October 21, 2015 -- When a Marine needs to get to the fight, quickly,
fast-roping out of a helicopter may be the best option. For Marine Light Attack
Helicopter Squadron 167, ensuring Marines acquire this skill is a priority.
Marines with HMLA-167 supported the Expeditionary Operations
Training Group in their Helicopter Rope Suspension Techniques Master Course at
Landing Zone Bluebird, Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Oct. 21, 2015.
The students in the course are within the “air phase” of the
curriculum. Earlier in the course they practiced their rope techniques from
towers in preparation for applying from an aircraft. The squadron’s crewmembers
provided one UH-1Y Venom helicopter for the approximately 24 students to
fast-rope out of.
This type of training provides Marines with the ability to
conduct helicopter insertions and extractions where helicopter landings are
impractical.
“We are getting evaluated on rigging the aircraft with the
rope and properly deploying down it to insert on our objective,” said Capt.
Tebias Mason, a reconnaissance platoon commander and student in the
course.
Once the Venom touched ground at the landing zone, Marines
quickly got on board and set up their line. Master instructors in the
helicopter and on the ground supervised and evaluated them as they descended
one by one from a height of approximately 50 feet.
In addition to fast-rope, employing rappelling techniques
has also been a focus of the course.
“Chances are a helicopter will not be able to land on a
vessel if that is the target, so the only way to get Marines on the deck will
be from fast-roping or rappelling,” said Mason. “Fast-rope is easier and faster
as long as the pilots can support it. It also exposes the aircraft in the open for
a shorter period of time.”
The training evolution allowed the crew to become proficient
in their realm of responsibility.
“I’m learning how to work in a different environment, and in
the future it might be faster paced, but I will have a better understanding of
how to do it,” said Lance Cpl. Joseph Valesey, a crew chief with HMLA-167.
“It’s good to have exposure of the HRST masters and to see how the training
evolution goes.”
The students are slated to apply their techniques to two
additional Marine Corps aircraft: the CH-53E Super Stallion and MV-22B Osprey.
Upon completion of the course, they will be officially HRST certified.