Rotor Review Fall 2023 # 162 "So Others May Live" by Naval Helicopter Association, Inc

Fall 2023 Number 162

So Others May Live

Also in this Issue:

Be All In - By RDML Amy Bauernschmidt, USN VRM’s Accelerated Growth - By CAPT Justin McCaffree, USN, VRM Commodore Happenstance: The Inspirational Journey of CAPT Sunita Williams, USN Managing The Hazards: Extreme Cold Weather Helicopter Detachment Operations Preparing the Navy for the Indo-Pacific: Advancing UAS for the Great Power Competition

FOCUS: So Others May Live So Swimmers May Be Paid...........................................................................................................28 By AWRCM Justin “Cali Condor” Phillips, USN Persian Gulf Rescue.......................................................................................................................29 By AW3 William "Beaver" Schuetzeberg, USN (Ret.) Flexibility is a Capability................................................................................................................30 By LT Joey Curtis, USN How Civilian SAR Missions Help Train Units for the Worst................................................32 By LT Jack Nilson, USN Ready or Not...................................................................................................................................34 By LT Anna “LiMP” Halverson, USN

Fall 2023 ISSUE 162

Clementine Two - U.S. Navy Night Rescue Over North Vietnam......................................35 By CDR LeRoy Cook, USN (Ret.) (HC-7 Det 104) Revised by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

Exercise Tarpon Springs, A Warfighting Skills Exercise..........................................................42 About the Cover HSC-9 Tridents conducting SAR training Created by Aicrewmen for Aircrewmen. in the Willoughby Spit. AWS2 Brewington By AWSCS Matthew Estep, USN, CHSCWL and AWS2 Harter demonstrating direct deployment recover y procedures . Tarpon Springs................................................................................................................................45 Photographer: AWS2 Philip Johnson (@ By AWS2 Natalie Campbell, USN philip.james.studio) Rotor Review (ISSN: 1085-9683) is published quarterly by the Naval Helicopter Association, Inc. (NHA), a California nonprofit 501(c)(6) corporation. NHA is located in Building 654, Rogers Road, NASNI, San Diego, CA 92135. Views expressed in Rotor Review are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies of NHA or United States Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. Rotor Review is printed in the USA. Periodical rate postage is paid at San Diego, CA. Subscription to Rotor Review is included in the NHA or corporate membership fee. A current corporation annual report, prepared in accordance with Section 8321 of the California Corporation Code, is available on the NHA Website at www. navalhelicopterassn.org.

NAS Key West SAR: Optimizing Long Range Maritime Search and Rescue .............................46 for the Future Fight By AWSC Joshua Teague, USN and AWS2 Brett Medford, USN More of Naval Aviation Needs to Prioritize Range.................................................................48 By CDR Matt Wright, USN So Others May Live..........................................................................................................................50 By HM1 Stephanie Higgins, USN

FEATURES Happenstance: The Inspirational Journey of CAPT Sunita Williams, USN..............................52 By LT Elsiha "Grudge" Clark, USN Start Them Young: ........................................................................................................................56 An Account from the Aircrew Library Volunteers of San Diego County By LT Jared “Dogbeers” Jackson, USN

Managing The Hazards: Extreme Cold Weather.....................................................................58 POSTMASTER: Send address changes Helicopter Detachment Operations to Naval Helicopter Association, P.O. Box By LT Patrick “The HOFF” Fonda, USN 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578. Preparing the Navy for the Indo-Pacific: .....................................................................................62 Rotor Review supports the goals of Advancing UAS for the Great Power Competition the association, provides a forum for By Carl Forsling and Chris Misner discussion and exchange of information on topics of interest to the Rotary Force and keeps membership informed of NHA A Case for Auditory Learning Resources in Naval Aviation Training....................................64 activities. As necessary, the President of By LT Andrew George, USN NHA will provide guidance to the Rotor Review Editorial Board to ensure Rotor Flight Of Four Lands On Arthur Ashe Stadium Court.................................................................66 Review content continues to support By CAPT Joellen Drag-Oslund, USNR (Ret.) this statement of policy as the Naval Helicopter Association adjusts to the A Bridge for Intra-Theater Distributed Fleet Operations: The CMV-22B.........................68 expanding and evolving Rotary Wing and By Robbin Laird Tilt Rotor Communities. ©2023 Naval Helicopter Association, Inc., all rights reserved Rotor Review #162 Fall '23 2

COLUMNS Chairman’s Brief.........................................................................................................................6 National President's Message.................................................................................................7 Executive Director's View.........................................................................................................8 Vice President of Membership Report.................................................................................10 From the Editor-in-Chief........................................................................................................12 On Leadership..........................................................................................................................14 Be All In By RDML Amy Bauernschmidt, USN Commodore's Corner............................................................................................................16 VRM's Accelerated Growth By CAPT Justin McCaffree, USN,VRM Commodore

Editorial Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LT Annie "Frizzle" Cutchen, USN annie.cutchen@gmail.com ASSISTANT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LT Quinn "Charity" Stanley, USN qrstanley@gmail.com MANAGING EDITOR Allyson "Clown" Darroch rotorreview@navalhelicopterassn.org COPY EDITORS CAPT John "Assassin" Driver, USN (Ret.) jjdriver51@gmail.com CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.) helopapa71@gmail.com

Scholarship Fund Update.......................................................................................................18

LT Elisha "Grudge" Clark, USN elishasuziclark@gmail.com

Historical Society.....................................................................................................................22

AIRCREW EDITOR AWR1 Ronald "Scrappy" Pierpoint, USN pierpoint.ronald@gmail.com

Editor Spotlight.........................................................................................................................24 View from the Labs.................................................................................................................26 By CAPT George Galdorisi, USN (Ret.)

DEPARTMENTS

Industry and Technology..........................................................................................................70 Elbit America to Supply Integrated Avionics Processors for V-22 Collins Opens Power Lab for Hybrid, Electric Tech Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions: Founded with a Purpose, Serving with Passion Bristow Secures Early Delivery Positions for Five Elroy Air Chaparral Aircraft Metro Aviation, a SkillBridge Partner Changes of Command..............................................................................................................76 Squadron Updates....................................................................................................................78 VX-1 Turns 80 - Celebrating 80 years of Pioneer Pride HT-18: 50 Years of Women Flying in Naval Aviation HSC-23: Talofa Lava, Samoa, from Det X HSM-49 Pilots Attend Marine Corps MAWTS Off Duty......................................................................................................................................84 Book Review: Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin, by Eileen A. Bjorkan Reviewed by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.) Engaging Rotors.......................................................................................................................86 Signal Charlie............................................................................................................................90 Previous Rotor Review Editors Wayne Jensen - John Ball - John Driver - Sean Laughlin - Andy Quiett Mike Curtis - Susan Fink - Bill Chase - Tracey Keefe - Maureen Palmerino Bryan Buljat - Gabe Soltero - Todd Vorenkamp - Steve Bury - Clay Shane Kristin Ohleger - Scott Lippincott - Allison Fletcher - Ash Preston - Emily Lapp Mallory Decker - Caleb Levee - Shane Brenner - Shelby Gillis - Michael Short

COMMUNITY EDITORS HSC LT Tyler "Benji" Benner, USN tbenner92@gmail.com LT Andrew "Gonzo" Gregory, USN andrew.l.gregory92@gmail.com HSM LT Joshua "Hotdog" Holsey, USN josholc@gmail.com LT Abby "Abuela" Bohlin, USN akguerra023@gmail.com LT Thomas "Buffer" Marryott Jr, USN tmarryott@gmail.com LT Nathan "MAM" Beatty, USN nathan.g.beatty@gmail.com LT Jared "Dogbeers" Jackson, USN jared.d.jack@gmail.com LT Samantha "Amber" Hein, USN lsamhein@gmail.com USMC EDITORS Maj. Nolan "Lean Bean" Vihlen, USMC nolan.vihlen@gmail.com Capt. Michael "Chowdah" Ayala, USMC michael.ayala@usmc.mil USCG EDITOR LT Marco Tinari, USCG marco.m.tinari@uscg.mil TECHNICAL ADVISOR LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.) chipplug@hotmail.com

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Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Naval Helicopter Association, Inc. P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578 - (619) 435-7139 www.navalhelicopterassn.org Regional Officers

National Officers

Region 1 - San Diego Directors ......................................CAPT Chris Richard, USN CAPT Will Eastham, USN CAPT Justin McCaffree, USN CAPT Nathan Rodenbarger, USN President ..................................CDR Scott Lippincott, USN

President.......................................CAPT Tommy Butts, USN Vice President..........................................CDR Eli Owre, USN Executive Director................CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.) Business Development...............................Ms. Linda Vydra Managing Editor, Rotor Review.........Ms. Allyson Darroch Retired Affairs....................CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) Legal Advisor...........................CDR Chris Cooke, USN (Ret.) VP Corp. Membership...........CAPT Tres Dehay, USN (Ret.) VP Awards.................................CDR Philip Pretzinger, USN VP Membership........................LT Brendan McGinnis, USN VP Symposium 2024....................CAPT Tommy Butts, USN Secretary....................................................LT Lena Reid, USN Special Projects........................................................VACANT NHA Branding and Gear............................LT Sam Kim, USN Senior HSM Advisor..............AWRCM Nathan Hickey, USN Senior HSC Advisor..................AWSCM Shane Gibbs, USN Senior VRM Advisor.................AWSCM Tom Kershaw, USN

Region 2 - Washington, D.C. Director .....................................................................VACANT President ...........................................CDR Tony Perez, USN Co-President.................................CDR Pat Jeck, USN (Ret.) Region 3 - Jacksonville Director.....................................CAPT John Anderson, USN President............................................CDR Dave Bigay, USN Region 4 - Norfolk Director...................,........................CAPT Ed Johnson, USN President .........................................CDR Matt Wright, USN

Directors at Large

Chairman...............................RADM Dan Fillion, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Gene Ager, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Chuck Deitchman, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Dennis DuBard, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Tony Dzielski, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Greg Hoffman, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Mario Mifsud, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Arne Nelson, USN (Ret.)* CAPT Matt Schnappauf, USN (Ret.)* LT Zoe MacFarlane, USN* AWRCM Nathan Hickey, USN* * Also serving as Scholarship Fund Board Members

Junior Officers Council

Nat’l Pres....................... LT Zoe "Latrina" Macfarlane, USN Region 1........................LT Ryan "Shaggy" Rodriguez, USN Region 2 ......................................LT Rob "JORTS" Platt, USN Region 3...............LT Harrison "Dusty Bottoms" Pyle, USN Region 4..................................LT Rochelle "PG" Balun, USN Region 5................................LT Chris "BOTOX" Stuller, USN Region 6....................................LT Robert "DB" Macko, USN

Region 5 - Pensacola Director ........................................CAPT Kenneth Kerr, USN President ......................................CDR Keith Johnson, USN '23 Fleet Fly-In Coordinator...............LT Chris Stuller, USN Region 6 - OCONUS Director ..........................................CAPT Mike O'Neill, USN President ..............................CDR Matthew E. Chang, USN

NHA Historical Society (NHAHS)

President............................CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.) VP/Webmaster..................CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) Secretary................................LCDR Brian Miller, USN (Ret.) Treasurer...........................CDR Chris Fitzgerald, USN (Ret.) S.D. Air & Space Museum.....CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.)

NHAHS Committee Members

NHA Scholarship Fund

President ..............................CAPT Arne Nelson, USN (Ret.) Executive VP/ VP Ops ...CAPT Todd Vandegrift, USN (Ret.) VP Plans.................................................CAPT Jon Kline, USN VP Scholarships ...............................Ms. Nancy Ruttenberg VP Finance ....................................CDR Greg Knutson, USN Treasurer.........................................................Ms. Jen Swasey Webmaster.........................CDR Mike Brattland, USN (Ret.) Social Media ..............................................................VACANT CFC/Special Projects ................................................VACANT . Navy Helicopter Association Founders CAPT A.E. Monahan, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mark R. Starr, USN (Ret.) CAPT A.F. Emig, USN (Ret.) Mr. H. Nachlin

CDR H.F. McLinden, USN (Ret.) CDR W. Straight, USN (Ret.) CDR P.W. Nicholas, USN (Ret.) 5

CAPT Dennis DuBard, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mike Reber, USN (Ret.) CAPT Arne Nelson, USN (Ret.) CAPT Jim O’Brien, USN (Ret.) CAPT Curtis Shaub, USN (Ret.) CAPT Mike O’Connor, USN (Ret.) CDR John Ball, USN (Ret.) CDR Chris Fitzgerald, USN (Ret.) LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.) AWRCM Dave Crossan, USN (Ret.)

CDR D.J. Hayes, USN (Ret.) CAPT C.B. Smiley, USN (Ret.) CAPT J.M. Purtell, USN (Ret.) CDR H.V. Pepper, USN (Ret.)

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Chairman’s Brief Rescue at Altitude

By RADM Dan "Dano" Fillion, USN (Ret.)

e were in the seventh month of our six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf exiting “Fenway” (back in the day) for a 0330 recovery and shutdown. We had completed a double bag and were looking forward to some chow. It was a typical dark night, as they all are without much moon. I was the Det MO and the H2P was the Training O. The H2P had performed superbly both on the ground and especially in the air. He shot an “on the numbers” approach with the AWs backing us up; life was good. As we got in close to the deck, I made a “closure” call which my H2P acknowledged. At that point he smoothly raised the nose of the aircraft to decelerate. However, as we crossed the deck edge, the stabilator kicked off. Immediately. I acknowledged the Master Caution Warning Light, to which the H2P concurred, and I took my eyes off the hangar face to re-engage the stabilator. As I returned to look outside the cockpit, I heard the AW call “stop forward, steady hover.” I now saw the HRS, (Horizon Reference System) Bar through the chin bubble and I yelled “I HAVE THE CONTROLS WAVING OFF TO PORT!” The H2P did not acknowledge my two commands but the aircraft was now moving sideways away from the ship accelerating with a 35 degree left wing down attitude. Several more calls for "I have the controls” did not get executed. I was pulling on the cyclic and collective with all I had, but I was giving up a foot of height and probably 75 pounds to the H2P who was no stranger to the weight room. Using ”non standard” terminology in the cockpit finally resulted in him letting go of the controls. Immediately the aircraft went from 35 degrees left wing down and accelerating to 40 degrees right wing down, accelerating, and climbing at a rocket's pace. Doing my best usual attitude recovery procedures (i.e., trying to find the “ball”), I heard the most calm strong voice on the VOX that I had heard in the last several seconds; “Attitude gyro, MO.” The call came from the senior aircrewmen that night and his command resulted in me getting my “shiitake mushroom” back together. I did the next approach and landing to a shutdown. We learned a lot that night. I may very well be the only pilot who was rescued by an aircrewmen at altitude! The women and men who serve their country as aircrew/rescue swimmers are a very special breed of Sailors! NHA recognizes that no rotary-wing TMS can fly safely and effectively without the warriors in the back and we sure can’t fight the aircraft without our aircewmen! Aircrewmen/ Rescue Swimmer’s Wings are GOLD for a reason! NHA is working hard to support the Rescue Swimmer Badge Initiative and continues to support all the families that support our aircrewmen. NHA exists to provide camaraderie, mentorship, and advocacy for all things Rotary-Wing. NHA needs you as a member of your organization! Consider it! Join. This is your tribe! Non-standard brief item on every NATOPS Brief I did, from that day on after having a bad night behind the boat emphasizes “Remember studs: one splash all splash.” VR & CNJI (Committed not just Involved), Dano

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Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

National President's Message Train So Others May Live

By CAPT Tommy "Smokey" Butts, USN

reetings from NHA here in San Diego!

