Photo By Sgt. Brandon Anderson | Two students of the Rappel Master’s Course descend from a UH-60 Black Hawk...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Texas – Soldiers here participated in a Rappel Master Course at the installation’s Air Assault Course taught by a Mobile Training Team, or MTT, from Fort Benning, Georgia, Feb. 5.
The team conducts many Rappel Master Courses at military installations for the Department of Defense, averaging six per year.
Staff Sgt. Derek Koth, a Rappel Master Mobile Training Team member and operations noncommissioned officer, said the course is a valuable asset for the participants.
“They’re learning not only how to safely conduct rappelling operations for themselves,” Koth said, “but are also gaining the knowledge of what to look for when conducting them with their fellow Soldiers at their units.”
Emphasizing safety, Koth said his primary goal was for these new rappel masters to be able to quickly identify any safety hazard and make the all-important life-saving adjustments during an air assault mission.
“If they’re able to know what right looks like, they’ll have the confidence in their abilities to teach other Soldiers,” he said.
Spc. Casey Gonzalez, from the Phantom Warrior Academy, said it means a lot to her having the MTT come to Fort Hood and teach this course.
“This isn’t a course that’s normally hosted by Fort Hood, so having them come here and teach it is a good experience for us,” she said.
Gonzalez said she feels the knowledge and experience she’s gaining from the course will be a valuable asset for her and her future in the Army.
“Although I don’t get a chance to use this in my daily job as a combatives instructor, I think if I’m in a situation where these skills are required, I’ll be able to implement them,” said Gonzalez.
Sgt. 1st Class John Freeman, the Phase III noncommissioned officer in charge of the Fort Hood Air Assault Course, said having the MTT come here for second time is great for the Soldiers.
“We’re fortunate to have this team out here again,” Freeman said. “We’ve had great success with them and it’s been a pleasure having them with us.”
Freeman said the students had a lot to learn in a short period of time, but he’s confident the ones who graduate from the course will have learned a great deal from it.
Besides rappelling from a helicopter, the students participated in multiple hands-on exercises, such as properly using equipment and identifying safety hazards associated with it. The students also had to pass a written exam testing their overall knowledge and ability.
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 02.06.2015 13:11 |
| Story ID: | 153794 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 163 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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