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During deployments, unit commanders can take advantage of the
many different units in theater to provide Soldiers hyper-realistic
training for ‘what if’ scenarios, like this one, search and rescue
for personnel of a downed aircraft over water. The troops aboard the
Churubusco, LCU 2013, Landing Craft Utility vessel 2013, from 481st
Transportation Company (Heavy Boat) a Port Hueneme, California-
based Army Reserve unit will perform the personnel recovery in
support of the Brigade for a joint training mission off the coast of
Kuwait.
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February 13, 2017 - Soldiers climb aboard a survival raft during a
personnel recovery training mission off the coast of Kuwait, waiting
rescue from the USAV Churubusco, a Landing Craft Utility vessel. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Ringle)
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The realism of the training is one of many positive aspects for
the aviator and mariner Soldiers. The Aviation Mission Survivability
Officer for the 77th CAB, Chief Warrant Officer 2, Evan Kosloski
clarifies, “The opportunity is what is exceptional. We train on this
equipment a lot, but never really get to employ it in realistic
scenarios. We are never in the open water, with rolling waves, being
recovered by a vessel and treated by medics. It really drives the
point home and that point is; It's not a matter of if it happens,
it's when.” Kosloski says the Soldiers need to know, without a
doubt, what they need to do and “It doesn't matter what your
(Soldiers) roll is; whether an actual crewmember in that raft or in
operations coordinating, you need to be sharp, because (when this is
real) that’s someone's worst day and lives are on the line. That’s
why we do these training events.”
The search and rescue
process tests every aspect of a rescue from higher command down to
the deck hands and crew aboard the raft. According to the vessel
master, Warrant Officer Dallas Hill, Tampa, Florida, “with any
search and rescue, the search is the hardest part. Once I find them,
it is pretty easy. I have several methods, I can pull the vessel
over to the raft or I can send a workboat to get them,” he said. The
first hurdle to overcome, getting to the injured from the vessel’s
deck into a small motorboat then down to sea level; second and
possibly the most challenging, assessing the medical conditions
quickly and rendering immediate aid with the small crafts bobbing up
and down with the waves.
The Soldiers in the survival raft
have several jobs throughout the scenario, besides wait for rescue,
they were all given a plausible injury (fake injury bandages
included) the mariner medic and crew will need to assess, triage and
treat. Simulating lost at sea means the aviation Brigade’s crew
needs to aid with their rescue and help those searching by using
signaling supplies found in the raft.
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February 13, 2017 - Soldiers, Watercraft Operators and vessel medic,
for the LCU2013 Churubusco, a Landing Craft Utility vessel from
Detachment 1, 481st Transportation Company, California, grab a line
thrown from the deck to hoist their mock patient from 77th Combat
Aviation Brigade, Arkansas, while participating in a personnel
recovery mission replicating a downed aircraft off the coast of
Kuwait. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Ringle)
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Several of the aviation Soldiers previously have had
personnel recovery training but adding open seas to the
exercise provides another level of understanding, especially
for 21- year old, Spc. Micah Piker, 77th CAB, he said, “It
was a very isolating feeling, being in that raft with
nothing in sight. When we saw the boat again, on the
horizon, we got a sense of relief that we weren’t alone
anymore.”
Piker remembers keeping very focused when he lit the flare. He
said he had to ‘make sure he kept it away from the raft and up high
enough for the rescue boat to see it above the waves.’ The stranded
Soldiers also used a dye pack to turn the water a bright neon green
to provide searchers with the rafts direction of travel.
Just 2 miles away, onboard the Churubusco, crewmembers scan the
horizon, peer through binoculars and make radio calls to command
while the vessel master, Mr. Hill, turns his attention from an
electronic screen looking for indicators (a blip on the screen) to
beyond the bow, searching for any sign of the watercraft.
His crew is young and eager to prove themselves, Mr. Hill says
over the past several months battle drills take place weekly, “the
trick is coming up with multiple scenarios and realistic training
that is not something they see all the time.” Hill said even though
his crew is young they handle themselves with a greater maturity
than would be expected. He also said the crew gets faster and more
proficient with each drill. The personnel recovery mission
supporting 77th CAB keeps the crew problem-solving on the fly with
every challenge the wind and waves roll their way.
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February 13, 2017 - Soldiers with Bravo Company, 1-111th Aviation
Regiment, Florida, and 77th Combat Aviation Brigade, Arkansas, grab
a rescue rope while participating in a personnel recovery mission
with the crew of LCU2013 Churubusco, a Landing Craft Utility vessel
from Detachment 1, 481st Transportation Company, California, in an
exercise replicating a downed aircraft off the coast of Kuwait. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Ringle)
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Both crews face and overcome the challenges of the
training with a take away not only for the crew of 16
onboard the Churubusco, gaining the practical awareness of
performing a grid search and rescue at sea, but also, the
aviation crew understanding what to expect during a rescue.
For the aviation engineer, Sgt. 1st Class Jena Wilson, who
had previous experience, this type of training makes an
impact saying, “I was excited, but I knew the boat was
coming for us. If it was real…it would have been
scary…everything I learned before came back to me and made
me more sure of myself and my fellow Soldiers.”
The
Aviation Survivability officer, Kosloski, sums up the value
of the joint exercise versus classroom training, saying,
“This Joint exercise involves the Army, Navy, as well as
some Coalition partners in the Joint Personnel Recovery
Center in Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Nothing can replace the
actual interaction and interoperability that was necessary
to make this a success.”
By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Suzanne Ringle
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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