I’ve assumed the controls from CDR Emily “ABE” Stellpflug. Before I get started, I’d like to take a moment to thank ABE for her loyal dedication and service to the rotary community. In my short time in the seat, I have quickly realized the time and effort that she dedicated to advancing our professional organization. ABE, thank you for everything that you’ve done to promote NHA and the favorable position you have left us in, well done. As I’ve engaged rotors and pushed my Nr up to 100% here at NHA, I’m impressed by the NHA Staff, here in San Diego, led by CAPT Jim “Super G” Gillcrist, USN (Ret.) and the volunteers around the world. The staff and volunteers who continue to move the chains for NHA are comprised of civilians, active duty enlisted Sailors, officers, and retired legends who paved the path for us. I believe that it is our duty to further grow our professional organization. As I write this, we are inside of a month from the Gulf Coast Fleet Fly-in (GCFFI) in Pensacola. The purpose of the GCFFI is to promote the sea services’ rotary community in an interactive environment. CNATRA Instructors and Fleet Aircrews exchange ideas, expertise and career information with Student Naval Aviators and Student Aircrewmen. In tying into this edition of Rotor Review, a key takeaway I have from the purpose of GCFFI is the interaction with Student Aircrewmen. For a vast majority of the students who will live by the mantra “So Others May Live” for the rest of their lives, GCFFI is the first time that they will see, touch, and smell a Fleet aircraft. Here at HSC-3, the HSCWP FRS, every month I have the opportunity to speak at the Fleet Replacement Aircrewman (FRAC) Graduation. It’s the capstone ceremony where our brothers and sisters in the back of the aircraft receive their “Wings of Gold.” During my speech, I typically throw in a sea story while trying to impart some knowledge. Most recently, the sea story I shared was based on my first rescue. It was a small fishing vessel with two personnel onboard that had no power and was taking on water. Without me giving a blow by blow, you all know that the weather was terrible, it was the middle of the night, my co-pilot and I were unbelievably flawless on the controls, and everything went as planned…..okay okay, but it was a really dark zero illumination night 35nm off the coast of Guam. The thing I remember most about that night was the debrief discussion with our swimmer. He talked about initially being panicked when he had to disconnect from the hoist. It was the first time that he had ever been in the open ocean at night by himself, there was a sinking fishing boat nearby, waves crashing over his head, and rotor wash beating him down. At that moment, full of adrenaline he made his way to the survivors. Fast forward 20 minutes and two survivors along with our swimmer were in the aircraft as we safely made our way back to shore. When I asked him how he overcame the panic and focused on the task, he said, “I thought about my training and I knew there was a helicopter overhead to pick us up.” I’ll never forget the proud smile on his face and my personal feeling that I was working with the absolute best our country has to offer. Brave, hard-working and professional, So Others May Live! When you have an opportunity, take a look at the CNO SARMM News at the following link: https://intelshare.intelink.gov/sites/sarmm/HSC3SARMM@navy.mil. The Fall 2023 Edition details a recent rescue of 11 personnel off of a vessel in distress by HSC-25. It is an honor to serve as your National President of our professional organization! V/r, Smokey NHA LTM #504

www.navalhelicopterassn.org

Executive Director’s View NHA is NOT just about Pilots … By CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.)

he focus of this issue is on our Aircrew Brothers and Sisters who are integral to every mission we fly no matter what the platform – rotary wing, unmanned, or tilt rotor. And their motto of … “So Others May Live” … is both noble and a compelling call to action for mission execution within the entire Rotary Force. Acknowledgement that we are indeed a talented team of aircrewmen, maintainers, and pilots is what makes the Rotary Force, and NHA as a professional organization, unique. During my last flying tour at the World Famous HSL-43 BattleCats, the squadron slogan was: “Fix … Fly … Strike!” I liked the slogan. It was compelling without any need for embellishment. It represented what we did as a high functioning team of maintainers, aircrewmen, and pilots. The mission could only be accomplished if we knew how to fix the airframe, fly the airframe, and fight the airframe. We deployed and operated as one team. Similarly, NHA is a team and a brotherhood with a similar, defining motto: “Every member counts / stronger together.” We are a unique professional organization. We are comprised of maintainers, aircrewmen, and pilots who remain connected, who help one another, who continue to offer mentorship to one another, and who pay it forward. Every member counts and makes the organization stronger. To repeat something that I shared in an earlier column, the best kept secret in this vibrant, professional organization is its members. The NHA Staff has the immense privilege every day of working alongside high caliber folks from National Leadership to Junior Officer and Aircrew Reps across the entire Rotary Force – coast to coast. In closing, we remain a relationship organization. Meaning that the relationships we make at the squadron and aboard ship on deployment are lifelong, enriching, and purposeful. These same relationships continue downstream and remain powerful throughout our military careers, as well as when we transition to our next adventure outside of the service. We look after one another and pay it forward continuously. This is why we are members of our professional organization. This is why you should join and / or renew your membership. Please keep your membership profile up to date (mailing address and region affiliation). If you should need any assistance at all, give us a call at (619) 4357139 and we will be happy to help – you will get Linda, Mike, Allyson, or myself. Warm regards with high hopes, Jim Gillcrist.

NHA's Newest Lifetime Member (LTM) #485, Vice President for Membership, LT Brendan McGinnis, USN, HSC-23 Wildcards is presented his coin by CAPT Jim Gillcrist, USN (Ret.), NHA's Executive Director.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Lifetime Member (LTM) in the Spotlight LT Andrew “Mr. T” George, USN Lifetime Member #685 HSC-23 Wildcards "Mr. T" is a Reno, Nevada native who graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno where he earned two Bachelor of Science Degrees in Finance and Economics in 2013. He commissioned through Officer Candidate School in 2014 and was designated a Student Naval Aviator. His training began in Pensacola, FL for Aviation Preflight Indoctrination, then on to the VT-6 “Shooters” in Milton, FL where he learned to fly the T-6B. He selected rotary wing and continued to the HT-28 “Hellions” for advanced flight training where he learned to fly the TH-57 and was designated a Naval Aviator in 2016. He selected to fly the MH-60S in San Diego and completed training at the Fleet Replacement Squadron, HSC-3 “Merlins.” During his first sea tour with the HSC-23 “Wildcards,” he flew the MH-60S and MQ-8B while deployed with Det 8 on USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10 / “Blue Team”) conducting Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea in 2020. Selected for his extensive Fire Scout operational experience, he completed a shore tour with HSCWP VTUAV Maintenance Detachment as Assistant OIC at NAS Point Mugu flying the MQ-8B and MQ-8C. Next, LT George reported to HSC-23 again and is now serving as Det 6 MQ-8 Ops / Pilot back aboard LCS 10.

“Mr. T” conducting a Fam 0 of his 2022 Mercedes Benz Airstream Interstate 24GT Class B RV (otherwise known as a Tactical JO Sprinter Van) with NHA Executive Director.

Every Member Counts / Stronger Together

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VP of membership Report BradChad's Membership State of the Union By LT Brendan McGinnis USN

n my new role as VP of Membership, I'm excited to introduce myself and outline my vision for the future of NHA and our community's engagement. I’m a former and current HSC-23 Wildcard, currently serving as a Single Type/Model/Series MQ-8C Fire Scout Super JO. Between these two Wildcard tours, I served as an HT-28 Hellion Instructor, contributing to the training of our future Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard Aviators. As a dedicated and recently recognized Lifetime Member of NHA, I've witnessed firsthand the challenges and sometimes overlooked contributions of Junior Officers within our organization. Attending the NHA Symposium provides a unique opportunity to connect and make unconventional contributions to the Navy. It's the only rotarydriven event where an Ensign can ask the Air Boss how we can initiate changes at a deck plate level to improve the lives of our Sailors and commands. Not only is this type of interaction welcomed at these events, but it's actively encouraged. Future goals as the NHA Membership VP are as follows: 1. JO Roll Call (No not just JOs): We are committed to enhancing accountability among our current members. This starts with a thorough review of squadron rosters by our NHA Representatives. The aim is to foster better communication among leadership and representatives. I’m working closely with the JO President, LT Zoe “Latrina” Macfarlane, to ensure that the average JO NHA Representative can reach out effectively, whether they're at the bottom or the top of the chain, with a single message on our mobile devices via Groupme or text messages, not just work emails. What would help us the most would be if everyone could take the time to update their membership profiles with current personal information, squadron affiliation, and region to help us get you validated in our system. The website information is listed below in my contact information. 2. Participation (and the ability to do so) directly correlates to Membership: Membership directly influences participation and the opportunities available to our members. We are emphasizing the importance of the Navy Air Logistics Office (NALO) reliability for our unfunded travelers and ensuring that all traveling parties can make the most of the Symposium, making it more than just a whirlwind 48-hour experience. "Max Beep" is already in motion, with efforts underway to give HSC-21 a run for their money! 3. Early Engagement of Aviators: A critical focus for us is to involve aviators early in their career journeys. For instance, at NAS Whiting, where we're producing approximately 15-20 aviators every two weeks across three squadrons, there's a significant gap in their knowledge about NHA. We plan to engage NAS Whiting NHA Representatives more actively in this process, helping them understand the value NHA offers and the benefits it can provide as they advance in their naval careers. We're also keen to introduce them to the unbeatable "Nugget" Membership offer and facilitate a smooth handoff to FRS NHA Reps at their next command. Thank you all for your continuous commitment to our organization and please reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Fly Navy, LT Brendan “BradChad” McGinnis VP of NHA Membership LTM #485 (724) 809-6548 Brendan.s.mcginnis@gmail.com www.navalhelicopterassn.org

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

So Others May Live - Skill and Confidence By LT Zoe "Latrina" Macfarlane,USN

efore I tell an important story that I believe exemplifies the theme of this Rotor Review edition, I wanted to introduce myself. I am LT Zoe “Latrina” Macfarlane, and I have turned over with LT Alden “CaSPR” Marton as the NHA JO President. I am currently an instructor at HSC-3 and feel honored and privileged to be part of this organization. I look forward to continuing the work and connections that NHA fosters. The purpose of this edition is to highlight the work of our Aircrewmen. While I could tell countless stories that illustrate their proficiency, professionalism, and dedication to the mission, one story stands out from the rest. During deployment, on my first tour with HSC-4, we were attached to CVN-70 and operating in Seventh Fleet when an F-35C in our airwing crashed on the flight deck. Our OPS Team scrambled to find two crews to fill a section that would be departing on an emergency MEDEVAC. Due to time constraints, AWS1 Charles Weaver, the Crew Chief in the section lead aircraft, took charge of navigating the section safely to an island no one had been to before. He recounted that night to me, and it is clear that his skill was instrumental in the safety and success of the mission. On January 22, 2022, AWS1 Weaver was called to the Ready Room where he quickly learned the news of the crash on the flight deck. HSC-4 was preparing to launch an MH-60S section to MEDEVAC the casualties to an airfield 300 miles away. At the time, the number of patients and severity of their injuries were unknown. Although the squadron was skilled in 6-hour mission planning to execute any mission quickly and effectively, the crews were told they’d have only 20 minutes until they had to hotseat. Further complicating matters, they would be flying at night under zero percent illumination to an airfield on an island to which no one had been before. When the Commanding Officer and MEDEVAC section lead, CDR Thomas “Brother” Murray, asked AWS1 Weaver: “How do you feel about the FST tablet?,” AWS1 Weaver said he had a feeling that the section would be navigating with the only information they had: lat/long coordinates. When I asked AWS1 Weaver what stuck out the most about that night, he replied: “There was no time to do any mission planning. We didn't have any details on who we were taking and what kind of care they would need enroute. At that moment, with adrenaline pumping, I just tried to stay calm and let my training take over. I knew we could do the mission, no problem, and they did. The crews walked to the flight deck. AWS1 Weaver recalls, “It was complete chaos. Everyone was hustling to get gear we believed we would need for the patients.” After about 30 minutes, the three patients were loaded in both aircraft, and the section launched. In the cabin with AWS1 Weaver was HM1 Walters, the squadron corpsman, and AWS3 Zavala. When the patient was loaded into AWS1 Weaver's cabin, HM1 Walters recognized another difficulty facing the crew. The patient had a serious skull injury which would prevent the section from transiting at a high altitude. Bad news for fuel, time, and any communication with externals. After take off, AWS1 Weaver looked at the FST tablet, and the coordinates to which they were flying. He then began to figure out how the section would navigate there without climbing to altitude. He recounts, “I was zooming in and out looking at the terrain and altitude, trying to figure what the safest way to get to the island and the airfield would be. I built a route on the FST tablet, and passed all the coordinates to CDR Murray. He passed the flight plan to the dash two aircraft on our inter-flight frequency.” Due to the length of their flight and fuel on board, CDR Murray asked if the section could fly at a higher altitude to get to the airfield faster and more efficiently. AWS1 Weaver was ready with an answer. Based upon the terrain, low light, and the patient's injury, he recommended that they remain feet wet and clear of land for as long as possible. The section landed at Manilla Ninoy International Airport after transiting over 200 miles from the carrier, and safely transferred the three patients to an ambulance. All three patients survived and received the care they needed. The section ended up reversing their initial route to return to CVN 70. The skill and confidence AWS1 Weaver demonstrated on this mission led to the safe transfer of all three MEDEVAC patients. His expertise, assertiveness, and skill aided the section in safely executing the mission and saving the lives of three Sailors. 11

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From the Editor-in-Chief So Others May Live

By LT Annie "Frizzle" Cutchen, USN , f you have chatted with me about Rotor Review, you have probably witnessed me on my soap box about Aircrew involvement with NHA. One of my main goals during my tenure as Editor-in-Chief, (EIC) of this publication has been to get our Aircrew involved and excited to be here. We were able to get the NHA Team all in on dedicating this issue to unsung heroes of rotary wing aviation—United States Naval Aircrewmen. On my first tour and into my instructor tour I preach that I have learned as much from the Aircrewmen I have had the pleasure of working alongside as I have from my fellow Pilots. I'm sure many of us share more than one experience where these men and women saved the day.

My hope with this issue is that you, Aircrewmen from all platforms, feel inspired and heard seeing art and reading articles by your peers. Furthermore, I hope this inspires you to continue to write for Rotor Review, submit your photographs, and engage with Naval Helicopter Association. I am so excited for readership to dig in and read articles from AWRCM Philips, AWSCS Estep, AWS2 Campbell, and the list goes on. I’d like to give a special shout out to Philip Johnson, a prior MH-60S Aircrewman and the artist behind the lens for the cover photo. I encourage you to explore more of his work at Philip James Studio—he is truly remarkable. Photo contestants, look out! I am sad to announce that this will be my last issue as EIC of Rotor Review. This opportunity has brought so much more engagement and positivity in my life than I ever could have imagined. It has been an absolute pleasure and honor to work with so many of you to create a magazine worth reading. A very special shoutout to CAPT G for all of the mentorship, encouragement, providing me the room to maneuver, and trust you have put in me to get the job done. Another huge shoutout to Allyson “Clown” Darroch for putting up with me balancing the magazine with my flying job and always being open to my constant requests for changes. It has truly been an honor working alongside you both and the rest of the NHA Team. Rotor Review is being passed down to excellent hands. LT Elisha “Grudge” Clark brings so much dang passion for Rotor Review and a very creative lens. She is the brain behind the crossword addition to the magazine and a woman who knows how to get it done. LT Quinn "Charity" Stanley, taking over as assistant Editor-In-Chief," is truly just an incredibly likable guy. Not only that, but everything he touches, he makes better. He brings a passion for helicopter aviation and shares Grudge’s ability to make things happen. Thank you, readership, most of all for making all of the work that goes into the magazine worthwhile.

A New EIC Takes the Helm By LT Elisha "Grudge" Clark, USN

ello from sunny San Diego! My name is LT Elisha “Grudge” Clark, and I’m happy to introduce myself as your new Editor-in-Chief. A big thank you to LT Annie “Frizzle” Cutchen, who has faithfully served you in that capacity through four (going on five) captivating and impactful issues. There is nothing more human than a story. In a community spread far and wide across the world, it is crucial to tell the stories capturing the life and times of our rotary-wing and tilt-rotor brothers and sisters. That is why I am so grateful to have this platform to lean on, and so many voices with a story to share. This issue in particular represents the crew concept we helicopter pilots live and breathe. These pages include recent stories of heroics, along with stories from our past that are fully worth remembering. Inside you’ll find tales of one-wheel landings, rescues in the mountains, and fallen and recovered canyoneers by today’s best of the best in Search and Rescue. CDR LeRoy Cook’s story of the “Clementine Two” rescue may seem far off, but as he describes watching a forgettable movie in the wardroom and trotting groggily off to bed right before the call to action, I bet you can picture yourself there, too. Building our sense of community is something I am passionate about, and we do that by giving everyone a seat at the table. It would be difficult to fly without pilots and aircrew, this is true. However, it would be next to impossible to meet our mission without steady hands turning wrenches. Our next issue, “Fly, Fix, Fight,” will be focused on our tireless maintenance personnel. We want to hear your stories, your successes, your gripes, and your lessons. Consider this a call to action - do not let your story go untold. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Letters to the Editors It is always great to hear from our membership! We need your input to ensure that Rotor Review keeps you informed, connected, and entertained. We maintain many open channels to contact the magazine staff for feedback, suggestions, praise, complaints, or publishing corrections. Please advise us if you do not wish to have your input published in the magazine. Your anonymity will be respected. Post comments on the NHA Facebook Page or send an email to the Editor-in-Chief. Her email is elishasuziclark@gmail.com, or to the Managing Editor at rotorreview@navalhelicopterassn.org. You can use snail mail too. Rotor Review’s mailing address is: Letters to the Editor, c/o Naval Helicopter Association, Inc., P.O. Box 180578, Coronado, CA 92178-0578.

Articles and news items are welcomed from NHA’s general membership and corporate associates. Articles should be of general interest to the readership and geared toward current Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard affairs, technical advances in the rotary wing / tilt rotor industry, or of historical interest. Humorous articles are encouraged.

Rotor Review and Website Submission Guidelines • • • • • • • • •

Articles: MS Word documents for text. Do not embed your images within the document. Send as a separate attachment. Photos and Vector Images: Should be as high a resolution as possible and sent as a separate file from the article. Please include a suggested caption that has the following information: date, names, ranks or titles, location and credit the photographer or source of your image. Videos: Must be in a mp4, mov, wmv or avi format. With your submission, please include the title and caption of all media, photographer’s name, command and the length of the video. Verify the media does not display any classified information. Ensure all maneuvers comply with NATOPS procedures. All submissions shall be tasteful and in keeping with good order and discipline. All submissions should portray the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard and individual units in a positive light.

