Photo By Cpl. Casey Ornelas | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Eric Hockaday, a flight engineer assigned to B Company, 3-82 General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, is photographed in a CH-47 Chinook after completing an aerial gunnery table, at Marine Corps Outlying Field Atlantic, North Carolina, Nov. 15, 2024. Through utilization of Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point’s authentic training environments, aircrews were able to refine tactical proficiency and adaptability in aerial gunnery, essential to maintaining unit combat readiness and lethality. (U.S. Marine Corps photos by Lance Cpl. Casey Ornelas) see less
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MCOLF Atlantic is an active outlying landing field operated by Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point to assist operational training in urban environments. With operating units ranging from local law enforcement to sister service branches across the Department of Defense, Cherry Point’s outlying fields serve a vital role in ensuring its users are prepared to meet and defeat a wide array of threats.
During an aerial gunnery table, air crew members must demonstrate technical skill, proper and efficient communication capabilities to effectively position and provide suppressive fire on targets from certain distances. Maj. Jennifer West, 3-82 GSAB operations officer, said MCOLF Atlantic provided her aircrews flexible collective training on a wider range than what they’re used to.
“Our aircrews preferred this range to other ones that they’ve worked on before,” West said. “The variety of targets and the space to maneuver out here is what they really like.”
(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Lance Cpl. Andre Marshall and Lance Cpl. Casey Ornelas)
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