CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan (May 12, 2006) -- Dangling 60 feet from the earth, Gunnery Sgt. Edwin D. Diaz relies on a half-inch thick rope and the knots he tied to keep him secured to the Camp Hansen Rappel Tower May 9 as he descends.

Throughout the last week, Diaz learned the proper techniques to exit a hovering helicopter and 13 ways to tie a knot.

The operations chief with Ammunition Supply Point, Marine Corps Base Camp Fuji, arrived in Okinawa May 3 to attend a III Marine Expeditionary Force's Special Operations Training Group's Helicopter Rope Suspension Training Master Course May 5-19.

Diaz will be certified to train Marines in rope suspension techniques as a HRST master upon graduation of the course.

"This is something I've always wanted to do since I was a corporal, but never had the chance," Diaz said.

Camp Fuji recently added a rappel tower. When Diaz returns, he will be a HRST master for the tower.

Twenty-one Marines stationed in Okinawa, plus another from Camp Fuji, joined Diaz for the course.

"Helicopter rope suspension techniques are used when helicopter landings are impractical," said Sgt. Kenneth D. Murray, a HRST instructor with SOTG. "It can be used in an urban or jungle environment that is too obstructed for a helicopter to land."

The students start training in Marine Corps Air Station Futenma May 15 where they will practice and test in three methods of exiting a helicopter.

The three methods are fast rope, rappel and special patrol insertion and extraction.

Fast rope is the most common method used to evacuate a helicopter without landing, explained Gunnery Sgt. Robert Davis, the chief HRST instructor with SOTG. Marines can exit a helicopter in a fast, simple manner.

Rappelling, another method of exiting, affords Marines a way of getting to the ground from a higher distance than fast roping allows.

The third method, special patrol insertion and extraction, is the most complicated. Marines, secured to a harness, hang under the helicopter from a rope as the helicopter lowers them to the ground.

"Once the Marines complete the training evolution, they will become HRST masters," Murray said. "Then Diaz will be able to confidently and proficiently conduct HRST in Camp Fuji."

Ellie