All submissions can be sent via email to your community editor, their emails are on page 3, the Editor-in-Chief (elishasuziclark@gmail.com), or the Managing Editor at the NHA office (rotorreview@navalhelicopterassn.org). You can also use the USPS mail. Our mailing address is: Naval Helicopter Association P.O. Box 180578 Coronado, CA 92178-0578

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On Leadership Be All In

By RDML Amy "B12" Bauernschmidt, USN

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) maneuvers through a turn while underway in the U.S. 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by CAPT Lee Apsley, USN

moke was engulfing the passageways on the second deck near the aft mess decks. Five minutes later, smoke was reported filling the O3 level. This was not a drill. Fire spreads rapidly onboard ships quickly consuming spaces and options. Sailors rushed to their gear, DCA mobilized the response and XO and CHENG guided efforts at the scene while I coordinated external communication. The response was automatic. It had to be – we were being tested on all our training. That morning I was on the bridge discussing the underway and missions in front of us with the team. Over the 1MC, the first call of smoke near the aft mess scullery was made, then came the second call of smoke. XO and I both ordered GQ to be called away almost simultaneously. My heart sank, besides thinking about USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) Sailors, the question entered my mind - would we face a similar situation as USS George Washington (CVN 77) did in 2008? Never pass up an opportunity to get better. What we do matters. Our hard work makes the difference, mobilizing to complete the mission against the enemy, whatever or whomever the enemy may be. On this day, our adversary was a fire, but tomorrow it could be another country. Whether we serve on ships, in squadrons, turn wrenches, man consoles in combat, stand lookout, do the laundry, or support vital functions in other ways, we are all warriors. As warriors, we

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

must own our part of the mission, seizing ways to have the maximum impact each day in those moments where training, initiative, and courage make the difference. One of my favorite quotes is from JJ Watt. It goes something like this: “Success isn’t owned - it’s leased and rent is due everyday." Every single day. Someone is coming for your greatness, and if you’re not constantly improving your game, just know someone else is improving theirs.” On game day, if and when we need to head into the fight, you are only as good as the daily training opportunities you methodically and meticulously capitalized on and used to your advantage. Every single day. We have to do the work, owning what we do each day forges how we will operate when it matters. In Lincoln’s case it was damage control, but equally important are daily communication checks, brushing up on NATOPS, practicing search and rescue, or methodically rehearsing and refining tactics to be ready for the day we face a different enemy. In seizing training opportunities, we aid ourselves and our teammates in accomplishing the mission more effectively. However, reflect on a time when we didn’t own our training, when we didn’t take advantage of an opportunity presented to make ourselves, our crew, our squadron and our Navy better. What is the impact of missed opportunities? We can’t afford to waste them. We all have countless examples of someone who owned the mission, we also know within ourselves, the 14

day we didn’t put forth the effort we could have to complete an extra event or challenge ourselves in the air or in the simulator. On the bridge, it seemed like a lifetime had passed. The XO updated me as he donned an SCBA and headed through the smoke to the fire. I was exceedingly confident my XO, CHENG, DCA, ADCA and 1,300 Sailors part of the Damage Control Training Team and Lockers were where they needed to be, doing what they needed to do. I knew the XO, Training Officer, and Fire Marshall had meticulously prepared the ship for this day. We did not repeat drill packages or drills. We did not drill in the same location with the same casualties. I knew from the previous 16 months monitoring everything this team worked so hard to achieve, my job was to stay out of their way, keep the big picture, guide the bridge and combat team, and coordinate with my Strike Group Commander, and higher echelon chain of command for the required support. Because of our amazing Sailors, we contained the fire within 20 minutes, then spent hours de-smoking from frames 60-200 and the 03 level down through the second deck. The NCIS and NAVSEA fire experts arrived within 24 hours to assess and inspect the scene. People rise to the environment they are in - what environment and opportunities are you creating to own the mission and forge the team into the warfighting organization required to execute the mission? The good leader will take the opportunities and the mission and translate and transform it into tangible daily actions ensuring, when needed, everyone is ready and able to perform at their best. Our job developing warfighting competencies must be a part of what we do each

day because each day, each flight hour, each event matters. Owning the mission, whatever it may be, methodically executing every detail allows the larger warfighting effort to fall into place. Today, we operate in a consequential environment during a consequential time. As tensions rise around the globe, it is important to remember we are the backbone of our national defense. The challenges we face are complex and we must prepare daily to confront a determined adversary. What we do each day matters and our hard work makes the difference, don’t miss opportunities. We are not always given ramp up time to get to the needed level of performance, we need to be performing at a high level daily. To this day, my Chief Engineer credits the fact the fire only damaged one space (approx 5x8ft) to the fact we called away GQ immediately, alerting everyone to a developing situation, and a group of Sailors swiftly taking action to combat a fire which, we estimate, reached temperatures in the area over 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. As combat crews have proven again and again throughout our Navy’s history, all the training and dividends from drill repetition created the muscle memory and kicked in driving the team's response demonstrating great skill and tremendous courage. The Chiefs and Officers made sure the crew’s valiant efforts had the maximum effect, starting with the prompt alarm and their immediate mobilization. Never pass up an opportunity to get better - what we do matters and our hard work makes a difference!

Sailors raise a rigid-hull inflatable boat during a man-overboard drill aboard Nimitzclass aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joel A. Mundo

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Commodore's Corner VRM's Accelerated Growth

By CAPT Justin McCaffree, USN, VRM Commodore

VRM-50 CQ Photo by AM2 Anthony Gomez, USN (VRM-50)

he request to write this issue’s Commodore’s Corner came at an ideal time because the VRM Community has seen significant change in the last year, but also because the theme of Rotor Review #162 touches on a mission area that is part of a much larger discussion on how to employ the CMV-22B Osprey in the future. Accelerated growth has been the experience for VRM this year and that will continue into 2024. VRM-30 is preparing to send out the next wave of detachments, after completing the first ever CMV-22B deployments in 2022. Additionally, officers and enlisted came together to identify a targeted investment that could be made in order to reduce detachment required airlift support by 50%. This effort will have positive impacts over the entire life of the VRM Community and also save the NAE millions. VRM-40 has gone from a squadron in name to receiving aircraft to earning the safe to operate certification in a span of months. VRM-40’s final challenge for 2023 will be the homeport shift from NAS North Island to NS Norfolk. Once established, the squadron will serve as the operational east coast VRM squadron.

VMMT-204 multi-service FRS which trains USN, USMC, and USAF V-22 pilots and aircrew. Until VRM-50 started to train students, NATSG and VMMT-204 were the first contact between USN personnel and the V-22 Osprey. In many ways, NATSG is the cradle for Navy V-22 operations which is borne out by the fact that the vast majority of current CMV-22B fliers received their initial training in New River. Any officer, chief petty officer, or Sailor who served at NATSG was instrumental to all current and future success of the VRM Community. While the previous paragraphs provide an update on where VRM is, the topic of where VRM is going is as interesting as it is complex. Much like a Navy MH-60 helicopter, many senior leaders see a V-22 and assume that each version is interchangeable regardless of the mission. The CMV-22B is optimized for combat logistics but the Osprey in general is a very flexible and capable aircraft. A year ago, ADM Paparo told VRM to “blow up the COD CONOPS,” which is an effort that the VRM leadership is spending significant time exploring.

The FRS, VRM-50, completed the first CAT I students and the squadron is poised to become the single source for trained pilots and aircrewmen in the coming months. Together with VRM-30, VRM-50 is eagerly anticipating moving into a brand new, purpose built hangar toward the end of the year.

The point behind ADM Paparo’s statement is that the CMV will be asked to do missions in 7th Fleet that were not possible using the C-2A. Although a stalwart much loved COD platform, the C-2A is bounded by a legacy logistics model that uses a long airfield runway to fly to the CVN and back. The CMV has few airfield restrictions and can service many other classes of ships than the CVN.

2024 will be a little bittersweet for the community as the Naval Aviation Training Support Group (NATSG), MCAS New River, has started the sundown process which will culminate in September next year. NATSG is part of the

Another area of exploration in blowing up the CONOPS is in the search and rescue arena, which is the theme of this issue of Rotor Review. The CMV-22B has several advantages for the SAR mission when examining a potential conflict in

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

VRM-50 in El Centro. Photo by ADC Keil Diaz, USN (VRM-50)

7th Fleet. The aircraft has a 1150 nm range, the ability to conduct in-flight refueling, a 240 KCAS cruise speed, and 48 rescue hoists on contract. However, VRM aircrewmen are not rescue swimmers so the recovery of survivors from the water would be a significant challenge. While there are many COAs to achieve more SAR capability inside VRM, they each have differing financial costs and time to train hurdles. The first solution to increasing SAR capability inside VRM is the most expensive and time consuming, and that is qualify AWFs as rescue swimmers. This would be a permanent fix but without a validated requirement to do so, would be unlikely to get funded. A simpler solution could be to qualify a small number of HSC rescue swimmers to fly on the CMV to serve in an as needed capacity. Another option could be to utilize the CMV-22B as a patient transport vehicle to get the injured to a higher level of care. The CMV-22B's speed, range, large cabin space, the capability to carry up to 12 litter patients, and the ability to land/take-off like a helicopter make it uniquely suited to move patients within the Pacific AOR.

Regardless of where the CMV fits into the SAR mission, it is up to the entire vertical lift community to think through survivor recovery, stabilization, and transport to arrive at the appropriate level of care in a Great Power Competition environment. Long gone are the days of the standard SAR scenario being a single or dual seat jet ejection in close proximity to the carrier. New scenarios should include how to recover a survivor at beyond 200 nm or how to conduct rescues for a mass casualty event like a sinking DDG. Should a fight happen in 7th Fleet, every platform that has the ability to conduct SAR will be needed to do their part. While it is exciting to reflect on all the accomplishments that the VRM Community has achieved this year, it is just as exhilarating to contemplate where VRM will go in the future. Although VRM’s primary mission remains COD and combat logistics, it is clear that the community and the aircraft will be called upon to do more in the Pacific, including identifying its contribution to the mission that is best summed up by, “So Others May Live.” Special thanks to AWSCM Robert Kershaw for his insight and collaboration on this article.

VRM-30 participating in EABO in Hawaii, April,2023. Photo by LT Don Gahres, USN (VRM-30) 17

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Naval Helicopter Association Scholarship Fund Grease Doesn't Lie Life in the Mail Room of Naval Aviation By CAPT Arne Nelson, USN (Ret.), President NHASF NHA LTM #4 / RW#13762

ast year, I embarked on a mission to swim 100 miles and win a commemorative tee shirt or watch cap. Four to five times a week, I braved the elements to swim my daily mile, and then take satisfaction in capturing my mileage on a plexiglass status board, containing name, daily distance covered, and gross total. Name Ragman, J. S.

Daily Yards 1600 2000

etc etc etc 750

Total 109.75

But working the grease board at the pool brought back forgotten memories of life in the Mail Room of Naval Aviation. Adding up the swim board took me back to my first job out of flight school at HM12...I was assigned as the Logs and Records Officer for a 95-pilot squadron. I was responsible for manually logging yellow sheet flight info to logbooks and maintaining the flight info on a large grease board. The scheduler used my info to prepare the daily flight schedule and truthfully, there are only five or so top JO jobs in a squadron, so speed of posting the past-day yellow sheets and accuracy were key components in the daily routine. HM-12 in 1976 was a place where: • CNO’s mission capable rate was 35% and we struggled to meet that standard. • We had no call signs yet; we had 95 pilots, and 35-40 of them were named Dave. As a new guy, if you wanted to hail a fellow officer, you’d call out “Hey Dave” and have a good chance of connecting. • Ops (schedules and logs and records) became the quasi-ready room after the wardroom closed at 0800. Pilots got on the flight schedule by being seen at the scheduler’s desk, as verified by your strip on the grease board, and take care if the entry was late or worse, inaccurate. Now the grease board contained all the information you’d need to schedule flights, mission and fam/instrument type training, night flights, instrument hops, check rides, cross counties (RONs and ROLs) much of it based on the numbers of an accurate grease board. One entry though was the block for quals –the board’s legend showed various coded quals: A (AMCM Mission Commander), B (HAC), C (Copilot), and D (Pilot under Instruction). We did not have an H-53 RAG until 1978. There were other codes for functional quals including: FCP, NATOPS/Asst NATOPS and Instrument Check Instructor. One morning, preceding the end of the fiscal year when instructor pilots were scrambling to use up our quarterly fuel allowance, one of the surlier "Senior LTs" of the squadron entered the Ops Office. He told the schedules writer to put him on for a trainer as his monthly flight time was low. As he scanned the board, he looked at his strip and added the numbers and then looked at the quals sheet – he had quals as a Mission Commander, FCF Pilot, Asst NATOPS and Standardization and then he noted that his quals had been erased and replaced by one letter. The letter “J.” He scrolled eyes down to the legend and read the notation: J = A**H***. Bingo, in an instant, J-Codes were born and earning a “J-Qual” or becoming “J” Qualified, from some egregious faux pas was not a good thing. At best, J-qualified became an unofficial censure quickly taken up by a group of LTJGs known as the Gang of Four. That's a story for another time. "Lesson Learned. I once asked a JO to lay out the most important JO jobs in the squadron. ”Skeds… no, ACFT Division… no, QA… no, First LT… no, Legal… no.” The most important job in the squadron is your job…make it so!" Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

pter Ass elico oci at lH i va

NHASF

h ol

a r s h i p Fu n

Apply and Donate!

Shipmates, greetings from the Scholarship Fund. We are in our 31st year…founded in 1993, over five hundred scholarships and over $500,000 have been awarded to eligible active-duty officer and enlisted personnel, and their family members - spouses, children, and grandchildren. Annually, a minimum of fifteen scholarships are awarded. The number is set in the Bylaws by the Board of Directors, usually from a pool of 60-75 eligible applicants. My goal coming to the NHA Scholarship Fund back in 2020 was to set conditions for NHASF sustained growth. Together, the NHASF Committee wrote a vision statement and added a mission statement to guide a five-year plan: Vision: Provide a sound, growing fund base to incrementally increase the dollar value of the fifteen annual awards total to reach $75k ($5,000 each) in 5 years (2025) and for our members, be a premier scholarship choice in Naval Aviation in 5 years (2025) Mission Statement: To award college scholarships to eligible members of the Naval Helicopter Community and their families (USN, USMC, and USCG) to pursue their educational goals. Quite simply, to increase the amount of each scholarship to $5,000 and then sustain that growth. Our report card through 2022 see Table (1) below.

2024 Application Season We opened online applications on 1 September and set our deadline - all required documentation must be received by the January 31st deadline. As we write this, we are in the middle of our 2024 application process with about 20 eligible applications receive. Historically, the low number of applicants early on is not “good" or "bad” because applications arrive in earnest after the first semester ends (November- December, once transcripts are available). We reckon 2024 will be a big year as we follow our 5-year strategic plan and ratcheted up our scholarship value to $4,500 for each of the 15 scholarship awardees. For guidance, check out the Scholarship Fund website at https://www.nhascholarshipfund.org. 2024 Fundraising Goal: $100,000 target for operating, scholarships, investment growth, IT costs, and admin.

To APPLY or DONATE, go to our website: https://www.nhascholarshipfund.org

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In May 2023, we awarded 17 $4,000 Scholarships. This year, we intend to award a minimum of fifteen $4,500 scholarships. Additional numbers and levels of scholarships may be awarded annually depending on fundraising success. On the other hand, donations are coming in slowly. With "Giving Tuesday" rapidly approaching (28 November), I encourage you to make a generous contribution to the Scholarship Fund, whether an individual, memorial or investment gift. See our donation options at https://www.nhascholarshipfund.org. As you reflect on donating, please consider giving to our General Memorial Fund or establishing a new memorial or legacy fund (ex., NHASF General Memorial Fund, the HS-5 Night Dipper Memorial Fund, or the H-53/Big Iron Fund) to preserve the legacy of our communities and remember the heroes who make up our proud rotary wing heritage. And finally, before the year draws to a close, I want to remind you of a smart way to give to NHA. Those who are 72 ½ years of age or older can take advantage of a special approach to make a gift that has tax benefits. This popular gift option is called many things, from “IRA Rollover,” “Tax-Free Distribution,” or “QCD,” but know that it is a simple, tax-wise way to make a difference. Contact your IRA Fund Administrator (Vanguard, Fidelity, Ameriprise, etc.) for more information. A gift to the NHA Scholarship Fund is tax deductible. The NHA Scholarship Fund is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit charitable California corporation: TAX ID # 33-0513766. I look forward to your support in the 2023-24 scholarship rounds and at the next NHA National Symposium in May 2024 at Harrah’s Resort, Southern California. FROM NHASF OPS MANUAL: SECTION 2.1.02 ELIGIBILITY: https://www.nhascholarshipfund.org/prescreening/ (A)

THE APPLICANT AND/OR SPONSOR MUST BE: A new NHA lifetime member, living or deceased, (on or after 15 Feb 2020) or a member in good standing for a minimum of three years by January 31st of the year applying for a scholarship. or A TRACOM or first tour active-duty O-1/O-2, who is a 2 Year "Nugget" Member of NHA, and his / her family are exempt from the three-year eligibility requirement, or Active duty Enlisted (E-6 and below), with a current or past helicopter affiliation (stationed in a helicopter). or MV-22 squadron, or other helicopter aviation unit) and their family members, are exempt from the NHA membership requirement. A letter from his/her command is required confirming the Sponsor/Applicant is currently serving, or has previously served, in a USN, USMC, or USCG helicopter or MV-22 squadron or other helicopter aviation unit.

