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View Full Version : Recon Marines take a dive - helo style



thedrifter
05-12-06, 06:38 AM
CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, Japan (May 12, 2006) -- The rotor-wash kicks up water as the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter glides a few feet above the ocean's surface. Two Marines stand on the ramp, a few inches shy of the open back door. When they reach their mark, the cast master taps them on their backs, the signal that it's time to go. The two Marines hang in the air for a heartbeat before crashing into the ocean for a safe, successful insertion.

Marines with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, and Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, joined forces to practice the helocasting method of inserting special-operations troops into their area of operation during a three-day exercise May 2-4.

Helocasting is a means of inserting troops who are conducting special missions into enemy-controlled territory, according to Gunnery Sgt. Karis Rossignol, a platoon sergeant with 3rd Reconnaissance Bn.

Normally, a ship will transport the troops somewhere near the coast where the mission takes place. Helicopters will take off from the ship, transporting them to within swimming distance of the shore. The special operations combatants jump out of the helicopter with their gear and swim, undetected into their area of operation.

The training was routine for the more experienced Marines, according to Pfc. Matthew Pellow, a reconnaissance man with 3rd Reconnaissance Bn. That didn't mean it was any less important.

"It's like any other training Marines do," Pellow said. "You keep your skills honed so that when it comes time to do the real thing, none of the simple things get messed up."

There is a list of factors reconnaissance Marines keep in the back of their minds before taking the plunge.

"The most important thing is to follow the instructions of the cast master," Pellow said. "It's a bit nerve-racking the first time you jump out the back of a (helicopter), but after the first time it becomes more fun than uncomfortable."

The exercise allowed 3rd Reconnaissance Bn. to qualify and refresh 17 Marines in helocasting, and nine as cast masters.

"We never know what kinds of missions we will be carrying out," Rossignol said. "That means we need to be skillful in all types of insertion methods. We always need to keep our bases covered."

The responsibility of a cast master is three fold; ensure the mission or exercise runs smoothly and safely; that the aircraft flies at the correct speed and altitude; brief the pilots concerning mission requirements.

"We always need to be maintaining our proficiency and practicing our skills with an insert such as the helocast," said Capt. Quentin Vaughn, a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter pilot with HMM-265. "It's a very strategic way to insert the troops for their mission."

"As far as I was concerned, the only thing that could have been improved on was the weather," said Capt. Brenden Hobson, a platoon commander with 3rd Reconnaissance Bn.

Ellie