Photo By Scott Sturkol | A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter with the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment...... read more read more
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An aircrew with the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment of New Century, Kansas, operated a CH-47 Chinook during the helocast event May 15 for the 2025 Army Reserve Best Squad competition at Big Sandy Lake on South Post at Fort McCoy, Wis.
According to an Army Reserve article by Capt. Elizabeth Polk at https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/4190517/200th-mp-command-named-best-squad-at-army-reserve-competition, the Army Reserve Best Squad competition for 2025 included 75 warriors divided into 15 squads to endure six grueling, challenge-filled days” of competition.
The helocast event was on the sixth day of competition.
“On day six, the Soldiers woke up at 3 a.m. to march 12 miles back to Big Sandy Lake for the helocast challenge,” the article states. “The helocast challenge is a combat water insertion via a CH-47 Chinook helicopter into the battlefield. Soldiers dived into the water wearing their usual Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) uniform, boots, and black life jackets; swam up to the surface gasping for air, and were picked up by cadre-filled Zodiac boats.”
“Four days of horribleness… no sleep… just to do that jump alone, I would do it all over again,” said Sgt. Aaron Court from the 200th Military Police Command in the article by Polk.
“Far from a reprieve, this event served as both recognition and an additional challenge, highlighting the mental and physical fortitude demanded throughout the competition,” the article states.
The CH-47 is the Army’s only heavy-lift cargo helicopter supporting critical combat and non-combat operations, according to the Army fact sheet on the helicopter. The CH-47 has an empty weight of 24,578 pounds and a maximum gross weight of 50,000 pounds. The helicopter also can lift intra-theater payloads up to 16,000 pounds in high/hot environments.
In a further defined space discussing the helocast on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helocast, it states “helocasting is an airborne technique used by small unit, special operations forces, also practiced extensively by the U.S. Army’s light infantry units, to insert into a military area of operations. The small unit is flown, by helicopter, to a maritime insertion point. Once there, the aircraft assumes an altitude just above the water's surface and an airspeed of 10 knots … or less. Team members then exit the aircraft and enter the water.
“In some cases, depending upon the mission parameters and the aircraft used, personnel may be inserted along with an inflatable boat for over-the-horizon operations,” the website states. “When a fully inflated boat is transported and inserted with personnel, this type of operation is known as a ‘hard duck.’ In cases where a fully inflated boat cannot be accommodated by the aircraft, it can be partially deflated for transit and inflated at the insertion point by means of a foot pump. This type of operation is known as a ‘soft duck.’ If inflation to any degree is not feasible, a ‘rolled duck’ may be performed.”
Crews and Chinooks from the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment have completed training support like this many times in the past at Fort McCoy. That has included past years’ Best Squad competitions as well as slingload training with the 89B Ammunition Supply Course taught by instructors at Regional Training Site-Maintenance at Fort McCoy.
For the May 15 event at Big Sandy Lake, the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment crew and Chinook did make many passes over the lake for the competitors to complete their jump. Weather for the event proved to be excellent as well, providing a safe operating environment for everyone involved.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 05.29.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.29.2025 18:30 |
| Story ID: | 499222 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 64 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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