(B)

THE APPLICANT MUST BE: Active-Duty or Reserve Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Rotary Wing Aviator, Aircrewman, or Maintenance/Support Personnel or Prior Active Duty / Reserve Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard Rotary Wing Aviator, Aircrewman, or Maintenance/Support Personnel or The natural/step/adopted child, grandchild, or spouse of an Active Duty / Reserve / prior / retired; Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard rotary Wing Aviator, Aircrewman, or Maintenance/ Support Personnel

(C)

The applicant must be a high school graduate or prospective high school graduate; high school equivalent graduate; or current college undergraduate / graduate student

(D)

The applicant must be pursuing a trade certificate, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, or graduate degree from an accredited institution.

(E)

Service Academy: Applicants who have received an appointment to a Service Academy are not eligible to receive an NHA Scholarship.

Applications may be completed online beginning 1 September 2023 and must be completed with all required documents submitted by 31 January 2024. NHA Membership information is available by logging into the NHA website, www. navalhelicopterassn.org and viewing their profile.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

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Naval Helicopter Association Historical Society SH-60F Update By CAPT Bill Personius, USN (Ret.), President, NHAHS LTM#46 / RW#16213

here is a lot to catch you up on as follows:

• Happy 80th Birthday to United States Naval Helicopter Aviation! • Our Official Helicopter Birthday is 16 October 1943. • Thank you to our Chief Selects for washing the Flag Circle Aircraft on Saturday September, 9. • The aircraft look presentable again and thank you to all who supported this effort.

• We had a Charity Golf Tournament on Thursday, November 9th, to support the Scholarship Fund and Historical Society. For those who attended, thank you for your support. By all accounts it was a great way to start the Veterans’ Day long weekend. Lassen SH-60F Medal of Honor Memorial Update Check on the Pictorial Project Progress made on the aircraft restoration at the link below. (https://sh60fhoas.navalhelicopterassociation.org/sh-60-foxtrot-progress/). I encourage you to watch the Lassen Video about Clyde’s Rescue and Life HERE. (https://sh60fhoas.navalhelicopterassociation.org/lassen-moh-history-video/). • The paint job on the fuselage has been completed. • The paint job on the tail was completed on October 25, 2023. • There has been an engineering redesign requirement for the mounting plate and associated connecting hardware. • The redesign has delayed the Dedication Ceremony and put it on hold for what was an event planned for Friday, January 19, 2024. PMA 299 is involved now and assisting with providing a workable solution. • We are estimating a minimum of a 45-day delay. The new Dedication Ceremony date is TBD. • Brick donations continue IVO of the engineering delay. • Pay tribute to a friend, family member, or yourself. Additionally, remember a fallen shipmate or crew/individual lost at sea. • We continue to collect donations to reach our goal and could use your $upport. • If you have already donated, thank you very much! • If you have yet to donate, please consider making a contribution. • We have had 360 donations and are halfway to our goal of $250K. You can donate online at https://sh60fhoas.navalhelicopterassociation.org/make-a-donation-today, or you can mail a check or drop off a payment at the NHA Office. For those of you who attended and participated in the Fleet Fly-In, sounds like you had a great time in Pensacola. Keep your turns up. Regards, Bill Personius Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Computer Rendition of NASNI Stockdale Entrance with SH-60F on a Pedestal

Mail Checks to: Naval Helicopter Association Historical Society, Inc. (NHAHS) (Preferred) NASNI SH-60F Project PO Box 180578 Coronado, CA 92178-0578 Or Donate Online: https://sh60fhoas.navalhelicopterassociation.org/ 23

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Spotlight Editor AWR1 Ronald Pierpoint, USN Enjoy a Q&A with one of our Editors, AWR1 Ronald Pierpoint! • Editor Since: October 2022 • Location: San Diego, California • Past Squadrons/Commands: HSM-41 & HSM- 77 • Favorite Tour: HSM-77, in 2019 Combat Element "Tactical Tanukis" • Favorite EP: Unusual Attitude Recovery • Favorite Color: Green • Favorite Food: Pizza • Favorite Hobby: Spending time with my wife, Sarah, and our three dogs Hakuba, Yuzu, and Lala

Why did you decide to become a Rotor Review Editor? Great question! A mentor approached me to see if I would be interested in being an editor for Rotor Review and at the moment I didn't give it any thought and just answered with, "Yeah, of course!" I'm glad I joined the team because not only did it allow me to meet some amazing people in the military and civilian sectors, but I also am able to be part of a community that is passionate about discussing and expressing topics of interest for our rotary brothers and sisters.

What is your favorite memory in Naval Aviation? That's a hard question to answer! There are a ton of amazing memories that come to mind. If I had to choose one, I'd have to choose my last flight at HSM-77. I was lucky enough to fly with one of my best friends in the cabin and also with two amazing pilots and leaders in the cockpit. There's a saying in the community, "If you don't climb Mount Fuji during your tour, you'll definitely get orders to come back to Japan,” or

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something along those lines. I was not fortunate enough to climb Mount Fuji while I was stationed in Japan. So, what's the next best thing? Flying as close to Mount Fuji as legally allowed, and as high as the weather and the limits of NATOPS allowed. Thankfully it was a clear day and all of us were able to enjoy not only Mount Fuji, but also the neighboring cities, beaches, shrines, castles, and each other's company one last time together. I honestly can't think of a better place to enjoy a helicopter flight.

What are your goals for the future? There are several goals that I've set for myself in the future, but the one current and near-future goal I am currently tackling is to complete my Bachelor of Science Degree in Kinesiology, with an emphasis in Fitness Specialist at San Diego State University in the next two years.

Crossword Think you know everything about SAR? Try your hand at this crossword puzzle. Good luck! By LT Elisha "Grudge" Clark, USN

Down:

Across:

1.Recovery for hypothermic survivor 2.Designated by SMC 3.Cervical _____ (spinal immobilization) 4.Type of deployment. Staying on the hoist 6.Personnel ______. Procedures in JP 3-50 7.Sucking chest wound dressing 9. Lights sans smoke 14.SAR Readiness- ready for launch 15. Light (as in weight, not brightness) in the water 17. _______, Breathing, Circulation 19. MOI (the m) 20. Opposite of calm 23. Type of litter

5. Situation Report 8. ______ spacing; in a search pattern 10. Equipment for double lift 11. Diving related injury 12. Hand-held light; re-establish visual contact 13. RCC Norfolk; city in VA 16. Fixing a severed hoist 18. SAR gear storage; in aircraft 21. Acronym; patient evaluation 22. Type of search pattern; specific coordinates 23. SAR _____ (not SAR capable) 25

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View from the Labs Why We Wrote Leave No Man Behind By CAPT George Galdorisi, USN (Ret.) The subject of this issue of Rotor Review is “So Others May Live.” It is also the twentieth anniversary of when my partner (the late TomPhillips) and I came up with the original germ of an idea to write our book Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue. I thought this was the time to tell, as Paul Harvey famously said, “The rest of the story.” First, this isn’t about selling copies of the book. For those of you in the San Diego area, it is available at the NHA Office, the Coronado Public Library, and elsewhere. For others further afield, we are mindful that other libraries have a copy. Here is the journey that Tom and I began, and it happened, to no one’s surprise, at our NHA Symposium. Full disclosure, it was on Friday night, the last day of the Symposium, and as the old saying goes, “When you drink enough beer, anything is possible.” During the 2003 NHA Symposium in San Diego, we decided to write a book about the history of combat aircrew rescue. It became a five-year labor as we discovered the astounding ups and downs in the saga of combat aircrew rescue, and a rich heritage and history which completely surprised us. We wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Here is why we wrote the book. There has never been a time in history when it was good to be a POW: From the life sentence in the slave galleys of antiquity, to dungeons of medieval times, to appalling prison hulks of the Napoleonic Era, to the shame of Andersonville and similar northern prisons of our own Civil War, to starvation, disease, and even cannibalism of the Japanese POW Camps, or the Katyn Forest and Malmedy Massacres of POWs in Europe in World War II, to the brainwashing of Korea, to the unspeakable isolation, torture, and cruelty of the Hanoi Hilton, in living memory.

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But today, there may not be any POWs. Prisoners have already been tortured, dismembered, and dragged through the streets, and beheaded while screaming for mercy on the internet for billions to see. For that reason, today’s CSAR crews must live up to the imperative to “leave no man behind” as never before. But will they be as ready as CSAR crews in past conflicts? We wrote the book to tell the riveting stories of astonishing rescue missions over the years, and to show how the discipline grew despite repeated setbacks, as technology, doctrine, tactics, and techniques evolved gradually into the skill sets of today’s military. The March 2011 crash of the Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle over Libya and the recovery of one of the two crewmen via a Marine Corps TRAP Mission was a stark reminder of the criticality of having CSAR forces always formed and ready for every military mission where our aircraft go in harm’s way over enemy territory. The most important lesson learned from Vietnam era combat rescue was the dramatic improvement in performance when Navy combat rescue units, after four years of frustration, finally shed all other collateral missions and dedicated their entire focus to the sole mission of combat aircrew rescue. Just as our book hit the shelves, USD AT&L, the Department of Defense’s chief weapons buyer, declared that we don't need dedicated CSAR forces, and that any helicopter in the area will do just fine. Then-Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, was fond of saying the department didn’t have the money to buy what he called “exquisite weapons.” He made this point repeatedly in speeches across the country. But we believe that with a DoD budget now in excess of $850 billion a year, if the nation buys only one exquisite weapons system, it should be a CSAR platform that can snatch our warriors from the clutches of the enemy. Likewise, if our helicopter pilots and aircrews, who have CSAR among many other missions, achieve an exquisite degree of proficiency in only one mission, it must be CSAR. Our people deserve nothing less. Our young volunteer airmen join up with an implicit understanding that, if they get stranded behind enemy lines, the nation has the best combat rescue capability possible and will stop at nothing to go get them before they fall into enemy hands. Dare we as a nation have it any other way? Perhaps enough has been said. “So Others May Live,” is our core competency as Rotary Wing Naval Aviators. There are lessons learned the hard way that we should mind lest they happen again. That’s why we wrote Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue and would write it again today. 26

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So Others May Live So Swimmers May Be Paid

By AWRCM Justin “Cali Condor” Phillips, USN

n recent national news, the Navy made headlines with its inability to meet 2023 recruitment quotas, falling short by 7,000 Sailors. As a response to this challenge, the Navy is actively exploring incentives to retain its top talent. Notably, recent initiatives aimed at increasing Selective Reenlistment Bonuses have been tracking in the right direction to help entice Helicopter Rescue Swimmers to “Stay Navy,” but more can be done. Over the last three years, Senior Enlisted Aircrew Leadership has been successful in increasing career orientated compensation, demonstrated by the transformation of Career Enlisted Flyer Incentive Pay (CEFIP) into Critical Skill Incentive Pay (CSIP). While the community has yielded success in these ventures, multiple attempts to correct shortfalls in Helicopter Rescue Swimmer Special Duty Assignment Pay (SDAP) have not gained traction. Straight out of the OPNAVINST 1160.6C, “SDAP is a monthly pay used to help obtain high quality enlisted personnel for designated special duty assignments that are considered extremely difficult or involve an unusual degree of responsibility.” Plainly put, SDAP is how the Navy rewards Helicopter Rescue Swimmers for their demanding duties requiring extraordinary effort” There is a catch though. The SDAP authorization charts limit how many billets can receive this incentive at each qualifying command, referred to as “Billets Authorized.” For example, if a squadron is authorized to have 24 Helicopter Rescue Swimmers, they will only have 24 SDAP Billets eligible for the incentive. Unfortunately, for some commands the number of Rescue Swimmers onboard varies from undermanned to overmanned at times. This situation is cyclical and depends on Sailor rotation dates, deployment build ups, and inventory of Sailors who can fill these billets. It is extremely difficult for entities in Millington to keep the numbers onboard each command at exactly the right number of “Billets Authorized” at all times. A Sailor who is rotating out of their command due to their Projected Rotation Date, will likely have their replacement onboard either several months before or after they transfer. This can prove to be problematic when the command is trying to determine who receives SDAP and who does not. At times, a squadron may find itself temporarily carrying up to four or five more Rescue Swimmers than authorized. But who gets paid SDAP and who does not? Historically, this has been the proverbial bullet taken by Senior Aircrewman Leadership. An Aircrew Shop Chief will usually sacrifice his/her SDAP before making a junior Sailor give up their incentive pay. Unfortunately, there are only so many Chief billets available before junior personnel start losing out on their SDAP. Based on the qualifying criteria for SDAP in the OPNAVINST 1160.6C, all Navy programs listed under the “Warrior Challenge Program” receive this incentive to varying levels. The Warrior Challenge Programs consist of SEAL, SWCC, EOD, DIVER, and lastly, Helicopter Rescue Swimmers Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

(AIRR). When you look at these niche groups of individuals, they all possess specific training that sets them apart – training that is exceptionally rigorous and elite in nature. It only makes sense that these individuals be appropriately compensated for the effort it requires to perform their duties. But there is a catch… SEAL, SWCC, EOD, and DIVER have a specific note in the SDAP authorization charts stating that they are not limited to billets authorized. Meaning, if they have more individuals onboard than what is listed on their approved manning document, it does not affect who gets paid SDAP. Again, this caveat makes perfect sense when you consider that these communities are required to maintain their qualifications apart from being paid for them. The qualifications that make these groups eligible for SDAP are what set them apart from other rates. It is how they are detailed and receive orders. Each community within the “Warrior Challenge Program” has a litany of qualifications that are required to be maintained to be within that community. These rates are considered “closed loop” because of it and can only go to commands that require they hold these qualifications. They cannot simply drop those qualifications because they are not receiving compensation for them, so they should be allowed to receive SDAP regardless of how many billets are filled within their command. This raises the question: Why are Helicopter Rescue Swimmers the only “Warrior Challenge Program” not included in this SDAP caveat? AIRR is a part of the “Warrior Challenge Program,” and all the same reasons the other programs are exempted from the SDAP limitation apply equally to Helicopter Rescue Swimmers. AIRR Community members assigned to helicopter commands cannot simply drop their qualifications if they do not receive SDAP. MILPERSMAN 1220-010 requires that qualifications are kept current or members would receive Duty Involving Flying Crew (DIFCREW) Revocation, removal of their Aircrew Wings, and the loss of their source rating. You may ask yourself, “How hard is it to 28

maintain these qualifications? Surely it cannot be that tough to just keep those qualifications current without being paid for it.” One glance at Section Three, Tab E of a NATOPS training jacket would put your questions to rest. The Annual SAR Evaluation and semiannual SAR Fitness Tests alone would justify receiving SDAP regardless of billets, but that is just scratching the surface of what it takes to maintain Annual SAR Qualifications. Also, if a Helicopter Rescue Swimmer was allowed to drop their qualification, the squadron would not be able to execute a crucial mission set required for all helicopter squadrons, Search and Rescue. Not all hope is lost. Although previous attempts at procuring SDAP for all Helicopter Rescue Swimmers have failed, Senior Helicopter Aircrew Leadership is not ready to give up. Recently, leadership has decided to tackle this issue again, emboldened

with the recent discovery of the caveat made for the rest of the “Warrior Challenge Programs.” A “zero cost” proposal is in the works to have Helicopter Rescue Swimmers align with the rest of the “Warrior Challenge Programs.” A simple note in the SDAP authorization charts that mirrors what already exists for the other Warrior Challenge Programs would fix the issue with little administrative burden. Manning shortfalls being what they are, if we were able to pay every single Helicopter Rescue Swimmer SDAP right now, we still wouldn’t max out the total dollar amount budgeted for SDAP allowances already approved. Sailors receiving compensation for their hard work would surely help retention issues. Leadership is hopeful that this new push will finally get the attention it deserves and we can ultimately ensure those who embody the mantra “So Others May Live” are all compensated for their continued tenacity and dedication.

Persian Gulf Rescue By AW3 William "Beaver" Schuetzeberg, USN (Ret.)

uper tanker Surf City exploded in the Strait of Hormuz. We were about a mile away. I was sitting in the helicopter on the flight deck at the sensor station using the table to write a letter to my girlfriend back home. From the flight deck, we all heard a loud explosion and then felt a "thud" sensation in our chests. As I stepped out of the helicopter, I saw the Surf City on fire. General Quarters was called. My Senior Crewman, AW2 Bryan Stewart, said that there were survivors in the water and told me to put on my SAR gear. The picture of me with the ship in the background was taken a few minutes before we took off. As we approached the ship, we found the survivors in the lifeboat but could not move close enough to the ship because of the heat. The plan was to lower me down into the lifeboat to render first aid. Next thing I know, I felt three taps on my shoulder, jump, jump, jump. I looked back at Bryan and shouted, "What?" He said, "You're going in.” So, in the water I went. I swam to the lifeboat 150 yards away. Somewhat exhausted, I climbed aboard the boat. I repeated what I was taught in SAR school to say which was very comical in retrospect: "My name is AW3 Schuetzeberg. I am a United States Navy Rescue Swimmer, and I am here to save you." To my surprise, I was greeted with cheers and hugs from the crew. First aid had already been rendered. One man had a large piece of glass in his head, and another had a broken back. Many of the survivors had beards that were half burnt off from the flashfire. Turns out I had to jump because the helicopter rotor wash was just too much for the lifeboat. All the survivors were able to climb a ladder on the side of the USS Simpson to safety.

