Photo By Spc. Nathan Goodall | Pfc. Joseph M.C. Cooper, a Rocky River, Ohio native, now a cannon crewmember with A...... read more read more
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YAKIMA, Wash. - The swirling blades of a flying CH-47 Chinook helicopter causes 120 decibels of sound. That’s enough to cause permanent hearing damage in four minutes. It can be especially loud if you’re standing directly underneath one while it’s roaring overhead, even with hearing protection. For Air Assault soldiers, a blaring helicopter is all part of the life.
Soldiers with A Battery, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Battalion, 17th Fires Brigade, in the traditions of their history and lineage of an Air Assault battalion conducted sling load operations training during Operation Rising Thunder at Yakima Training Center here, Sept. 17 through 18.
It was the first time 1-377 Field Artillery Battalion soldiers engaged in Air Assault exercises since the unit restationed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2007, said Capt. Brant L. Green, a Gilbert, S.C., native, now the A Battery commander.
In addition, it was the first time most soldiers with the battery have engaged in any distinctive Air Assault activity at all.
The operation was specific: Soldiers were to rig M777 155 mm howitzers, cannons that weigh 9,700 pounds each, to a hovering CH-47 Chinook helicopter that would lift the weapons from the ground then transport them by air to their next artillery firing position.
For the unit, the exercise allowed A Battery to train in the tradition of their battalion’s call sign and motto, the “Gunslingers.”
For soldiers executing the operation, it provided invaluable training and a thrilling experience, said Pfc. Joseph M.C. Cooper, a Rocky River, Ohio native, now a cannon crewmember with A Battery.
Cooper acted as a supporter during his team’s iterations. His job was to physically hold Pfc. Douglas H. Newlon, a Summersville, W. Va., native, now a cannon crewmember, and 1st Lt. Domonique Hittner, a Brandon, Fla., native, now a fire directions officer, both with A Battery, in place and keep them safe as the wind from the helicopter thrust them about.
Newlon and Hittner rotated as “hookup” team members, meaning they were standing on top of the cannon and hooking it up to the helicopter.
During the first iteration, Cooper twisted his feet into the ground and held Hittner by her belt and right leg with an unyielding grip.
Hittner stood at the front of the cannon, fully extended with a “Q tip” sling in her arms that weighs approximately 60 pounds, said Newlon.
Their heads swiveled, following the helicopter as it circled around. Once it approached their position, dirt and dry grass sprung at them like a roaring tidal wave, driven by the force of the helicopter’s spinning blades.
“Once we pull overhead, dust will spin around you making it difficult to see and breathe,” the helicopter pilot said during a briefing before the training.
A blinding dust storm enveloped the cannon as the Chinook hovered above it, shooting dust, dirt and debris all about. It plastered their clothes with a dry brown coating and pasted their mouths with the taste and texture of dirt.
Cooper said his adrenaline skyrocketed as the air was polluted and his vision was masked. Still, he kept Hittner steady as she was rocked back and forth by the force of the wind.
Hittner stood as tall as she could and shot her arms into the air, trying to get the giant hook onto the load carrier of the helicopter.
This is where the operation gets tricky.
“Being on top of the gun, you have to rely a lot on your support on the ground because you can’t really see what’s happening,” Newlon said.
As support on the ground, Cooper made sure that both Newlon and Hittner would be able to perform certain tasks by communicating through taps on the leg.
“You’ve got to have a plan beforehand so you guys are both on the same page,” Cooper said.
“You don’t want to be lost in the sauce out there,” Newlon said, nodding in agreement.
Hittner held the sling relentlessly as the helicopter bobbed around. Since the pilot had no direct sight on the cannon team underneath him, he had to work very carefully to ensure he didn’t accidentally flatten them.
He relied on a crewmember looking through a hatch under the Chinook and a ground guide standing in front of the cockpit in order to line up with the sling load team.
During this phase of the operation, it’s easy to tap against part of the helicopter other than the hookup point. Touching other parts of the helicopter can release a strong charge of static electricity that swells through the team members, said Newlon.
The “Q tip” sling leg helps reduce static electricity as a safety measure, but a soldier can nudge their protective helmet against part of the Chinook and catch a static shock.
This happened with both Newlon and Hittner, and since Cooper gripped them tightly for support, the shock traveled through him too.
“It’ll shock you so hard it feels like somebody hit you in the head,” Cooper said. “You won’t see anything for a couple seconds. Everything goes black.”
Newlon said the charge sticks even after contact with the chopper is broken.
“Every little piece of metal you’ve got on you, even in your pockets, you can feel it still zapping you after,” Newlon said.
But the electric charge didn’t deter the team. Hittner gritted her teeth and kept pushing until her line was hooked to the Chinook. She never quit.
“I knew that, just like anything in life, your team is relying on you,” Hittner said. “We needed to get [the cannon] rigged.”
“I got shocked a little bit, then I went back up. I got shocked again,” she said with a laugh, “then tried it again. And after a minute I was all hooked and ready to go.”
Once she got the cannon connected, Cooper carried her down and they sprinted with the rear-hook team members safely away from the Chinook. They all fell to a knee, facing the helicopter and watching as it lifted the massive cannon into the air.
Cpl. Nicholas J. Myers, a Sacramento, Calif., native, now a gunner and certified sling load inspector with A Battery, shed a smile as he talked about his team’s performance.
“My team was amazing,” he said. “They executed with precision, they were great at what they did.”
Green was pleased with the operation as both the battery commander and as a soldier performing hookup on a team during one of the iterations.
“Everything turned out exactly how I wanted it,” he said. “The guys were doing everything according to SLICC [Sling Load Inspectors Certification Course] school standards. They were motivated and I think they got some fantastic training out of this.”
The sling load team watched the helicopter successfully fly their howitzer cannon into the air and patted each other on the back.
“Red legs, always,” Newlon said, quoting the motto of the U.S. Army field artillery as the helicopter flew away from them, his face and uniform enswathed with dust.
Cooper looked over with a grin, grit shining in his teeth and a layer of dirt smeared across his face. He laughed as he talked.
“I’ve never been shocked so bad in my life,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 09.18.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.24.2012 19:24 |
| Story ID: | 95225 |
| Location: | YAKIMA TRAINING CENTER, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | BRANDON, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | GILBERT, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | ROCKY RIVER, OHIO, US |
| Hometown: | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | SUMMERSVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 401 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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