thedrifter
10-01-07, 07:16 AM
-- I had jumped out of helicopters before, but I had never flown underneath one.
“You’ll need a helmet and some eye protection; a solid pair of sunglasses will do,” I
was told.
Prescribing such gear for a Marine taking his first stab at a commando Peter Pan impression might seem trivial to outsiders, but in the Marine Corps, we wear helmets and sunglasses when we dangle beneath a helicopter in flight. The reason is not important, but it has more to do with safety than looking cool.
Hooking up to a CH-53E Sea Stallion Helicopter about to pull you far above the trees and into flight is an experience most human beings will never know. Never mind how ludicrous the act is when you think about it — “Hey, you want to fly on the outside of the helicopter … on a rope?”
There is something uniquely Marine about it when it’s put like that, and perhaps that’s why most Marines jump at the chance to experience the technique called Special Patrolling Insertion/Extraction rigging.
On Okinawa, that chance is provided most commonly by III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Special Operations Training Group when it runs the Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Masters Course about once every quarter.
The course is arguably the biggest perpetuator of Marines’ nonchalant, crazy-brave attitudes toward SPIE rigging. But that’s because the course turns out highly proficient and professional Marines capable of overseeing and ensuring the safety of any training or operations involving rope suspension.
Manipulating the effects of gravity with a rope, some knots and a carabineer or two is not something to be taken lightly, and HRST Master students take it very seriously over the 11 training days they spend learning the skills.
They have to — there is little room for mistakes when you’re the guy hooking another Marine to a rope under a helicopter about to pull him far above the earth.
The course’s senior instructor, Staff Sgt. Michael Dase, says students have to master 13 knots that are common to rope suspension techniques. The knots are just the beginning, but mastering them is also the most challenging portion of the course for most students.
“We lose the majority of our people on knots,” Dase said. “You have to have a lot of self-discipline and commitment to learn and practice the knots.”
Once they teach the students knots on day one, instructors place the burden of continually practicing and mastering the knots on the students. Dase and his students said preparation and commitment are keys to success.
“If you’ve never dealt with knots or heights before, it’s hard, but if you come prepared, it’s not too bad,” said Cpl. Jeff Jendrzejczyk, an assaultman with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
The first full week of the course focuses on rappel tower operations. Students learn how to rig a tower for basic military rappelling and fast roping, the logistical and safety procedures involved, and how to teach average Marines the fundamentals of military rappelling.
The week at the tower is also meant to build confidence and proficiency before students move on to helicopter operations.
In the final week, students learn how to properly rig several Marine helicopters for fast rope, rappel or SPIE operations. Then, under the watchful eyes of the SOTG instructors, they practice doing it, and SPIE “riders” like me are the first to place our lives in the students’ hands, not giving a second thought to a very unnatural act.
We smile behind our sunglasses, feeling secure under our helmets and flashing a confident thumbs-up at the HRST masters checking our rig, all the while having virtually no idea why or how the primary harness or the figure-eight-shaped knot on the backup is going to guarantee those post-landing smiles and motivating memories of the day we flew just like Superman, Batman or that Pan kid — or just like a Marine on a SPIE line.
“You’ll need a helmet and some eye protection; a solid pair of sunglasses will do,” I
was told.
Prescribing such gear for a Marine taking his first stab at a commando Peter Pan impression might seem trivial to outsiders, but in the Marine Corps, we wear helmets and sunglasses when we dangle beneath a helicopter in flight. The reason is not important, but it has more to do with safety than looking cool.
Hooking up to a CH-53E Sea Stallion Helicopter about to pull you far above the trees and into flight is an experience most human beings will never know. Never mind how ludicrous the act is when you think about it — “Hey, you want to fly on the outside of the helicopter … on a rope?”
There is something uniquely Marine about it when it’s put like that, and perhaps that’s why most Marines jump at the chance to experience the technique called Special Patrolling Insertion/Extraction rigging.
On Okinawa, that chance is provided most commonly by III Marine Expeditionary Force’s Special Operations Training Group when it runs the Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Masters Course about once every quarter.
The course is arguably the biggest perpetuator of Marines’ nonchalant, crazy-brave attitudes toward SPIE rigging. But that’s because the course turns out highly proficient and professional Marines capable of overseeing and ensuring the safety of any training or operations involving rope suspension.
Manipulating the effects of gravity with a rope, some knots and a carabineer or two is not something to be taken lightly, and HRST Master students take it very seriously over the 11 training days they spend learning the skills.
They have to — there is little room for mistakes when you’re the guy hooking another Marine to a rope under a helicopter about to pull him far above the earth.
The course’s senior instructor, Staff Sgt. Michael Dase, says students have to master 13 knots that are common to rope suspension techniques. The knots are just the beginning, but mastering them is also the most challenging portion of the course for most students.
“We lose the majority of our people on knots,” Dase said. “You have to have a lot of self-discipline and commitment to learn and practice the knots.”
Once they teach the students knots on day one, instructors place the burden of continually practicing and mastering the knots on the students. Dase and his students said preparation and commitment are keys to success.
“If you’ve never dealt with knots or heights before, it’s hard, but if you come prepared, it’s not too bad,” said Cpl. Jeff Jendrzejczyk, an assaultman with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
The first full week of the course focuses on rappel tower operations. Students learn how to rig a tower for basic military rappelling and fast roping, the logistical and safety procedures involved, and how to teach average Marines the fundamentals of military rappelling.
The week at the tower is also meant to build confidence and proficiency before students move on to helicopter operations.
In the final week, students learn how to properly rig several Marine helicopters for fast rope, rappel or SPIE operations. Then, under the watchful eyes of the SOTG instructors, they practice doing it, and SPIE “riders” like me are the first to place our lives in the students’ hands, not giving a second thought to a very unnatural act.
We smile behind our sunglasses, feeling secure under our helmets and flashing a confident thumbs-up at the HRST masters checking our rig, all the while having virtually no idea why or how the primary harness or the figure-eight-shaped knot on the backup is going to guarantee those post-landing smiles and motivating memories of the day we flew just like Superman, Batman or that Pan kid — or just like a Marine on a SPIE line.