Okinawa crew chief's lifestyle: constant learning, monitoring, manning

Photo By Cpl. Thomas Provost | The CH-46E Sea Knight crew chief is responsible for observing everything inside the fuselage and outside of the helicopter. He or she sits at the aerial observation window to make sure the helicopter does not get too close to hazards such as rocks or other aircraft.  

OKINAWA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

05.15.2009

Story by Lance Cpl. Thomas Provost 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

OKINAWA, Japan - Many Marines call a room with a desk, computer and maybe a filing cabinet their office. This is not the case for Pfc. Rolf Zelonis -- his office can fly.

As the crew chief on board a CH-46E Sea Knight, one has many responsibilities which include assisting the pilots with navigation, aircraft maintenance and laying down suppressive fire in support of ground units.

"That's our office, that is were we live, that is where we operate," said Cpl. Michael J. Scheddel, a crew chief with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

Getting to the point of knowing aircraft inside and out does not happen over night.

"There's no real easy thing about it," said Zelonis, a crew chief with HMM-265. "You just got to get good at it and it becomes easier."

After the completion of boot camp and Marine Combat Training, Marines with the Marine Occupational Specialty of helicopter crew chief have three schools to complete before receiving orders to the Fleet Marine Force.

The first stop after MCT is Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., where potential crew chiefs attend the Naval Air Technical Training Center. The second stop on the road to the FMF is the Marine Aircrew Training Center for swim and survival school, Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., to learn mechanics. The third and final step is flight school at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif.

At first gaze, the thousands of feet of wire, numerous knobs and blinking lights can be overwhelming for someone who will eventually need to learn every part of the helicopter he or she will work in during their time in the Marine Corps.

"When I first saw the inside of the CH-46, I thought 'how the hell am I going to learn all this' but once you do it's a pretty simple machine," said Zelonis.

Day in and day out, crew chiefs work on learning almost every aspect of their flying office, learning every knob, switch and wire on-board.

But the learning doesn't stop after arriving at one's first duty station.

"Aerial gunnery is not something that is taught in flight school," according to Scheddel. "It is a job and skill set acquired through training with the squadron."

One of the many jobs crew chiefs' have is protecting the aircraft from being shot down and providing cover fire as the crew is dropping off or picking up cargo or troops in a combat zone.

"To first learn how to shoot from the air was very exciting," said Zelonis. "It's different and there's no other experience like it."

New crew chiefs in their first few months learn how to operate the GAU-15/A M2 Browning .50 caliber machine gun and the M240G medium machine gun.

"All of the basic fundamentals of shooting stay the same when shooting from the air as shooting from the ground, but there is a little more difficulty due to the fact the helicopter is moving," said Scheddel. "The crew chief is basically a pilot's eyes in the back of his or her head, constantly monitoring the rear of the aircraft and manning the guns."

If any pilot was asked to fly without a crew chief, they would not fly, according to 1st Lt. Adam R. Sherer, adjutant, HMM-265.

"Crew chiefs are a central asset to maintaining the safety of the helicopter, crew and what or who they are transporting," Sherer said.

Through all of the training and learning a helicopter crew chief goes through in the first part of their Marine Corps career, the learning will never stop on board their office in the sky.

• Date Taken: 05.15.2009
• Date Posted: 05.19.2009 04:13
• Story ID: 33783
• Location: OKINAWA, OKINAWA, JP