. Wissmann, USN HT-28; 1st Lt. Joseph D. Morales, USMC, HT-28; Ens. Nicole M. Peterson, USN, HT-18; LTJG Omar I. Alfuntukh, RSNF, HT-18; LTJG Sulaiman I. Alghofaili, RSNF, HT-18.

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August 10, 2018 TOP ROW: CDR Robert A. Dulin, USN, Commanding Officer HT-28; 1st Lt. Ryan D. Lofswold, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Nicholas M. Hermberg, USN, HT-18; LTJG Samuel J. Ericksen, USN, HT-18; LTJG Richard E. Lorentzen, USN, HT-8; LTJG Andrew J. Peterman, USN, HT-8; LTJG Matthew E. Hite, USN, HT-18; RADM Scott Jones, USN, Deputy Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic (guest speaker).

MIDDLE ROW: Lt. Col. Aaron J. Brunk, USMC, CO HT-18; LTJG Ryan A. Jaenke, USN, HT-8; LTJG Joseph C Lempa II, USN, HT-28; LTJG Garrett M. Saulters, USN, HT-18; 1st Lt. Jarrett P. King, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Ryan A. Jaenke, USN, HT-8; LTJG John A. Tortorici, USN, HT-28; LTJG Matthew J. Whitford, USN, HT-18; CAPT Douglas W. Rosa, USN, Deputy Commordore TRAWING 5.

BOTTOM ROW: CDR Jessica R. Parker, USN, Commanding Officer HT-8 ; LTJG Jodi L. Cull-Host, USN, HT-8; LTJG Gregory H. Bohmke, USN, HT-18; LTJG Kelly D. Salander, USN, HT-18; LTJG Amanda L. Thrasher, USCG, HT-28; LTJG Jason D. Grissino, USN, HT-18; LTJG Nicholas R. Gaetano, USN, HT-28; LTJG Jessica S. Wright, USCG, HT-8.

August 24, 2018 TOP ROW: CDR Robert A. Dulin, USN, Commanding Officer HT-28; LTJG Kevin. P. Schwind, USN, HT-28; LTJG Kristopher M. Appel, USN, HT-18; LTJG Gregory T Dykstra, USN, HT-18; 1st Lt. Bryce A. Fronstin, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Vincent Chu, USN, HT-18; 1st Lt .Wilson A. Valle, USMC, HT-8; LTJG Brady N. Bubenik-Evans, USN, HT-28; Col. David Morris, USMC, Commodore TRAWING 5.

MIDDLE ROW: Lt. Col. Aaron J. Brunk USMC, Commanding Officer HT-18; LTJG Ali Z. Alkathiri, RSNF, HT-28; 1stLt. William J. McCabe, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Reid M. Toombs, USN, HT-18; LTJG Conner J. Love, USN, HT-8; LTJG Andrew J. Fredericks, USN, HT-18; 1stLt. Stephen P. Gentry, USMC, HT-28; LTJG Dale C. Lescher, USN, HT-8; VADM William K. Lescher, USN, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Integration of Capabilities and Resources (guest speaker) BOTTOM ROW: CDR Jessica R. Parker, USN, , Commanding Officer HT-8; 1st Lt. Christina C. Lighter, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Taylor R. Walker, USN, HT-8; LTJG Matthew A. Bozzi, USN, HT-18; 1st Lt. Connor B. Deignan, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Paul J. Pecuch, USN, HT-18; Capt. Jon M. Berryhill, USMC, HT-18; LTJG Jessica L. Zannakis, USN, HT-18; LTJG Lauren A. Burns, USN, HT-8.

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CAPT Dick Catone, USN (Ret.) following a memorial service for a fellow helicopter pilot, is credited with the following statement: “I guess we are all in starboard delta waiting for Signal Charlie.” Starboard Delta is the holding pattern for the airborne Search and Rescue helicopters on the starboard (right) side of the aircraft carrier. They fly at a low altitude so as not to interfere with the fixed-wing aircraft recovery pattern, and only land when the last fixed-wing aircraft is safe on board. When tower calls the helicopter to pass “Charlie” to a landing spot, the crew knows the fixed-wing recovery is complete, all is well, and it is time to come back. Hence, the statement appears appropriate that someday we will receive our own “Signal Charlie” and will be called home for a final landing.

Signal Charlie has been created to inform our membership and honor the passing of fellow unrestricted aviators. It is only as good as the information we receive. If you have an obituary or other information that you would like to provide concerning the passing of a shipmate, co-worker, or friend of the community please contact the NHA national office at signalcharlie@navalhelicopterassn.org and we will get the word out.

Sen. John McCain August 29, 1936 - August 25, 2018 “For much of my life, the Navy was the only world I knew. It is still the world I know best and love most. “ John McCain Statement by Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer: “Today, the Navy and Marine Corps team lost a friend and one of our own when Senator John McCain passed.

“From the Naval Academy to flight school and throughout his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain displayed unfailing honor and duty to country. If that was the end of his service, he would still be renowned as a hero, but McCain’s desire to serve didn’t stop when his uniform came off. He continued to serve as a representative and senator from Arizona.

