Marine firefighters, air-wingers conduct helo mishap drill

Photo By Lance Cpl. Caitlin Bevel | Marines with Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 3rd Marine Air Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, remove a simulated casualty from beneath an aircraft during a mishap drill at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Oct. 27, 2014. The drill provided first responders the opportunity to practice every step of responding to a disabled aircraft including coordinating military and civilian agencies and rescuing the crew of the aircraft. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Caitlin Bevel)  

CAMP PENDLETON, CA, UNITED STATES

10.27.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Caitlin Bevel 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. - Marines with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, conducted a helicopter mishap drill at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, Oct. 27, 2014.

The drill gave personnel the opportunity to practice every step of responding to a disabled aircraft including coordinating all agencies involved in the response and rescuing the crew.

“Our scenario today is based on a UH-1Y helicopter, which has a crew of four, going out on a local mission doing a familiarization flight within the area,” said Capt. David Novak, the aviation safety officer for Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 267, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd MAW, I MEF. “They experience a failure in flight and the aircraft crashes, rolls and catches on fire.”

Actually mobilizing personnel and going through every step of the response process gave the Marines a more complete perspective of how prepared they are to deal with a real incident, he added.

The drill gave new personnel the experience of reacting to a situation and applying the skills they learned during entry-level training to the unit’s procedures.

“We have a lot of people who have never done this before,” said Novak. “For some people their first exposure to the steps is looking through a binder and figuring out what to do next.”

Sergeant Miguel Corral, an assistant section leader for Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, 3rd MAW, I MEF, explained that the drill helps Marines build important skills and work together as a team.

“They learned how to conserve the air in their tanks,” said Corral. “They learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses and how to implement them.”

The drill also included personnel from the base fire department who are integrated into the response plan for this type of incident.

“We have a mutual aid agreement with them so, any time they respond to anything in [our area], we respond with them,” said Corral. “If something like this happens off station, they come out to support us.”

Novak explained that scheduling and setting up the scenario for the drill takes a lot of coordination.

“We talk to the tower, range control, the base fire department, and ARFF on the air station to let them know,” said Novak. “For four to six hours, we shut down the entire squadron and everything people are doing is dedicated to the drill.”

However, Corral explained that by involving all of the personnel and protocols that would be involved in the case of an actual crash, the training’s effectiveness was maximized.

“Birds don’t go down every day, but in case they do we like to train as realistically as possible,” said Corral. “This is about as realistic as we can make it.”

Complex training exercises like the helicopter mishap drill help ensure I MEF and the Marine Corps remain America’s Expeditionary Force in Readiness—able to respond to any crises, any time, anywhere.

• Date Taken: 10.27.2014
• Date Posted: 10.29.2014 13:12
• Story ID: 146467
• Location: CAMP PENDLETON, CA, US