Landing Support Company avoids charges

Photo By Sgt. Alyssa N. Gunton | Marines with Landing Support Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, conduct helicopter-support team training on Ie Shima, Okinawa, Aug. 18. During the training, Marines wrapped a large net around a cargo container, which was attached to a CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter.  

IE SHIMA, OKINAWA, JAPAN

09.01.2011

Story by Lance Cpl. Alyssa N. Gunton 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

IE SHIMA, Okinawa, Japan - Being shocked by 120,00 volts of electricity is a risk most Marines are not faced with, but for Marines with Landing Support Company, it is a possibility if the correct safety precautions are not taken.

To avoid this kind of mishap, the Marines and a corpsman belonging to Landing Support Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 37, 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, performed helicopter-support team training with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III MEF, on Ie Shima, Okinawa, Aug. 18.

“Helicopter-support team [maneuvers can include] when a group of Marines attaches large, heavy cargo to the bottom of a hovering helicopter,” said Cpl. Jaime R. Ortega, the squad leader of the helicopter-support team training and a landing-support specialist with the company.

A helicopter-support team requires a crew of four Marines designated as: static, hook-up, inside director and outside director, said Ortega. The static Marine grounds the hook that is attached to the helicopter, so that the hook-up Marine can attach the cargo to the helicopter without being injured by high static electricity voltage, produced by the helicopter.

“The helicopter’s propellers and engine creates a large amount of static electricity, which transfers down to the hook,” said Lance Cpl. Joshua C. Porter, a landing support specialist with the company. “That is why the static job is crucial.”

The inside and outside directors use hand-and-arm signals to direct the pilots to meet up with the cargo, said Ortega. Two directors are provided as a redundancy because the pilots can usually see one but not the other.

Helicopter-support teams are important and necessary in a combat environment, said Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Nissel, a staff non-commissioned officer in charge with Landing Support Company. It is safer for a helicopter to bring supplies than a convoy in that environment.

“Safety is the first and most important priority throughout the entire exercise,” said Nissel.

In addition to maintaining constant vigilance for safety, the unit corpsman is always at the ready.

“If a Marine were to be shocked, I would check them, looking especially for electrical burns,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Lance J. Brown, a corpsman with CLR-37. “An electrical burn is caused from the electricity shooting out of the body.”

Even though the training was completed in the dark, the Marines overcame the obstacles presented.

“The crew worked well together,” said Nissel. “I’m confident they will continue to perform to the best of their abilities.”

• Date Taken: 09.01.2011
• Date Posted: 09.01.2011 01:46
• Story ID: 76269
• Location: IE SHIMA, OKINAWA, JP