Throughout his life, McCain never ceased serving our nation or fighting for what he believed.

“My heartfelt condolences go out to the McCain family, their friends and loved ones. Everyone on the Navy and Marine Corps team shares this loss with all who had the fortune of knowing Sen. John McCain.”

Statement by Chief of Naval Operations ADM John Richardson, USN: “The nation has lost a great patriot and warrior. Whenever we were in a tough spot, we knew Sen. McCain would be on our side with his characteristic toughness and integrity. The U.S. Navy mourns the loss of a true shipmate. Our prayers go with him and to his family, that they find consolation. May Sen. John McCain, who never flinched from a worthy fight, rest in a well-deserved peace.”

Statement by USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) commanding officer CDR Micah Murphy, USN: “On behalf of the crew of USS John S. McCain, I offer our support and prayers to the McCain family, our gratitude to the senator for his years of service to our nation, and a heartfelt traditional Navy sendoff: ‘Fair winds and following seas.’ It is an honor to have our mighty warship carry on your name and continue your legacy.”

DDG-56’s name honors three generations of dedicated service to the Navy and nation. Sen. McCain’s father, Adm. John S. McCain, Jr. served as U.S. Pacific Command commander. Sen. McCain’s grandfather, Adm. John S. McCain was a distinguished World War II carrier task force commander.

Sen. McCain continued this proud legacy as a naval aviator during the Vietnam War. As a prisoner of war, he endured more than five years of captivity, representing America honorably and selflessly.

After retiring from the Navy, he continued national service in Congress, first as a representative and later as a senator from Arizona. Sen. McCain took an active interest in the destroyer and its crew, including a visit to the ship during a port visit to Cam Ranh International Port in Vietnam on June 2, 2017. The ship had visited ports in Vietnam several times before over the years in honor of the McCain legacy.

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Lawrence David Presnell, Sr.

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ith sad hearts the Presnell family announces the death of Lawrence David Presnell, Sr. on the morning of September 5, 2018 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Husband “Dave”, father “Dad”, grandfather “Paw Paw”, Uncle “Big Dave”, and cousin “David” was born in Knoxville, TN March 7 1936. He left his hometown and enlisted with the U.S. Navy, serving honorably and with distinction throughout his 30 year long career. Captain Presnell was the former Commanding Officer of HM-12. His numerous duty stations and missions around the world made possible the lifelong union with Georgeanna Ezell on November 3, 1962. Dave is survived by his wife Georgeanna and sons Lawrence David Presnell, Jr. (wife Barbara Dean) and Michael Keith Presnell (wife Colleen). Also, by granddaughters Shelby Irene and Audrey Anna Presnell (daughters of Constance Joyce Presnell and Dave Jr.), grandson Josh Poole and great granddaughter Frankie Marie Hamons. Nephews Ed Wallace and Jeff Vehnekamp, and niece Wendy Brooks. A graveside service will commence at 1000 hours at Barrancas National Cemetery aboard Pensacola Naval Air Station, Friday September 14, 2018. For those that wish to attend you are asked to assemble in the car line at Oak Lawn Funeral Home in Warrington, FL at 0915 for 0930 departure and escort to the cemetery. In honor of the deceased or in lieu of flowers or out of state travel, please donate in tribute to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research at michaeljfox.org.

AWS1 Jonathan Richard Clement, USN

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WS1 Jonathan (Jon) Richard Clement, a U.S. Navy Petty Officer First Class Aircrewman/Rescue Swimmer died Tuesday July 31, 2018 while doing what he was proudest of; serving his country alongside his fellow Brother-In-Arms.

Jon is survived by his parents, Chris and Laura Clement of Vero Beach, Florida: his siblings Christopher Clement of Vero Beach, Florida, Mathew Clement of Clarksville, Tennessee and Rebecca Clement of Imperial Beach, California; nieces Caroline Clement of Vero Beach, and Milania Clement of Clarksville; grandparents and Jeanne Elias of Vero beach and Joan Goddard of Manassas Park, Virginia; nine aunts, 10 uncles and 44 first cousins and numerous seconds cousins.

Jon enlisted in the Navy in June 2007 at the age of 20. Following his graduation of basic military training, Jon was sent to Rescue Swimmer School in Pensacola, Florida where he would undergo months of intense physical training. Following successful completion of Rescue Swimmer School, Jon was assigned to HELSEACOMBATRON THREE (HSC-3) Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California where he completed his fleet transition training and earned the official title of Naval Aircrewman/Rescue Swimmer.

CAPT Francis M. “Frank” Dreessen, USN, (Ret.))

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APT Francis M. “Frank” Dreessen, USN-(Ret.), former Commanding Officer of HM-12, left this world to be with God on Aug. 26, 2018. Frank lived a full life highlighted by his love for God, family and country. He is survived by his children Jeanne (David) Dreessen Sutton, Karen Dreessen Higgins and grandson Gary Francis Higgins. His family loved him dearly and will miss his great sense of humor and caring nature. Frank will be buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

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