Photo By Cpl. Todd Michalek | U.S. Marines run to an MV-22B Osprey after a tactical recovery of aircraft and...... read more read more
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NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand - MV-22B Osprey and F/A-18D Hornet pilots brushed up on their skills with the combat survivor evader locator radio system Feb. 21 during exercise Cobra Gold 2013 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Kingdom of Thailand.
The training was conducted to familiarize pilots from Marine Aircraft Groups 12 and 36 with how to appropriately use the CSEL system to help them evade capture and become rescued in the event that they become downed pilots.
"Today's mission was to ensure the pilots understood how to use the CSEL radio system," said Petty Officer 1st Class Michael J. Pena, an aeromedical safety corpsman with Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force. "We navigated a course that was about a mile and half utilizing specific waypoints that were being sent from a joint service rescue center in Okinawa."
During the exercise, the pilots relied on their CSEL radio system to communicate for help, but their saving grace was the joint service rescue center in Okinawa. The MV-22B Osprey pilots are with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265, MAG-36, and the F/A-18D pilots are with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224, Marine Aircraft Group 12, 1st MAW.
"There are different JSRCs around the world," said Pena. "There are people at the rescue centers 24 hours a day."
Once a downed pilot sends a message to the JSRC, the message goes through a series of channels before the pilot receives a response on whether to stay put or move to a new location.
"The radio sends a signal to a satellite which takes that message and shoots it down to a base station," said Pena. "This allows the air crew to get immediate communication with a rescue asset to be able to pick them up."
The training was essential for the pilots to stay current with the communication equipment they have available to them while they are flying.
"Today was a great opportunity for us to go in the field and utilize some of the assets we have on our survival vests," said Capt. Evan Bernstein, a pilot with VMM-265. "It was a good chance to get into the vests and use the CSEL radios, and engage in an application where we were talking to the JSRC back in Okinawa and coordinate a simulated rescue."
Before the pilots were rescued by an MV-22B Osprey, they navigated to several waypoints as directed from the JSRC. Because the technology uses satellites, JSRC can locate safe areas for survivors to relocate to when they are in a hostile situation.
"The JSRC knows where the hotspots are and they'll navigate you around those hotspots," Pena said.
The training received by the pilots helped them become familiar with gear that can potentially save their life in a hostile situation.
"In a real life situation, you don't want to hesitate, especially when you're behind enemy lines," said Bernstein. "This training gives us the confidence that our gear will get us to where we need to go and gets us in contact with the right people."
The training also gave the pilots more than a classroom experience ever could.
"The classroom only gives you so much," Bernstein said. "It gives you the technical knowledge by telling you how it works and what you have to do, but until you actually go out into the field and apply that knowledge, it means nothing. I learned a lot today and am far beyond where I was before I received this training."
Getting the opportunity to train with CSEL radios is vital but also hard to come by because of the pilots' busy schedule. During a given week, pilots are training in confined area landings, high speed tactical approaches, aerial refueling, and then doing all of these exercises at night. On top of that, the pilots spend six to seven hours in flight briefs and de-briefs. Because of their busy schedule, training like this becomes all the more valuable.
"This was good training for us and it's not something we have the opportunity to do all the time," said Bernstein. "This gave us confidence that our gear works, and in a real life situation, after a crash, when you hear that first contact on the radio, that's going to be a good feeling."
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2013 20:32 |
| Story ID: | 103116 |
| Location: | NAKHON RATCHASIMA, TH |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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