Author with burning Surf City

Even the man with the broken back, which was discovered later, climbed the ladder. We flew the two survivors in critical condition to a hospital in Dubai. Evidently there must have been reporters there because my girlfriend saw the man with glass in his head on television that day in the emergency room. We then flew back to the ship and spent two days looking for more survivors, but only remains were found. The girlfriend in this story, Sarah, has been my wife for 33 years. I am proud to be a Rescue Swimmer. February 20, 1990. Straits of Hormuz Persian Gulf, USS Simpson (FFG 56) HSL-42 Proud Warriors, Detachment 10 • Pilot LT Jamie Pierce • Co-pilot LT Mike Shanks • Senior Crewman AW2 Bryan Stewart • Junior Crewman AW3 William Cleve Schuetzeberg • 25 people on the Surf City, 23 rescued.

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So Others May Live Flexibility is a Capability By LT Joey Curtis, USN

hile at HSC-12 on a plane guard flight, a Department Head once asked me, “What does HSC add to the Navy?” While circling on the port side of USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), I thought for a while and rambled off the first things that came to mind: search and rescue (SAR) and logistics. After the two guesses, he cut me off and confidently said, “flexibility.” At the time, I mildly agreed and didn’t give it much more thought. However, upon reflection, I now know that he was right, and the idea of flexibility gets directly to the heart of what naval helicopter flying is all about. In the Navy, the service that invented the idea of a multi-mission platform, helicopters have taken the concept to its theoretical limit and have become the 33-tool Swiss Army Knife of our Fleet. A single helicopter (HSC or HSM) can move cargo, pull a downed aviator out of the water, reconnoiter a ship, fire a missile, and land on an unprepared spot on a mountain without changing a single component on its airframe and potentially without even refueling. No other organization in the world can claim such a wide array of capabilities. However, with that flexibility comes the risk of running into hazards that a crew isn't aware existed. So, how do we reduce our overall risk while adapting from one mission set to another? The answer is not to recommend we reduce capabilities. The answer is to double down on organizational learning, train realistically, and train hard. This process is the foundation of how we operate at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) SAR, where we use our daily training operations and support for civil SAR to ensure we are ready to support Growler crews that rely on us to have their backs. Our inland SAR unit benefits from a focused scope of operations: provide the best possible SAR support for Growler operations. This is in contrast to the myriad of missions for which a deploying HSC or HSM command must prepare. While our primary mission is more simply defined, the environment over which the Growlers operate is the most diverse in North America, but requires the same level of flexibility and proficiency that all other naval helicopter units possess. The Growlers operating out of Whidbey typically transit either westward over the Olympic Mountains or, more frequently, eastward over the North Cascades for their training. VR-1355, renowned for its dramatic flight sequences in “Top Gun Maverick,” is the most heavily traversed low-level route for Growler aircrews. This route cuts through some of the most challenging and isolated mountain ranges in the Lower 48. The environments along these routes vary from forested

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Landing on two wheels

valleys with thick tree canopies rising 150-250 feet above the ground to glaciated alpine landscapes soaring to over 10,000 feet. While most VAQ operations remain over land, a portion ventures over water, which has a maximum average monthly temperature of 57 degrees, translating to a survival time of 1 to 6 hours. Routes notwithstanding, the local training ranges that the Growlers use are above both the Olympic and Okanogan Mountain Ranges with peaks over 8,000 feet with only a handful of areas accessible by ground. These ranges cover rain forests, desert mountains, and everything in between. To support the Growlers, each day at SAR is structured the same. We split the duty between two crews with turnovers at 0800 and roughly sunset. With just 10 pilots, a handful of Aircrewmen, and SAR Medical Technicians (SMTs), and a detachment-sized maintenance department, we are able to fly an average of six training flights per week and 30 to 60 SAR missions per year. All of which we accomplish while holding an alert-30 to alert-15 posture while the Growlers are airborne. On August 28, 2023, the daytime alert at NASWI SAR was marked by meetings and thunderstorms over the mainland to the east (unusual for Western Washington), and not much else. Then, with a little over an hour remaining until the night crew was to assume the alert, our crew received an approved mission from the NASWI Operations Duty Officer at 1652 for a female with a broken ankle 2 miles northeast of Mount Baker. As the crew assembled, we studied the area around the survivor using satellite imagery, briefed the mission, and spoke with the SAR Coordination Deputy for the county in which the survivor was located. The deputy passed updated medical information and a cellphone number for a group of hikers on-scene with the survivor. Even though the datum was in a remote area of the Cascades (at 6,000 feet and 6 miles from the nearest road), the crew was able to call the on-scene hikers. During the call, we asked the hikers to turn on any lights they had once our helicopter could be heard, take precautions 30

against rotor wash, and send pictures of the area around them and the skies in all directions. Our crew reviewed the weather and planned a route out to the mountains while waiting for the pictures from the hikers. We noted a Convective SIGMET in the area with overcast ceilings averaging 1,500 feet and areas of reduced visibility. Once the pictures from the on-scene hikers came through, the crew realized that our plan to follow the Skagit Valley was safe and the weather near the datum was clear, because the storms had pushed north towards the Canadian border and the town of Bellingham. From the pictures, the crew also noted that a hover in ground effect (HIGE) approach could be accomplished for a landing or low hoist to reduce power requirements while inserting the Helicopter Inland Rescue Aircrewman (HIRA) and SMT. With a plan in place, our crew launched in Rescue 75 at 1735 and began the transit to the datum. We worked together to navigate along the Skagit River, through areas of reduced visibility and lower ceilings due to light precipitation, while pre-briefing power line crossings and inadvertent instrument meteorological condition (IMC) plans. Then, as the hiker’s pictures showed, the ceilings and visibility rapidly improved just south of Mount Baker, and we were able to fly directly north to the survivor's location. The crew spotted the flashing lights of the hikers while still two miles away and arrived on scene at 1801. Once overhead, we assessed the area around the survivor, conducted wind-finding passes, and completed power checks. Together, the crew determined that the safest way to insert the HIRA and SMT was via a one-wheel landing after a HIGE approach, as the nearest place to conduct a full landing was a mile away and a few hundred feet lower. Rescue 75 completed the HIGE approach, minimizing power requirements, while offsetting from the survivor to mitigate the effects of rotor downwash. Once in a low hover, the Crew Chief determined that a two-wheel landing on a small hill, distinct from the rest of the steeply sloped terrain, would allow a wide safety margin around the rotor head and stable footing for our crewmembers once on deck. With the new plan briefed, the crew conducted a two-wheel insert of the HIRA and SMT at 1811. While the HIRA and SMT assessed the survivor, Rescue 75 flew to a flat ridgeline one mile away and landed to conserve fuel while maintaining comms with our ground team. The SMT splinted the survivor’s leg, put her on a litter, and determined the most suitable hospital for the patient was St. Joseph’s in Bellingham due to its proximity and level of care. When the ground team requested 10 minutes until extraction, Rescue 75 took off and climbed over a ridgeline to observe the weather in the direction of Bellingham, noting that all the bad weather had moved well clear of the city.

Parasail marks the position

After the 10 minutes passed, Rescue 75 conducted a HIGE approach to the survivor’s location, established a low hover, and recovered the survivor, HIRA, and SMT via a dual-man litter hoist and single-man vest hoist. Rescue 75 navigated VFR through the Western Cascades and landed at St. Joseph’s at 1855 to transfer the patient. After the mission, Rescue 75 returned to base and was hot-seated for follow-on training with the night crew. This mission marked our unit's 32nd of 2023 and took just over 3 hours to complete, with only 1.6 hours of actual flight time. Throughout the event, our crew was able to be as efficient and safe as possible by remaining flexible and trusting the judgment at each crew position. We made plans before we launched, took our time to assess all that we could, and adapted as conditions changed. Overall, this rescue was neither risky nor sensational. Instead, both our crew and the unit regarded it as a standard operation, largely uneventful for two main reasons. First, we are a learning organization. We thoroughly debrief after every flight and gather our lessons learned. These lessons are then shared, at a minimum, quarterly with all our flyers, allowing us to collectively benefit from each opportunity. Second, we train realistically for our environment and take each opportunity to hone our craft, whether it is a civil support mission or day-to-day training.

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So Others May Live To excel in our role is to make SAR in our area of responsibility routine and safe, and by learning and training we are able to accomplish that aim. On average, each pilot in our unit completes between 100 and 200 one-wheel landings annually, along with hundreds of hoists and rappels. Some of our crew chiefs will log more than 600 live hoists during a tour, while our HIRAs and SMTs will complete over 500 rappels from an aircraft and will be the first responders for over 10 trauma patients per year in every type of environment imaginable. Combine our specialized training with realworld experience from supporting DOD policy in assisting civilian rescues (as long as it doesn't interfere with our primary mission), and the result is a high-performing organization where our flyers are eager to stand duty. There are hazards inherent with operating in the mountains, and with conducting any real-world SAR mission. However, these hazards, once mitigated through training and sound

standard operating procedures, aren't greater than those of night strafe patterns over the open ocean, shipboard landings, or formation flight. Learning organizations, of which both NASWI SAR and HSC-at-large are examples, take operations with numerous hazards, like this rescue, and make them benign through controls, proficiency, and an honest assessment of each unique situation. While there have been some recommendations to reduce risk to naval helicopters by reducing our capabilities and flexibility, to do so would destroy the identity our community is built on, and eliminate those attributes which allow our slow and dated airframes to add to the modern fight. By reinforcing and creating more lessons learned through real and intensive training, we can continue to add flexibility to the Fleet and be prepared for any call, be it SAR, logistics, or more.

How Civilian SAR Missions Help Train Units for the Worst By LT Jack Nilson, USN

AS Whidbey Island Search and Rescue (NASWI SAR) is notorious for the number of civilian rescues it conducts in a given calendar year. Indeed, the unit stands as an anomaly amongst other Navy Station SAR units, primarily due to the unit’s proximity to popular National Parks. These National Parks, and the Pacific Northwest at large, attract everyone, from weekend day hikers to thrillseeking extreme sports enthusiasts. But behind all the civilian missions is NASWI SAR’s primary mission: to support the EA-18G Growler squadrons stationed at NAS Whidbey Island. NASWI SAR stands in a unique position because of the plethora of civilian missions it executes. Every civilian mission gives the flight crews invaluable real-world experience that makes them more capable of executing their primary mission: rescuing aviators in the event they eject from a Growler. One recent civilian rescue stands out in particular as closely mirroring a downed aviator scenario. On 03 July 2023 at approximately 0400L, NASWI SAR’s alert crew received an approved mission from the Commanding Officer for a search of an overdue speed flyer (a low level, high speed paragliding sport). The Chain of Command and the Incident Commander (IC) decided to commence the search at sunrise because it afforded the best chance of locating the missing individual. The IC, a Whatcom County Sheriff Deputy, passed amplifying information to the duty crew. The speed flyer was a 29-year-old man who went hiking by himself in the early morning of 01 July with the intent of speed flying down a new route. He was last heard from at 01 July 0700L, which put him approximately 48 hours overdue. At 01 July 2200L the IC was able to ping the individual’s cell phone, putting him somewhere near the peak of Church Mountain, about 3.5 nm NE of the town of Glacier, WA. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

The crew of Rescue 75 launched at first light on 03 July 0510L and proceeded direct to the datum provided by the IC. The SAR Co-Pilot (SCP) entered search points into the aircraft systems, which included the mountain route the speed flyer intended on flying. En route power calculations using the NATOPS Pilot’s Checklist yielded an estimated 8% power margin to hover out of ground effect (HOGE). The crew also conducted real-time power checks at the peak elevation of 5,800’ MSL and observed 95% power required to HOGE and 108% power available, giving a 13% power margin. The crew continued and arrived on-scene at 0531L and made positive radio contact with the IC over the Washington State SAR Frequency band. With weather CAVU, the crew began searching from higher elevation to lower elevation over the initial datum. Based on pictures sent by the IC, the crew was looking for a brightly colored parachute but the steep terrain, dense forestry, and trees as tall as 150 feet made it so that crewmembers could only effectively search directly below the aircraft. After several passes without locating the survivor, the SMC determined a lower and slower search in a forward-creeping hover (10-15 knots at 200’ AGL) would be required to make the search more effective. While turning to make the next leg of the search, the Crew Chief spotted a brightly colored chute in a couloir/ravine at about 4,800’ MSL directly below the aircraft. The Crew Chief kept eyes on the chute while the SMC marked it with coordinates. After setting a waveoff torque of 100% and finalizing hoist checks, the crew inserted the SAR Medical Technician (SMT) via 100 ft hoist to see if anyone was attached to the chute or in the general area. The crew was able to maintain 90% power 32

throughout the evolution due to smooth anabatic morning winds. The SMT was on deck by 0558L and discovered an empty chute, a bloody balaclava, and an abandoned backpack. Upon further investigation, the SMT discovered footsteps heading into thick brush. The aircraft side-stepped away from the steep terrain and established a high hover to be eyeslevel with the SMT’s position to continue searching for the individual. Noticing an off-colored green spot in a stream about 80 meters below the chute, the Helicopter Inland Aircrewmen (HIRA) pulled out a pair of personal binoculars and immediately spotted the survivor, weakly waving one arm and wearing green attire. The survivor was lying in a group of fallen trees on a 30 degree slope in a small creek. The crew immediately hoisted the SMT back into the cabin to reposition for re-deployment. The SMT and HIRA were hoisted down via 100 ft hoist with the Rescue Litter to the survivor’s location. With both rescuers on deck at 0616L the SMT and HIRA used their wealth of experience from training flights and previous missions on steep terrain to quickly assess and package the patient into the litter. Meanwhile, the SMC relayed to the IC that the survivor was found and alive. At 0627L the SMT called for extraction via a dual man litter hoist followed by a single harness hoist. Rescue 75 hoisted out the survivor and SMT first via 60 ft hoist, followed by the HIRA. With everyone onboard at 0635L the crew proceeded direct to Harborview Medical Center. Located in Seattle, 80 NM south of the datum, it is the only Level 1 trauma center in the state of Washington. The SMT noted the patient sustained lower back injuries, a broken arm, a broken ankle, and a broken pelvis, while also experiencing difficulty breathing and loss of consciousness. Consequently, the SMT and HIRA treated the patient with a pelvic binder, C-collar, spinal precautions, warm IV fluids, and pain medications en route. Rescue 75 landed on the helipad at Harborview at 0706L and the patient was successfully turned over to the ER. At the hospital they determined the extent of his injuries also included broken ribs on both sides, a broken sternum resulting in punctures to both lungs, and a fractured T11-L4 vertebrae which required fusing.

This rescue is as close as it gets to an ejection scenario, and thus has many takeaways for Naval Aviation and SAR. It involved a search with a reasonable datum from a cell phone ping, much like an aviator’s CSEL might send a LAT/LONG to rescue forces; a chute similar in color to those used by jet aviators, which still might not be easy to spot due to the terrain; and the survivor wearing a green outfit, similar to an aviator’s flight suit color. Additionally, the injuries the survivor sustained might be seen in an aviator who ejected in less-than optimal conditions. Thankfully, the SMTs and HIRAs of NASWI SAR not only receive excellent training, but also get to experience real-world situations from other civilian missions that even the best training environment cannot replicate. Lastly, the positive interagency relationship NASWI SAR has with multiple Sheriff’s Departments, including the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Department and other SAR units in the local area, make complex rescues like this possible. The cell phone forensics required to ping and locate a survivor’s phone, and the process of interagency communications with local or federal agencies will continue to prove crucial in future SAR missions, including ones from jet ejections as we have seen in the past within the DoD. While NASWI SAR has learned similar lessons in the past, the unit is always refining our knowledge through After Action Reports and mission reviews in order to better support Electronic Attack Wing Pacific and Navy units in the PNW. Continued discussion of SAR throughout the fleet will continue to foster an environment of SAR excellence in order to prepare for what may lie ahead.

The outlook appeared grim since the individual had been exposed to the harsh mountainous elements for 48 hours after experiencing trauma from hitting a tree at approximately 60 miles per hour. Multiple factors made this rescue possible, including the Maintenance Department’s efforts to have an up and ready aircraft, the SMC’s decision to conduct a low, slow hover search, the HIRA utilizing his personal set of binoculars, and the IC calling for assistance from NASWI SAR despite the low odds of finding the survivor alive. Ultimately, it was the survivor’s will to live over the 48 hour period after crashing that was likely the biggest factor in this successful outcome. The individual attempted to crawl out alone before being overcome by the massive amount of pain from the injuries he sustained.

Rescue 75 SMT on the ground 33

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So Others May Live Ready or Not

By LT Anna “LiMP” Halverson, USN

s a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) Instructor, I tell my students that once they leave HSC-2 with their completion letter in hand, they are Fleet Pilots. As a result, they need to take what they learned at the FRS seriously. No longer can they data dump information like we all did leaving the glass cockpit comforts of the T-6 for the TH-57. The H-60 is going to be their platform for at least the next four years and the lessons that they learn within the first few months of the FRS are pivotal stepping stones for their careers. It is important they realize that lessons like 'the four Bs of SAR' will be critical at their most task-saturated moment and that even as a Pilot Qualified in Model (PQM) they might be expected to launch to intercept a Fast Inshore Attack Craft (FIAC) on their second flight in the fleet. I learned the true meaning and importance of being a “Competent Copilot” on a very cliché cloudy and rainy day in the middle of the Indian Ocean on 31 March 2018. I had only been at HSC-6 for about four weeks. It was a Sunday and while the CVN Air Wing enjoyed brunch, the crew of Indian 620 was bestowed the responsibility to act as the “Holy Helo'' and transport the Strike Group Chaplain around CSG-9 off USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71). The crew consisted of LT Marc “ToT” Rintz, AWS2 Chris Stefanides, and AWS2 Ricky Rosado. While airborne, Indian 620 was recalled by CVN 71 for an immediate MEDEVAC of a Sailor who had suffered a massive stroke and was in critical condition. Based on the urgency of the patient, there was no time to plan and the crew of Indian 620 was forced to launch with an out-of-date instrument approach plate and a GPS datum for a hospital in Phuket, Thailand. The datum was located over 100 miles away from our location at that time. The weather forecast called for ceilings at 1000 feet, with thunderstorms, showering rain, half mile visibility, and occasional microbursts in the area. While we were airborne with the patient, each member of the crew was critical for mission success. Our Search and Rescue Medical Technician (SMT) stabilized the patient with the assistance of one of our aircrewmen. The other aircrewman backed up the pilots on our location and took notes of the information that was passed to us. Due to the long-range transit and low altitude required for weather avoidance, ToT had to focus on coordinating with an airborne C-2 to relay communications to Phuket Approach for ambulance transportation to a local hospital. My job became flying the aircraft and increasing the crew’s situational awareness as we got closer to Thailand's border. It was something that I had done dozens of times off San Diego’s coast as an FRS student: fly the aircraft, know where I was in regard to airspace, and pass that information accordingly. The task was the same, the environment was slightly different. As Indian 620 neared Phuket, we learned that RWY 27 was active and that there were not compatible instrument approaches available for use. As a result, we were forced to Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) comes alongside USNS Rainier (T-AOE 7). U.S. Navy photo by MC3 James Vazquez, USN.

navigate along the Thai coastline at a low altitude in poor visibility into Phuket International Airport. Due to the thorough airport brief provided by ToT, I was able to break out the landing lights to the active runway and we were able to land on the adjacent taxiway without issue. As the medical team departed the aircraft to talk with the ambulance crew, our SMT asked for my assistance in unloading the patient from the helicopter to the gurney for transportation to the ambulance. Throughout the unload, ToT was already working a plan with our Crew Chief on how to get home since we were unable to obtain fuel at Phuket International. Together, they worked a plan to lily pad via USS Bunker Hill (CG 52). With the patient in good hands, our crew resumed our places in the aircraft to start our journey home. As I strapped back in, I remember ToT asking me, “have you ever landed on a cruiser before?” I responded with a nervous “No.” He replied “Well, I guess today is that day.” My fourth week in the squadron, I thought I would still be learning how to find my way to my rack, figuring out the correct terminology for the different Warfare Commanders, and trying to remember which side of the boat to walk on for General Quarters. Instead, my fourth week afforded me the opportunity to conduct a life-saving MEDEVAC into a foreign country, land on a cruiser for the first time, and see first-hand the ability of an MH-60S flight crew working together and achieve mission success. It was truly an insightful glance into Fleet operations and drove home the SAR motto: “So Others May Live.” Basic skill sets that are drilled into us throughout flight training (limits, EPs, and basic systems knowledge) may seem arbitrary and continue to be the bane of most flight students’ existences. However, this basic knowledge was the foundation that allowed the crew of Indian 620 to be successful and save the life of our shipmate. In ways I could not have fathomed while completing my FRS syllabus, my training prepared me to execute based on excellence in foundational principles and skill sets from month one in the Fleet. My crew trusted me, and I trusted the crew because of the rigorous training we knew each other had endured. Don’t think for a second that the call will wait until you are an H2P. When you hit the Fleet, the call will come whether you are ready or not! 34

Clementine Two - U.S. Navy Night Rescue Over North Vietnam By CDR LeRoy Cook, USN (Ret.), HC-7 Det 104 Revised by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

ome with me back in time to 1968. You may have watched “Laugh-In,” the Smothers Brothers, and the original “Mission Impossible” on television. On the big screen, Dustin Hoffman made his debut in “The Graduate.” Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger squared off in “In The Heat of the Night.” “2001, A Space Odyssey” and “Bonnie and Clyde” competed for Oscars. In 1968, the #1 swimmer in the world was an 18-year old Mark Spitz. Arthur Ashe was the first African American to win the U.S. Singles Crown. Jackie Kennedy became Mrs. Aristotle Onassis. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in a hotel kitchen as he left a political rally. Outside America, Russia invaded Czechoslovakia. In Vietnam, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive and Gen. Westmoreland deployed 25,000 troops to Khe Sanh in anticipation of a major Viet Cong attack. USS America (CVA 66) was on its first deployment to Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf with the “Tarsiers” of VF-33 embarked. The squadron took its name from a small, nocturnal, East Indian mammal related to lemurs. Reportedly, pound for pound, it is the toughest animal on the planet. Two members of VF-33 would be tested to live up to that reputation.

On 18 June 1968, LCDR John (Claw) Holtzclaw launched at 2300 hours (Hotel) from America into a moonless, pitch black night. Claw flew an F-4J, call sign Rootbeer 210. His Radar Intercept Officer, LCDR John (Zeke) Burns, was in the back seat. With Zeke as the flight leader, they joined with two squadron mates in Rootbeer 214 and an A-6 Intruder (Buckeye 504) from VA-82 and headed for North Vietnam. The three aircrews were to conduct a night “pouncer” mission searching for “movers,” trucks carrying supplies to “Charlie,” and the NVN forces in South Vietnam. On several previous missions there had been encounters with MIGs which became the impetus for creating Top Gun at NAS Miramar, now NAS Lemoore. If you saw the popular Navy recruiting film of that name, you know the purpose of Top Gun is to train pilots in dogfight tactics. And, if you saw the movie, you are familiar with the penchant of jet jocks for nicknames. Claw and Zeke were jet jocks. We helicopter pilots were more mundane. I called my pilot, Clyde, and he called me LeRoy – although, there was an incident that prompted a ship CO to refer to us as “Bonnie and Clyde.” That is a story best left untold. I did enjoy reminding jet jocks that I couldn’t distinguish them from a primary student when they were in the water waving at me.

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So Others May Live Tactics for pouncer missions called for the supersonic F-4s to fly above and behind the subsonic A-6. The A-6 crew would detect a moving ground target on their radar, pinpoint it by dropping one or two 850 lb CBU-24s, and vamoose. Each CBU contained 500 small cluster bomblets. When the CBUs caused a secondary explosion, the F-4s would diverge, climb, and then pounce. The lead plane dove on the target and illuminated it with high intensity parachute flares. The wingman then dove on the target, dropping 500 lb Mark 82 Bombs or firing 5 inch Zuni Rockets. Then the two aircrews traded roles until they expended their ordnance and returned to the carrier. This night the section of F-4s and the A-6 were to make two circuits 120 miles north of the DMZ and return to America. In the back seat of Rootbeer 210, Zeke monitored his radar scope and other electronics for signs of enemy activity. On the first run, he heard the two-tone “SAM song” in his headphone – “Voop – Vuuup” indicating the search sweep. The tone would increase, becoming a steady “Vuuup-Vuuup-Vuuup” tone with radar lock. He identified the SAM site and commented to Claw, “I hope that guy doesn’t decide to shoot because he is pretty hot stuff.” Most Vietnamese operators were novices and usually took six or seven sweeps to achieve radar lock. But that guy locked on them in just a couple of sweeps. He was good. Zeke thought he might be a Russian. On the second run through the circuit Zeke heard one “Vooop – Vuuup” followed by the steady “Vuuup-VuuupVuuup” tone. The guy had locked on them. Then Claw and Zeke saw two SAMs leave the ground about ten miles in front of them. If you have never seen a SAM, it is about the size of a telephone pole – 38 feet long and 19 inches in diameter. The evasive tactic of the day was to let the missile close until the last moment and then make a tight turn into it. The F-4 turned tighter than the SAM and it, theoretically, would fly past to land somewhere in North Vietnam. Claw jinked left and jigged right. He successfully evaded the two SAMs but in doing so, lost altitude and descended perilously below the surrounding mountains. Low enough that Zeke yelled to him, “Pull up, pull up. You’re going to fly us into the ground.” Claw jettisoned his bomb load and went to afterburner as he tried to gain airspeed and climb back to altitude. Rootbeer 210 floundered. He was where no pilot wants to be, “Out of airspeed, altitude and ideas,” as he and Zeke watched a third SAM hit Rootbeer 210 on the starboard wing, tearing off the outer third portion. There was a blinding flash. Imagine standing in a cave where there is no light, pupils fully dilated, straining to see anything, and then having someone trigger a dozen flash bulbs inches from your face. The two aviators were not only momentarily blinded, but they were also disoriented. The gut-wrenching impact of the SAM was like flying into a brick wall at 500 knots. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

H-2A on USS Sterett DLG 31 in 1968.

Rootbeer 210 was now on fire. Claw transmitted a quick Mayday and called to Zeke over the ICS, “Get out, get out.” He then initiated command ejection just as Zeke was reaching for his ejection handle to do the same. A ball of fire under the Martin Baker ejection seat sent Zeke somersaulting back over the vertical stabilizer, barely missing it by a few inches. A nano-second later, the timed sequence ejected Claw as the F-4 departed flight and pitched nose down. In the ejection, Zeke fractured his right leg, sprained his left ankle, and compressed a vertebra. Silence engulfed the aviators as they descended into the black night near Vinh Son, North Vietnam. Hanging in their parachutes as they gently descended into the darkness, they talked to each other across the space, making plans to rendezvous and evade capture. They heard voices of people on the ground and decided if they could hear the North Vietnamese , the NVNs could probably hear them. Each knew they were a long way from friendly forces. Instead of returning to America for a routine debrief and perhaps some “midrats” from the wardroom galley, their mission had become anything but routine. They were in for a long night. Hopefully, it would be only this one night. Lady Luck would have to smile broadly on them if they were to avoid checking into the Hanoi Hilton for an extended stay. At ten minutes past midnight, 19 June, Radioman First Class Joseph Whitefall was standing watch in the Combat Information Center of USS Preble (DLG 15). He received Claw’s mayday call that set in motion rescue operations. Previously, in the Preble wardroom that night, I had watched a movie, a forgettable, probably black and white, 35mm tworeeler. About the same time Claw and Zeke launched from America, I pulled the blanket to my chin and went to sleep in my stateroom. I was the Assistant Officer-in-Charge and co-pilot of Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Seven (HC-7) Search and Rescue Detachment 104. Clyde Lassen was the OinC 36

and primary pilot. We were both LTJGs, but he had seniority and had been co-pilot on a previous combat SAR detachment. We were stationed on South SAR east of Vinh while another HC-7 detachment was on North SAR east of Hanoi. They were Clementine One and we were Clementine Two. Each detachment had eight enlisted maintenance men, three of whom were designated rescue aircrew. We flew with two on every mission – a hoist operator and a rescue swimmer. Our respective missions were to rescue aircrew who successfully made it “feet wet” and ejected over water. If Claw and Zeke’s mission had been flown during the day, we would have been notified and pre-positioned about 20 miles off the North Vietnam coast, flying a racetrack pattern – just in case. The night of June 18 we were on a 30-minute standby with no expectation of flying.

Clementine crew: LTJG LeRoy Cook (copilot), Bruce Dallas (first crewman), ADJ3 Don West (second crewman), LTJG Clyde Lassen (pilot)

As a LTJG I had been in the Navy two and one-half years. HC-7 was my first operational unit. The squadron was homeported in NAS Atsugi, Japan, a former kamikaze training base located an hour from Tokyo on the plains at the base of Mount Fuji. I reported for duty in January 1968, five months after HC-7 was commissioned. Two months after reporting aboard, I was assigned to Combat SAR Det 104 and we deployed to the Tonkin Gulf in April. We first stopped in NAS Cubi Point, Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines where we were assigned our helicopter and embarked aboard Preble. At midnight, 18 June, Japan and my squadron mates were thousands of miles away and I slept peacefully in my stateroom a few yards forward of the flight deck where Clem Two was tied down. At 0012 hours, “SAR Alert, SAR alert, Now Flight Quarters, Flight Quarters” blared on the 1MC speaker in the passageway. Coming instantly awake, I jumped out of my rack, into my Marine fatigues, and ran aft to the flight deck. Clyde went forward and up one deck to CIC to be briefed on the situation. Strapping into Clem Two, I sped through the checklist and started the engine. I left the rotor brake engaged and waited for Clyde to come from CIC. The ship was in a darkened state with only red lights flooding the flight deck to preserve what little night vision we had developed. Aviation Electrician Second Class Bruce Dallas and Aviation Jet Mechanic Third Class Don West were our two rescue crewmen that night secured with gunner’s belts in the cabin behind me. The gunner’s belts kept them from falling out of the helo but allowed them to move around in the cabin to operate the rescue hoist and man the two, door mounted M-60 machine guns. Both wore helmets that were connected to the ICS so we could talk to them.

Clyde strode purposefully across the flight deck and strapped into the right seat. He took control of Clem Two, released the rotor brake, and, ten minutes after SAR alert was sounded, we launched. It was a horizon-less, pitch black night. There was no moon which made take-off from the flight deck of the Preble – about eight feet above the water – nerve-wracking. Before the night was finished, the lack of a moon would be our best defense. At this point, let me provide a brief description of the H-2 Seasprite – our Clementine Two. The Navy is the only service that flew H-2s. The original Alpha/Bravo Model had one General Electric T-58 jet engine that powered four rotor blades. Some commercial aircraft used T-58's as an Auxiliary Power Unit to start their “real” engines. Kaman Aerospace initially designed the H-2 to provide carrier-based plane guard duty for pilots who experienced a “cold catapult,” or could not land aboard the ship or were too far away to divert to a landbased airfield. The helo was relatively small but with a crew of four it could pick up three survivors. In 1968, the concept of using the H-2 as a combat rescue vehicle was a recent one. Flying a helo from the fantail of a destroyer was untested. The Navy carrier based H-3s were too far away to get to downed aircrew quickly off the coast of North Vietnam. It was thought that a smaller helicopter like the H-2 positioned on destroyers closer to the coast would be a workable option. In 1968, combat SAR dets had operated in that environment for about a year and a half but we were still, very much, an experiment. We were embarked on surface ships unaccustomed to having an Air Department. The flight decks had been shoe-horned among several protrusions sticking up that dented more than one helicopter – largest among the obstructions was the missile launcher that was about ten feet from the rotor system. Using a modern day computerese term, we were a Beta test operation. The Navy had Kaman install ¼-inch armor plating around the most critical flight components in the engine 37

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So Others May Live compartment. They installed small armor plate wings hinged to the pilot and co-pilot seats for us to hide behind, in addition to self-sealing fuel tanks. M-60 machine guns were mounted at the two opposing cabin doors. Small, rectangular plates were mounted to the cabin deck at each door and hinged for the crew to raise and crouch behind. Our protection was minimal at best. During one rescue attempt by a different crew, a round pierced the armor plate, wounding the crewman in both legs. As co-pilot, I had an M-16 and an M-79 grenade launcher. Oh yes, we each carried a 38 cal. service revolver – a “formidable” weapon against an AK-47. We had none of the sophisticated electronics in the cockpit that our jet brethren enjoyed, which warned of external threats. With a full fuel load and the high humidity and high density altitude of the Tonkin Gulf, the armor plating put the helo over max gross takeoff weight. We had two external fuel tanks but could never take-off with a full fuel load. Even with a partial load, we frequently launched with one crewman, dumped a few hundred pounds of JP-5, and returned to pick up the second crewman. Routine take-off procedure was to lift into a hover, gently ease forward over the deck edge, and dive toward the water to increase airspeed in ground effect as we flew about five feet above the water until airspeed exceeded sixty knots. Take-off was tricky during daylight ops. It was unnerving on that moonless night at 0022 hours. The pucker factor in Clem Two was pretty high until we climbed above 500 feet, heading for North Vietnam. We were to enter a standard holding pattern and bore holes in the night sky 20 miles off the coast to await further instructions. During the transit, Clyde briefed us on the situation. He handed the chart of North Vietnam to me. It was marked with black, overlapping circles that indicated threats to any aircrew who dared to venture into “Indian Country." There were numerous AAA sites up and down the coast. On previous missions, as we flew our racetrack patterns, we watched some fire on strike aircraft when they went feet dry. Our ¼-inch armor plating and M-60s were no match, and we certainly couldn’t fly as high or as fast as the jets. The survivor’s suspected position was 20 nm inland near some NVN villages. Many indigenous natives surrounded Zeke and Claw’s wagon train – if they had not been captured. The NVNs had a nasty practice of surrounding downed pilots and using them as bait to lure others into their trap. They could capture the pilot who thought he was successfully hidden and evading capture anytime that they wanted. Before attempting to rescue a downed aircrew three criteria had to be met – the on-scene commander (usually the rescuee’s wingman, whose objectivity was fallible) had to have visual contact, the survivor(s) had to successfully provide personal Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

information left on file with the Squadron, (mother’s maiden name, favorite dessert, favorite color – things like that), and there were to be no enemy forces in the immediate vicinity. All three criteria had to be satisfied – no exceptions. Clyde and I believed we would be called back to Preble to wait for daylight. A night rescue over North Vietnam had never been tried. We were certain any rescue attempt would require the Air Force concept of a rescue – a full-fledged, coordinated operation with Jolly Greens out of South Vietnam supported by a squadron of strike aircraft to first pulverize the surrounding area. That would take hours to coordinate. Any moment we were certain we would be told to return to base. Then, the call came from “Harbormaster,” the call sign of Commander Destroyer Squadron One who was responsible for SAR operations on Yankee Station. The rescue was a “GO” and we were cleared to go feet dry. Radioman Alan Melton in Preble CIC gave us vectors to proceed inland. We headed for an area on the chart where the black circles didn’t overlap too heavily. I asked Clyde if he thought we had flown up and down the coast long enough to wake up the AAA watch standers and get their attention. Meanwhile, on the ground, Claw and Zeke had landed in a manure-fertilized rice paddy and made their way up a small, jungle-covered hill. The jungle was so thick the only way they could progress was to make short kicks in the undergrowth. When that became unsuccessful, they got on their hands and knees and lunged at the entanglement as one would lunge at a football tackling sled. They made it halfway up the hill to a small clearing where they waited for us. We crossed the beach at 5,000 feet, south of a known AAA site, and turned north, flying on the inland side of a mountain range over a valley. We hoped the mountain range would provide cover from the AAA. It appeared the AAA watch standers were still sleeping. Ahead of us about thirty miles and to our left, the burning F-4 cast a bright red-orange

An artist's rendering of HC-7 Det 104 Rescue Mission of 19 June 1968 38

glow, silhouetting the mountains. In the cockpit of Clem Two, we discussed what we were likely to find once we arrived on scene and reviewed our respective roles. The conversation was different that night, 5,000 feet over NVN, than when we had discussed the theoretical probability on the ship in the sunlight or when we practiced for this possibility at NAS Cubi Point. The night was tranquil, the air was stable – it was a good night to be flying. Then, close aboard on our port side and a little below us I saw a long trail of sparks whiz past the helo – so close I heard the loud “Whoosh.” Whatever it was, it missed us. Thankfully, the H-2 has a very skinny profile head on. We continued up the valley toward the burning F-4. Overhead, RESCAP, another jet, directed us around the AAA and SAM Sites to Zeke and Claw’s location. Every pilot carried in his survival gear a pencil flare, a strobe light, and a PRC-63 handheld radio. The PRC-63 had two channels for communication and transmitted a distress signal on Guard. In our cockpit, an Automatic Direction Finding (ADF) needle homed in on their PRC-63 and gave us a heading to fly, accurate to +/- 10 degrees. We could only fly in their general direction and hope to better pinpoint their position when we arrived on scene.

