MOUNT BUNDEY TRAINING AREA, NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia --
U.S. Marines with Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463, Marine
Rotational Force – Darwin, conducted refueling and transport operations with
two CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters May 22 at Mount Bundy Training Area, Northern
Territory, Australia.
The CH-53E’s picked up and transported approximately 140
Marines from Robertson Barracks and transported them to MBTA to begin Exercise
Predator Walk.
“Today was the beginning of Predator Walk and is the first
joint coalition exercise between the Australian Defense Force and the MRF-D
Marines,” said Capt. Kevin Roche, operations officer for HMH-463, MRF-D, and a
native of St. Louis, Missouri. “We transported Marines from Company A in three
waves down to the Mount Bundey training area and they will be out there
executing missions with the ADF and other Marines.
As the aviation combat element for the MRF-D Marine
Air-Ground Task Force, HMH-463 provided the ground units with assault support
by transporting personnel and equipment to designated landing zones.
“We are the sole air transport and our entire mission is to
support (Marines) on the ground in order to support the MAGTF commander, Lt.
Col. Eric Dougherty,” said Roche. “We mostly do heavy lifting of cargo, assault
support, which is moving Marines around the battle space, and refueling.
The exercise is a three-week bilateral training evolution
with the Australian Army and enables Marines to become familiar with and
improve their knowledge of the Australians’ technical, tactical and standard
operating procedures to strengthen interoperability
“Marines will learn the basics of how to set up a patrol
base, operate out of it, do reconnaissance, contact patrols and ambushes,” said
1st Lt. Timothy Rose, executive officer for Company A, 1st Battalion, 4th
Marine Regiment, MRF-D, and a native of Richmond, Virginia. “We will be working
with the Australian Army for another exercise after the initial patrolling
exercise, in which we are detaching a platoon (of Marines) with the ADF.
Marines were able to grasp the capabilities of the CH-53E as
a quick transport option, and some learned the basic fundamentals of
controlling the helicopter during transportation or refueling at landing zones.
“From the big picture standpoint, the Marines got a good
appreciation of the resources the ACE can provide,” said Rose.
As Predator Walk continues, Marines will be working together
with the ADF and other MRF-D assets to exercise the interoperability and the
combined capability of a MAGTF.
Defense ties between the United States and our allies and
partner nations are critical to regional security and cooperation.
“We were able to get the Marines into the zones where they
needed to be and we will be doing a lot of exercises with the [ground combat
element] and the ADF,” said Roche. “Not only during Predator Walk, but
(Exercises) Talisman Saber and Koolendong, and everyone at the ACE is excited
to be working with the ADF.”