Heavy Lifting: Landing Support Platoon refines external lift capabilities

Photo By Cpl. Darien Bjorndal | Marines assigned to Landing Support Platoon, Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, observe a MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced), 31st MEU, during external lift operations training at Landing Zone Falcon, Okinawa, Japan, Dec. 8, 2016. The units conducted the training to complete qualifications for the 31st MEU's upcoming spring deployment. As the Marine Corps' only continuously forward-deployed unit, the 31st MEU’s air-ground-logistics team provides a flexible force, ready to perform a wide range of military operations, from limited combat to humanitarian assistance operations, throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Darien J. Bjorndal, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit/ Released)  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

12.08.2016

Story by Lance Cpl. Breanna Weisenberger 

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit       

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan – Marines with Landing Support Platoon, Combat Logistics Battalion 31, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted annual helicopter support team and external load lift training Dec. 5-8, 2016, working with pilots from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 262 (Reinforced).
Landing Support Platoon’s combined training with VMM-262 (Rein.) provides a crucial capability to the 31st MEU during humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations (HADR). During the training, the MV-22B Osprey pilots conducted external load lifts of critical supplies, including sand bags and tactical vehicle tires. Ospreys can lift external loads of up to 12,500 pounds, which are chained to the underside of the aircraft. The landing support specialists practiced meticulous rigging techniques to secure loads to help maintain a high safety standard, according to Cpl. Zachary Stevens, a landing support specialist with the platoon
“Our gear is rated to carry weights well beyond what the aircraft can lift to keep us within our safety boundaries,” Stevens said. “The nets maintain the integrity of the load and keep everything held in tightly.”
The landing support specialists work in teams to properly secure external loads to aircraft and monitor them during transport. The pilots maintain constant communication with the Landing Support Platoon Marines to ensure the external loads are carried safely, according to Stevens.
External load lift transports are normally used to move critical equipment from ship to shore quickly, with little room for error. When speed is essential, as it is during HADR, external load transport is often the best or only option, according to Staff Sgt. Davon Hammond, the platoon chief.
“This training gives the Marines a chance to practice ship-to-shore and shore-to-ship external lift procedures in a controlled environment,” Hammond said. “In humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations, external lifts are often the only way to transport heavy equipment and machinery to units in country when ground transport routes are impassable.
According to Hammond, training is taken very seriously because the equipment transported is needed to conduct HADR operations, including water purification and food distribution.
“External lifts require precision, attention to detail and strict holding to safety standards, every time,” Hammond said. “We take this training seriously because in a real-world situation that requires these lifts, lives are often hanging in the balance.”

• Date Taken: 12.08.2016
• Date Posted: 12.13.2016 22:13
• Story ID: 217617
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP