thedrifter
05-19-07, 06:30 AM
Marines go through ups and downs of air delivery training
Friday, May 18, 2007 - 06:00 PM
By Philip Jones
Trapped, with no way in or out -- no place to go.
That's the desperate position our Marines could find themselves in on the battle field.
So how do they get the supplies they need when enemies or the terrain leave them with nowhere to turn?
Well, there's a group of Marines at Camp Lejeune that specializes in air deliveries -- and bright and early this morning -- our Philip Jones got an inside look into the specialized training designed to keep our troops safe.
This early in the morning, you could say these commands are a sort of wake-up call for members of the 2nd Air Delivery platoon.
Hours before these Marines take to the skies, they're going through the ups and downs of training.
In a combat zone, these Marines are responsible for dropping men, weapons and equipment to places no one else can go.
“We have the ability to deliver gear to units when nobody else can get gear to those units,” 1Lt. David McGrath said. “A lot of times we're dropping gear in remote places convoys just can't reach.”
In a combat situation, Marines would be jumping with a parachute, a reserve, an equipment pack and a weapon -- things that could add about 90 pounds to their weight. That's one reason they say this training is so important.
“It never gets old,” said McGrath. “The refreshing never gets old and you have to have muscle memory so you can have instant reaction to a problem if there is a problem occurring.”
It's work that requires precision and a lot of practice -- both on the ground and in the air.
And though cloudy skies early Friday morning threatened to keep these Marines grounded, they say in a combat situation, anything goes.
“I guess you could say we're kind of like the mailman motto,” said Sgt. Lee Fortenberry. “Come rain or shine we're going to get that gear out to those Marines.”
And keep those special deliveries going to the folks who need them.
Air delivery platoons have a rich history with the Marine Corps dating back to Vietnam.
They were also instrumental in Operation Desert Storm in providing humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees who fled to the mountains of northern Iraq to escape from Saddam Hussein.
Ellie
Friday, May 18, 2007 - 06:00 PM
By Philip Jones
Trapped, with no way in or out -- no place to go.
That's the desperate position our Marines could find themselves in on the battle field.
So how do they get the supplies they need when enemies or the terrain leave them with nowhere to turn?
Well, there's a group of Marines at Camp Lejeune that specializes in air deliveries -- and bright and early this morning -- our Philip Jones got an inside look into the specialized training designed to keep our troops safe.
This early in the morning, you could say these commands are a sort of wake-up call for members of the 2nd Air Delivery platoon.
Hours before these Marines take to the skies, they're going through the ups and downs of training.
In a combat zone, these Marines are responsible for dropping men, weapons and equipment to places no one else can go.
“We have the ability to deliver gear to units when nobody else can get gear to those units,” 1Lt. David McGrath said. “A lot of times we're dropping gear in remote places convoys just can't reach.”
In a combat situation, Marines would be jumping with a parachute, a reserve, an equipment pack and a weapon -- things that could add about 90 pounds to their weight. That's one reason they say this training is so important.
“It never gets old,” said McGrath. “The refreshing never gets old and you have to have muscle memory so you can have instant reaction to a problem if there is a problem occurring.”
It's work that requires precision and a lot of practice -- both on the ground and in the air.
And though cloudy skies early Friday morning threatened to keep these Marines grounded, they say in a combat situation, anything goes.
“I guess you could say we're kind of like the mailman motto,” said Sgt. Lee Fortenberry. “Come rain or shine we're going to get that gear out to those Marines.”
And keep those special deliveries going to the folks who need them.
Air delivery platoons have a rich history with the Marine Corps dating back to Vietnam.
They were also instrumental in Operation Desert Storm in providing humanitarian aid to Kurdish refugees who fled to the mountains of northern Iraq to escape from Saddam Hussein.
Ellie