On our second attempt to hover, we descended below the treetops and next to a very large tree so our hoist cable could reach the ground. The fit was very tight with tree branches a few feet outside our rotors. Bruce reported he saw the survivors and began playing out the cable with a jungle-penetrator at the end. It passed within inches of Zeke’s outstretched hand but, entangled in the undergrowth, he couldn’t get to it. In retrospect, it is probably best he didn’t reach it. Clem Two was maxed out and I doubt we had enough power to pick up both survivors and maintain our 150-foot hover. If Zeke and Claw had hooked up to the cable, I know they would not have let us leave without them. They probably would have pulled us down and Bruce would have had to cut the cable as he winched them aboard. Then, the parachute flare burned out. Without the electronics available today, helicopter pilots must have visual cues to hold a stable hover. When the lights went out, the visual cues were gone and we couldn’t see anything. Clyde broke hover and started to climb above the trees. He didn’t know he had drifted into that very large tree.

We asked for a strobe light. The dense jungle shielded it. They fired a pencil flare, but it couldn’t pierce the dense jungle canopy. Then they fired a magnesium tracer from their 38 cal. That helped us locate them. They were 20 nm east of the coast and at least ten miles west of the F-4 crash site. We arrived on scene at 0141 hours.

The helo pitched nose down and right when a limb caught the horizontal stabilizer. Bruce Dallas, who had been leaning out the starboard door guiding the rescue cable, was hit in the face by another limb. Miraculously, we broke free of the tree and climbed to altitude where we circled and waited for another RESCAP to bring more flares.

RESCAP dropped a parachute illumination flare – the same kind the F-4 would deploy to illuminate their targets. It is a canister of phosphorous elements that burn as it descends slowly in a small parachute and provides a bright, artificial light for a few minutes. The flares lighted the ground below similar to a full moon. There was a small, jungle-covered karst with rice paddies toward the coast separating what looked to be two small villages consisting of a few huts.

We told Zeke and Claw we couldn’t get them out of the jungle, and they had to make their way off the hill to the rice paddies. Their ordeal had sapped their strength and now they had another 100 yards to go to the jungle edge.

After arriving overhead, we made a rapid, spiral descent from altitude. We had practiced this at Cubi Point. So far, so good. During the descent, both Bruce and Don reported seeing another ball of fire pass close by beneath us. They thought it to be a missile, the second one fired at us that missed. Our next problem was the jungle. We located Claw and Zeke, but they were surrounded by trees. Some were about 200 feet tall. That presented a problem for us. The hoist cable was 150 feet long. We asked for a strobe light to pinpoint them. The trees kept us from hovering directly over them. Clem Two had not developed any more power since we left Preble and when we tried to hover our RPM drooped below 100 percent. Clyde waved off and told me to dump fuel as we circled to try again. One of my contributions to the mission is that I stop dumping fuel without waiting for direction from Clyde.

Sometime, when they were tackling the jungle undergrowth, Claw lost his survival radio. It transmitted the distress signal on Guard the remainder of the rescue and interfered with our ability to communicate with them. By this time, everyone in the surrounding villages was awake and running toward us, zigzagging across the rice paddy dikes, shooting at us. We could see their muzzle flashes – all small arms and some automatic. The mid-air with the tree damaged the horizontal stabilizer and tail rotor. Clem Two developed a vibration that felt as if we were taking multiple hits. Then Don West, manning the M-60 in the port cargo door, and I saw much larger muzzle flashes. As if on cue, we both returned fire with a loud staccato that shattered the relative quiet of the cockpit. Hot casings ejected from my M-16, ricocheted off the windscreen, and hit Clyde in the face. He instinctively felt his face and, in the darkened cockpit wiped a warm, sticky, wet liquid from his face. “I’m hit.” he said over the ICS – which got my attention. I prepared to take the controls. Then he licked his fingers and reported, “It’s just sweat, I’m OK.” 39

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So Others May Live Aircraft from USS Enterprise (CVN 65) arrived on the scene with more parachute flares, and we were back in the rescue business. A few minutes passed before Zeke called us in and we made our approach to a gently sloping area across the rice paddies from the village and NVNs. The jungle edge was about 100 yards to our left with the terrain sloping toward us. The wheels sunk in the soft mud and Clyde held the weight off them in a modified hover. No chance to relax. There we waited, nervous, senses alert. Bruce fired his M-60 at the advancing throng on our starboard side. Don and I watched the jungle on the port side. Then Zeke said they weren’t at the jungle edge yet and we took off. Again, we circled overhead waiting for him to call us back. They reported they could hear people running all around them, apparently on paths the NVNs were familiar with but Zeke and Claw couldn’t use. The number of muzzle flashes aimed at us from the rice paddies increased as more people converged on our landing site. They must have been firing blindly at our sound. I doubt they could see Clem Two's dark grey paint scheme against the black night. It was only when we were on the ground that the NVN could see us in the light of the parachute flares. As we circled, we could see an estimated 80 to 100 people on the ground stumbling along the rice paddy dikes. We circled several times before Zeke called us back. Again, we made our approach and hover-landing. Again, anxious moments dragged by as we waited. Again, Zeke told us they were still entangled by the jungle. When we departed, I saw the circle of people getting smaller and closing in on our landing site from our 2 o’clock position. A second group had formed and was approaching from our twelve o’clock. In the jungle, the North Vietnamese were closing in on Zeke and Claw from behind. Zeke later said the NVNs were about twenty yards behind them but the jungle that held them also kept their would-be captors at bay. That didn’t keep the NVNs from shooting at them, though. Bullets whistled past their heads and struck the ground beside them with a “thwock!” Their adrenaline kicked in as they made a dash for the jungle edge. They called us back for our fifth attempt to rescue them. Time was running out. This time, as we descended through 100 feet on approach, the parachute flare again burned out. Once again, the pitch black night came rushing in on us. Instead of waving off, with a flick of his left thumb, Clyde turned on Clementine Two’s external lights. The H-2 had two fixed lights in the nose that shone to the left and right and a spotlight we could control to shine ahead. A third, hover light, shone straight down from the underside. Lighted up like a Caribbean cruise ship, we made our approach and landed in the rice paddy. There we sat, silhouetted in circles of light. Now, the NVNs closing in and shooting at us were close enough we could see features of their faces. They were less than a hundred yards down the hill – a good golf pitch shot to the green – but still hampered by the dikes. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

I n e x p l i c a b l y, Bruce appeared alongside the helicopter and peered around the nose toward the jungle. Clyde told him in direct language to get back in the helo, which he did, and began firing his M-60 from the starboard door as Don and I kept our weapons trained on the jungle edge. Our lights cast shadows and we couldn’t see as well as we had in the light of the flares.

LCDR John Burns (left) is pictured shortly after his rescue when he came aboard Jouett.

Suddenly, two figures wearing dark clothing burst from the jungle and ran toward us. I told Don to keep them covered. “If you see anything that looks like a muzzle flash, start firing.” But Zeke and Claw weren’t about to start shooting at us. As they ran, stumbled, fell, and staggered down the hill toward us we began taking fire from the jungle edge where they had just emerged. We would not have had a sixth opportunity to rescue them. Don and I returned fire as Zeke and Claw crossed in front of the helo to the starboard side. People were now shooting at us from our front, left, and right sides. I couldn’t see our six o’ clock to determine if we were completely surrounded. Despite his fractured leg and other injuries, Zeke beat Claw to Clem Two. When he got to the starboard door, Bruce stopped firing, grabbed him and, with one hand, threw him into the cabin. He landed on his stomach with a thud. Seconds later, Claw entered the same unceremonious way, only inverted. Bruce tapped Clyde on the shoulder and manned his M-60. At 0225 hours we made a full power climb-out with M60s blazing from both sides. Immediately we were flying on instruments, climbing to altitude, and headed for the coast. We flew north above the 19th parallel and then turned for the nearest friendly force, USS Jouett (DLG 29). Bruce slid the starboard cargo door closed as we passed through 1,000 feet but it was damaged when we hit the tree and flew out of his hand to become a NVN souvenir. Inside the cabin there was pandemonium. Zeke’s PRC-63 transmitted the emergency locator signal with an ear-piercing “peeong, peeong, peeong” and overrode vector directions out of Indian country and communication in the helo on ICS. Clyde shouted to “shut 40

that @%#$ thing off if you have to strip them naked.” Finally, someone turned it off. Climbing to 4,000 feet, we flew north above the 19th parallel and then turned for the nearest friendly force, USS Jouett. The emergency caution panel pierced the darkness and the Low Fuel light let us know we had about 20 minutes of flight before flame-out. There was no time for evasive maneuvers. We had to get feet wet and as far away from the North Vietnam coast as we could in case we had to ditch. We knew there were AAA sites along our flight path and hoped everyone there was also asleep. As we approached the coastline I looked across at Clyde and saw what looked like a handful of flaming arrows coming at us at our altitude. Over the ICS I yelled “get down” as I dumped the collective, losing 1,000 feet and scaring Clyde for the second time that night. Fortunately, whatever it was, burst about a mile away. Finally, we were feet wet and the unfriendlies were behind us. With vectors to Jouett, Harbormaster’s flagship, the CO, CAPT Robert Hayes, closed within three miles of the coast, well within the range of shore artillery, and turned Jouett into the wind to receive us. At 0225, two hours after departing Preble, we landed safely aboard Jouett with 135 pounds of fuel indicated on the gauge – approximately five minutes of flight if the gauge was accurate. This would not have been enough for a wave-off and another approach. My decision not to wait for Clyde to tell me to secure the fuel dump switch was a good one. By this time Zeke’s adrenaline had worn off and he couldn’t walk on his fractured leg. Ship personnel helped him to sick bay from Clem Two’s cabin. Clyde, Claw, and I went to the wardroom to debrief Harbormaster where we received a therapeutic prescription of medicinal brandy. In the debrief, we concluded Claw and Zeke could not have been rescued during daylight because of the heavy concentration of small arms fire in the area and the AAA and SAM Sites in close proximity. The surprise of a night rescue was essential to successfully extracting them from their hostile environment. After the debrief, Jouett assigned beds for us but I couldn’t sleep. As dawn broke, I made my way to the flight deck. Bruce and Don were already there. They had been given a bottle of scotch and the three of us spent the night on the flight deck. In the morning light, we looked for the bullet holes we had felt hit the helo as we circled the NVNs. We couldn’t find any – not a single bullet hole! We had been over North Vietnam and under pretty intense fire for one hour – had two missiles fired at us – and left unscathed. The dark grey paint scheme against a black, moonless night had camouflaged us from those on the ground who apparently had shot at

our sound. When the bullets arrived, we were no longer there. A month later, during a routine maintenance inspection, we found one slug lying in the tail pylon. On January 16, 1969, LT Clyde Everett Lassen was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in a ceremony in the White House by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Three Navy pilots were awarded the MOH for action in Vietnam, including POW ADM James Stockdale. Clyde was the only Navy helicopter pilot to receive the nation’s highest award. HC-7 was disestablished June 30, 1975. In its short 7 year, 10 month existence, squadron personnel rescued 156 survivors. Sixty rescues were in combat environments including former California Congressman Randy (Duke) Cunningham. The Navy does not keep records of individual decorations crossreferenced to the unit in which they served but HC-7 may arguably be the most highly decorated squadron of the Vietnam conflict. In addition to Clyde’s MOH, four people received Navy Crosses, two were awarded Silver Stars, and three earned DFCs. Many more earned every other medal for bravery during the life of the squadron. In 1969, President Richard Nixon awarded HC-7 the Presidential Unit Citation. There is an HC-7 website at www.hc7seadevils.org. On November 6, 1999, at Ingalls Shipyards in Pascagoula, MI, Barbara Pilling, wife of Vice CNO ADM Donald Pilling, and Linda Lassen christened USS Lassen (DDG 82), in memory of her late husband. Clyde died April 1, 1994 of cancer. He was 51. Lassen is an Aegis Class Destroyer that is home to another helicopter detachment with two MH-60 Seahawks.

Aboard USS Jouett (left to right): Radarman First Class Allen R. Melton, LTJG LeRoy Cook, standing behind Admiral Hyland is Bruce Dallas (first crewman), ADJ3 Don West (second crewman), and LTJG Clyde Lassen (pilot). 41

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So Others May Live Exercise Tarpon Springs, A Warfighting Skills Exercise Created by Aicrewmen for Aircrewmen By AWSCS Matthew Estep, USN, CHSCWL

preparation for maritime personnel recovery dominance within the Strategic Power Competition. The Fall 2023 Tarpon Springs was the sixth and most robust iteration yet, encompassing unit elements from the 1st Marine Division supported by elements of 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, surface elements from Assault Craft Unit 4 based out of Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek Virginia, E-2 fixed wing elements from the “Seahawks” of VAW-126, and MH-60S rotary wing elements from the “Dragon Whales” of HSC-28 and the “Fleet Angels” of HSC-2. This iteration of Tarpon Springs was conducted over two days and was centered around

A Rescue Swimmer and SAR Medical Technician insert to the deck of a simulated stricken LCAC. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

ften in the Rotary Wing Community, challenges arise when it comes to training for a current or future mission. More often than not, the mission is identified as something that needs training for proficiency, but opportunities to conduct that training are few and far between. Commander Helicopter Sea Combat Wing Atlantic (CHSCWL) Senior Enlisted Aircrewmen decided to do something about it, and Exercise Tarpon Springs was born. In 2019, a small group of Senior MH-60S Enlisted Aircrewmen identified prior to the hurricane season that should a Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) or a Defense Support of Civil Authorities (DSCA) mission arise, helicopter crews throughout CHSCWL would respond to situations in which regular training did not address the skills needed to effectively operate and save lives in a disaster situation. The Senior Enlisted Aircrewmen proposed a training exercise to focus on these tangible skill sets to better prepare our community for maritime personnel recovery in a dynamic environment. This proposed exercise was dubbed “Tarpon Springs.” The initial Tarpon Springs Exercise was aimed solely at terminal area tactics in confined areas that would potentially be encountered such as live hoisting from treetops, live insertion of rescue Aircrewmen into small areas with multiple obstacles surrounding the insertion zone, and in water recovery operations in high current areas. Over the years, Tarpon Springs evolved from practicing skills aimed at HADR / DSCA operations to spearheading our community’s Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Flight crews practice recovery of Rescue Aircrewmen from a simulated Confined Area during Tarpon Spring’s inaugural exercise. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

a multi-day beach assault by Marine units supported by various Naval elements. The exercise took place on October 3rd and 4th and was divided between Onslow Beach, North Carolina, and the northern areas of the Chesapeake Bay. Day One of Tarpon Springs was centered around a simulated LCAC assault and water survivor recovery exercises. While infilling Marines to the beach, the LCAC simulated striking a mine that critically damaged the vessel and caused 42

an explosion throwing Marines from the craft into the water. Crews from HSC-2 and HSC-28, with airborne flight routing provided by a VAW-126 E-2 aircraft, carried out a long range Personnel Recovery (PR) mission, launching from Naval Station Norfolk and flying a distance of approximately 184nm to affect the recovery of survivors. HSC-28’s crew, identified as the Primary PR flight asset, was tasked with flying from Naval Station Norfolk, refueling at Elizabeth City, NC, and

HSC-2 aircraft approaches a 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion CRRC to recover critical in-water casualties. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

Day Two of Tarpon Springs simulated two LCACs performing an exfiltration from a hostile beach that became disabled due to engine fires causing an abandon craft situation that encompassed 25 survivors with multiple critically HSC-28 Aircrewmen and SAR Medical Technician conduct patient triage post recovery prior to long range transport.. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

then flying the entirety of the mission without refueling in order to simulate the distance challenges that are anticipated in future maritime warfighting environments. During the flight, HSC-28’s Aircrewmen and SAR Medical Technicians (SMTs) conducted long range critical patient care, sharpened their medical skills, and experienced a small taste of what it would be like to keep a patient alive in the back of a helicopter over a long distance mission. While HSC-28 focused on the long range rescues with limited fuel, HSC-2 was conducting training with the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion boat teams performing dozens of iterations of in-water survivor recovery. The focus of these evolutions was to become proficient in hoisting and recovering off small boats and in-zone patient turnover. Multiple lessons learned and training points were identified during Day One’s operations. The most valuable was identifying the need for dual internal auxiliary tanks to be installed in any MH-60S that will carry out long range PR missions. This exercise also identified the need for further integration of MH-60S and E-2 crews, outside of deployments, to practice flight routing and airborne control maneuvering due to identified communication complications between the airborne aircraft.

