thedrifter
10-06-04, 07:39 AM
October 05, 2004
Helo squadron’s CO, XO fired
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
The commander and executive officer of Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 were relieved of their duties Oct. 2. Lt. Col. Bradley L. Lowe, the squadron commander, and Maj. Nathan S. Cook, the executive officer, were fired in Iraq due to “the rate at which [the squadron] was losing aircraft and personnel from mishaps,” Maj. Gen. Keith J. Stalder, III Marine Air Wing commander, said in a written statement.
The squadron recently deployed to Iraq to replace HMLA-775 — a Reserve unit also based at Camp Pendleton. Lt. Col. Stephen W. Hall and Maj. Thomas E. Post are the squadron’s new CO and XO.
The statement cited five aviation mishaps and “incidents” in the last 11 months that contributed to Stalder’s decision.
A review of aviation mishap statistics maintained by the Naval Safety Center shows two serious accidents involving the squadron within the past year: one UH-1N Huey crash at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., on Oct, 22, 2003, and an accident involving an AH-1W Super Cobra conducting daylight urban close-air support training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., in January. No Marines were killed in either incident.
Spokesmen for III MAW were unable to provide details of the squadron’s accidents as of Oct. 5.
The squadron deployed to Okinawa, Japan, in July 2002 for a six-month Unit Deployment Program rotation that was extended to nearly one year before the squadron returned to Pendleton in June 2003. The squadron stayed on Okinawa for last year’s invasion of Iraq, making this the squadron’s first deployment to the country since then.
Lowe is a Super Cobra pilot and has deployed to Bosnia, Somalia and Kuwait. He deployed to Saudi Arabia as the senior Marine liaison with the Combined Air Operations Center during Operation Enduring Freedom. Lowe was assigned as the operations officer for Marine Aircraft Group 39 in May 2002 and deployed with the group to Kuwait in February 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, returning in September 2003. He assumed command of HMLA-367 on Nov. 20.
Cook served as a weapons and tactics instructor with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the late 1990s and as a flight instructor in Corpus Christie, Texas. He joined HMLA-367 after AH-1W refresher training that began upon his assignment to Pendleton in August 2003 and became the squadron’s executive officer in February.
Christian Lowe covers Marine Corps aviation issues. He can be reached at (703) 750-8613.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-388715.php
Ellie
Helo squadron’s CO, XO fired
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
The commander and executive officer of Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367 were relieved of their duties Oct. 2. Lt. Col. Bradley L. Lowe, the squadron commander, and Maj. Nathan S. Cook, the executive officer, were fired in Iraq due to “the rate at which [the squadron] was losing aircraft and personnel from mishaps,” Maj. Gen. Keith J. Stalder, III Marine Air Wing commander, said in a written statement.
The squadron recently deployed to Iraq to replace HMLA-775 — a Reserve unit also based at Camp Pendleton. Lt. Col. Stephen W. Hall and Maj. Thomas E. Post are the squadron’s new CO and XO.
The statement cited five aviation mishaps and “incidents” in the last 11 months that contributed to Stalder’s decision.
A review of aviation mishap statistics maintained by the Naval Safety Center shows two serious accidents involving the squadron within the past year: one UH-1N Huey crash at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., on Oct, 22, 2003, and an accident involving an AH-1W Super Cobra conducting daylight urban close-air support training at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz., in January. No Marines were killed in either incident.
Spokesmen for III MAW were unable to provide details of the squadron’s accidents as of Oct. 5.
The squadron deployed to Okinawa, Japan, in July 2002 for a six-month Unit Deployment Program rotation that was extended to nearly one year before the squadron returned to Pendleton in June 2003. The squadron stayed on Okinawa for last year’s invasion of Iraq, making this the squadron’s first deployment to the country since then.
Lowe is a Super Cobra pilot and has deployed to Bosnia, Somalia and Kuwait. He deployed to Saudi Arabia as the senior Marine liaison with the Combined Air Operations Center during Operation Enduring Freedom. Lowe was assigned as the operations officer for Marine Aircraft Group 39 in May 2002 and deployed with the group to Kuwait in February 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, returning in September 2003. He assumed command of HMLA-367 on Nov. 20.
Cook served as a weapons and tactics instructor with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the late 1990s and as a flight instructor in Corpus Christie, Texas. He joined HMLA-367 after AH-1W refresher training that began upon his assignment to Pendleton in August 2003 and became the squadron’s executive officer in February.
Christian Lowe covers Marine Corps aviation issues. He can be reached at (703) 750-8613.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-292925-388715.php
Ellie