An MH-60S approaches the center deck of a simulated DIW LCAC for Rescue Swimmer insertion. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

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So Others May Live wounded personnel unable to enter the water. Flight crews from HSC-28 and HSC-2 performed recovery operations from both the decks of two LCACs and the waters surrounding the craft. The focus of these evolutions was hoisting from the deck of an LCAC as neither the MH-60S crews nor the LCAC crews had any experience in the past performing such a maneuver. The day was divided into two operational windows, with two HSC-2 aircraft flying the first window and two HSC-28 aircraft flying the second. As the simulation began, aircrews were required to first locate the stricken LCACs. Once on scene, they assessed the situation and executed recovery operations as individual aircrews deemed necessary. Multiple casualties were located onboard the LCACs dictating the need for Rescue Swimmer and SAR Medical Technician insertion to the stricken craft for on-deck triage and recovery via multiple different rescue devices. While one aircraft performed recovery operations from a stricken LCAC, the second aircraft effected a simultaneous recovery of multiple in-water survivors and the transport of those survivors to a beach landing zone for patient turnover. Flight crews were required to perform inter aircraft

Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

de-confliction of recovery operations as well as keep track of a multitude of survivor injuries. Lessons learned from Day Two’s operations highlighted the need for a higher level of medical training for Naval Rescue Swimmers as well as the importance of training with units that we as a community do not train with as often. The likelihood of encountering people we know in wartime operations is low, and having multiple squadrons interacting with multiple LCAC crews increased proficiency in communicating with different units in the simulated high risk environment of survivors in the water.

Flight crews from HSC-2 & HSC-28 conduct simultaneous recovery of personnel from the deck of a simulated DIW LCAC and from the surrounding water. Photo by MCSN Marie Rosales, USN

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

The sixth iteration of Tarpon Springs was a great success, both in the coordination and execution of the flight crews and supporting units and in the gathering of training points to be used in future exercises and deployments. The evidence of highly trained personnel throughout the exercise was apparent to all. Tarpon Springs proved itself to be an invaluable training experience, both for the flight crews involved and all of the personnel striving to make each iteration a relevant and increasingly challenging exercise. This exercise, with all of the lessons learned and skill development gained, would not be possible without highly motivated individuals across all enlisted paygrades focused on creating and executing Tarpon Springs. Hopefully, Tarpon Springs continues to be what it is, a quarterly exercise developed by Aicrewmen for Aircrewmen aimed at the development and refinement of skills needed in the next fight. With continued motivation and an ever expanding support structure, we truly hope to cement Tarpon Springs as a cornerstone of Naval Aviation training.

Tarpon Springs

By AWS2 Natalie Campbell, USN

arpon Springs is a Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise that takes place quarterly in Norfolk, VA and is designed to provide experience in executing every stage of a rescue. The evolution on October 4th was an integrated event between HSC-2 and ACU-4. This particular iteration simulated a mass casualty that left approximately 16 personnel in the water, with several injured personnel remaining on board an LCAC. When we arrived on the scene, one aircraft was immediately directed to start recovering the survivors from the LCAC. Once the first aircraft departed with the survivors from the LCAC, the second aircraft located the first set of survivors in the water, and began setting up for recovery. I was the designated Rescue Swimmer in my aircraft for the mission and was deployed from the aircraft via the hoist. I immediately began assessing my survivors. After determining that none of them had sustained any simulated injuries, I signaled to the Crew Chief for the rescue basket, and sent the survivors up one by one. After the first set of survivors were recovered, I looked around the surrounding area and found the next set. I swam over to them, completed my assessment, then sent them up the aircraft via the rescue basket as well. At this point, I was too far away from the next set of survivors to spot them. The

aircraft then lowered the rescue basket and used it to shorthaul me over to the remaining survivors. After transporting the recovered survivors to the beach, the LCAC requested that we rescue two more simulated survivors from their deck, in order for their personnel to gain more exposure to helicopter hoisting. I was lowered down via the hoist, which took a lot longer than I expected. The helicopter started to drift back and forth, causing me to swing close to the sides of the LCAC, preventing me from being lowered safely. Eventually, the pilot at the controls was able to arrest the aircraft’s drift, and I was lowered safely onto the LCAC’s deck. I assessed the survivors, one of whom was uninjured and the other with a simulated leg injury. I sent the injured survivor up via the rescue basket, expecting the pilot to struggle with his drift again; however, by this point he seemed to be a lot more stable, allowing the survivor to be recovered quickly. The second survivor was then recovered via the rescue strop, and then I was hoisted back up into the aircraft. While we did this, the other aircraft rescued the remaining survivors from the water. After the successful recovery of the first 16 simulated survivors, the scenario was reset, this time with 11 personnel in the water and 3 injured personnel on the LCAC. I eagerly descended via the hoist into the water once again, ready to spring into action while the other aircraft focused on the injured survivors onboard the LCAC. We utilized the rescue basket once again for the survivors, and also for shorthauling in between sets of survivors. We were able to quickly recover all 11 personnel from the water. The most thrilling and engaging training I’d ever participated in was complete.

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So Others May Live NAS Key West SAR: Optimizing Long Range Maritime Search and Rescue for the Future Fight By AWSC Joshua Teague, USN and AWS2 Brett Medford, USN

ver the course of the last two years, the entire team at Naval Air Station Key West (NASKW) Search and Rescue (SAR) has undergone a mindset shift to focus on optimizing maritime SAR techniques. Recognizing that the mission, environment, and requirements faced on a daily basis at NASKW SAR align with those expected of the future fight, NASKW strives to be a community leader in the development of techniques, tactics, and procedures for maritime personnel recovery. While encountering many hurdles, we believe we have discovered both structural and procedural changes that will better equip any unit tasked with maritime SAR.

found that having an additional rescue swimmer to coordinate the litter straps while the other focuses on the survivor results in significant time savings, even after factoring in the time to hoist the additional swimmer. With the use of a second swimmer, securing the survivor to the litter can be reduced to two minutes. When combined with the litter casting procedure, we have been consistently able to recover a litterborn survivor and all Rescue Swimmers in just over seven minutes, less than half the time of the 15-20 minute Feet standard.

The first hurdle is cabin space. When faced with the task of conducting a maritime recovery at distance, the accepted standard is using the dual internal axillary “double bubble” fuel tank configuration. These tanks considerably limit cabin space. By turning the left gunner seat to face aft, and centering it in the cabin, we were able to make up for valuable lost space taken by the internal auxiliary fuel tanks. This allowed for additional medical gear to be stowed, in addition to the two Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) litters needed for a dual ejection seat aircraft.

The final hurdle is training. Getting consistently fast results did not happen quickly, and requires proficiency and precision. Our Rescue Swimmers spent multiple pool training sessions getting in their reps and sets to be as efficient as possible in the water. While there is no current requirement for rescue swimmers to conduct live litter recoveries in the open ocean, we believe that Fleet squadrons should similarly shift focus to these types of recoveries, and we encourage both the SARMM and SWTP requirements to mirror these real world scenarios. Training how we wish to fight is critical in the community. To maintain the proficiency required for these types of results, we recommend that units strive for at least one live open ocean rescue training event every week.

The next hurdle, which is arguably the most limiting factor, is time. Using the local SAR requirements of supporting a recovery out to 200 nautical miles (nm), the “double bubble” configuration leaves approximately 30 minutes of fuel for both the search and recovery phases. The average time it takes for a Navy Rescue Swimmer to recover one survivor via the MEDEVAC litter is between 15 to 20 minutes, leaving only 10 to 15 minutes of search endurance prior to a BINGO fuel state. Being unable to change the performance of the aircraft, we began to delve into the recovery procedures to find efficiencies and reduce wasted time. Breaking down each step, we isolated and timed each action and process. We found that the primary reason for the prolonged time to recover a survivor is related to deploying the litter. After jumping the swimmer from 10 feet above the water, the helicopter has to climb and establish a steady hover at 70 feet. Once in a stable hover, the Hoist Operator would lower the litter via the hoist down to the swimmer. This process averaged seven minutes.

Further recent additions to optimize SAR training have included submitting more than 20 action items for change in the NTTP 3-50.1 and OPNAV 3130.6. One of these recent changes include the development of a new SAR Fitness Test that mirrors the physical requirements needed during a reallife rescue. We have also assisted PMA-202 in the testing of new ICOMM swimmer radios and high-visibility swimmer apparel. Finally, we continue to develop new in-water survivor escape procedures. All of these changes have been made in an effort to optimize recovery time. We remain postured to continue these efforts.

To counter the excessive time in a hover, we chose to cast the litter from the helicopter before the swimmer jumped. After implementing this technique, we were able to reduce the time to both jump the swimmer and have the litter in the immediate vicinity to one and a half minutes.

Due to frequent realistic training, a mindset to challenge the status quo, and continuing to seek improvement in all we do, NAS Key West can proudly say we have some of the best maritime Rescue Swimmers in the Navy. We endeavor to continue developing best practices as we remain part of the greatest fighting force in the world.

The next most time consuming process was the time it takes for a Rescue Swimmer to safely strap the survivor into the MEDEVAC litter. This process averages five minutes. We Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

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So Others May Live More of Naval Aviation Needs to Prioritize Range By CDR Matt Wright, USN Originally published in Proceedings, Vol. 149

he January 2022 crash of an F-35C Lightning II attempting to land on board USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in the South China Sea gained attention around the world following the release of several dramatic videos of the event that quickly circulated on social media.1 Sadly, coverage of the mishap overshadowed the successful damagecontrol and rescue efforts that followed. The ejected pilot’s Explosive ordnance disposal personnel conduct a helicopter visit, board, search, and seizure retrieval from the ocean exercise with an MH-60R Sea Hawk on board the Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer and subsequent medical USS Dewey (DDG 105) in the Philippine Sea. U.S. Navy Photo evacuation (medevac) was an outstanding example of the enduring utility of rotary- practiced from Carl Vinson were accompanied by a longrange rescue posture from the HSC-4 Black Knights. They wing aircraft.2 Furthermore, the rescue and medevac missions illustrated the need for the Navy to include rotary-wing had developed procedures to deploy two specially equipped MH-60S aircraft hundreds of miles from the carrier. It was aviation requirements in future efforts to extend the reach of these aircraft that returned to the carrier shortly after the pilot the carrier air wing. had been rescued from the sea.6 The pilot was rescued by the ship’s plane-guard aircraft, an In addition to the F-35 pilot, two other service members MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter from Helicopter Sea Combat were seriously injured during the mishap, and all three required Squadron 4 (HSC-4). Conducting a traditional rescue within sight of the ship, the helicopter responded immediately on immediate medevac to higher-level medical care in Manila, approximately 300 nautical miles (nm) away. Even though hearing the emergency radio calls, expeditiously recovered the survivor via rescue litter, and landed back on board Carl CVW-2 included embarked CMV-22B Osprey aircraft, the Vinson just 34 minutes after the mishap.3 Navy rotary- MH-60S aircraft received the medevac tasking and completed the mission without delay.7 The HSC-4 crews were successful wing crews train repeatedly for this situation—an ejection because they had practiced similar missions at the edge of their close to the carrier during cyclic operations. However, the medevac demonstrates the importance of the Navy’s Rotary combat range and because they had deviated from standard Wing Community to meet Indo-Pacific theater mission aircraft fuel configurations to squeeze every possible mile of mission capability into every mission. requirements as well as the enduring need for Naval Aviation to develop new capabilities and doctrine coinciding with the In addition to two 180-gallon main fuel tanks, MH-60S air wing’s “return of range.”4 aircraft typically carry one 200-gallon internal auxiliary fuel tank, which extends the aircraft’s range by approximately Long Range Means Long Range The F-35 crashed after returning from a training mission 150 nm. HSC-4 had previously procured extra tanks and hundreds of miles from Carl Vinson. As the Navy focuses used them to fly long-range missions with a second internal on the threat from China, such long-range training missions auxiliary fuel tank, doubling the extended range and reducing the risk associated with their nighttime, 2.5-hour overwater have become increasingly common to remedy what Jerry Hendrix notably identified as the Navy’s “retreat from range” flight in poor weather to an unfamiliar airfield.8 during the post–Cold War period.5 Fortunately, the longrange strike missions Carrier Air Wing 2 (CVW-2) regularly Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Along with growing the MH-60’s fuel capacity, other changes in rotary wing doctrine have extended the rescue reach of these assets. While supporting long-range air wing missions, HSC-4 regularly included fuel stops on board strike group “lily pads”—cruisers and destroyers sailing hundreds of miles from the carrier. Evolving distributed maritime operations doctrine will provide more opportunities for a corresponding distribution of rotary-wing rescue capabilities, but such long-range operations must be rehearsed regularly. As Naval Aviation develops capabilities to extend the reach of the carrier air wing, supporting elements must stretch their

reach in parallel. More work remains to ensure rescue assets can cover the full expanse anticipated in the Pacific battlespace. Range must move to the forefront of future decisionmaking when considering capability tradeoffs (e.g., weapons capability versus fuel capacity) as well as training focus (e.g., enroute medical care versus legacy surface attack missions).9 Furthermore, the Navy’s Rotary-Wing Community must grow comfortable basing away from the carrier and operating at the extreme edge of an aircraft’s combat radius during exercises. The Chief of Naval Operations listed “distance” as the number one force-design imperative in his 2022 Navigation Plan. All Naval Aviation communities must heed that call.10

Notes 1. Sam LaGrone, “Crashed F-35C Fell Off USS Carl Vinson Flight Deck into South China Sea,” USNI News, 25 January 2022. 2. Mallory Shelbourne, “USS Carl Vinson Recovered Quickly after F-35C Ramp Strike, Say Officials,” USNI News, 15 February 2022. 3. Geoff Ziezulewicz, “Pilot Error Caused F-35 Carrier Crash and Plunge into South China Sea,” Navy Times, 22 February 2023; Department of the Navy, Command Investigation Into the Facts and Circumstances Surrounding the F-35C Class A Aviation Mishap of 24 Jan 22 (redacted for public release), 18 April 2022, 10, 23–25. 4. LCDRs Collin Fox, Dylan Phillips-Levine, and Trevor Phillips-Levine, USN, and Capt Walker Mills, USMC, “The Return of Range: How the Navy Got the MQ-25 Right,” U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings 148, no. 9 (September 2022). 5. Jerry Hendrix, “Retreat from Range,” Center for a New American Security, 19 October 2015. 6. Interview with CDR Tom Murray, USN, former commanding officer of HSC-4, 28 April 2023. 7. Interview with CDR Tom Murray. 8. Guardian™ Extended Range Fuel System (ERFS) fact sheet. 9. Navy Aviation Vision 2030–2035, Naval Aviation Enterprise, Public Release 2021–478. 10. ADM Michael M. Gilday, USN, Navigation Plan 2022, 8.

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So Others May Live So Others May Live

By HM1 Stephanie Higgins, USN

here’s nothing like the feeling of saving a fellow man’s life. The Navy’s Search and Rescue Medical Technician (SMT) rate is one not quite like any other. There are currently 104 SMTs Navy-wide with the majority of us being assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadrons on the MH-60S platform. Our position is Naval Aircrew Corpsman, with many of us choosing to become Utility Aircrewman. We specialize and train for emergency medicine purposes in a multitude of environments ranging from deserts, ships, mountains, and transports in the back of various aircraft including MH-60S, V-22, CH-53, CH-47, and small fixed wing aircraft. Much like the MH-60S which is considered the “best multi mission naval helicopter,” SMTs must become the most adaptable personnel in the cabin. The vast majority of SMT’s also take on the responsibility of becoming Utility Aircrewmen, not only mastering emergency medicine in the back of the aircraft but taking on the extensive responsibilities of being the cabin operators and the pilot’s eyes and ears. We are lookouts, weapon operators, and deployers of Rescue Swimmers on Search and Rescue (SAR) missions as well as the sole person responsible for emergency medicine. “Search and Rescue Medical Technicians perform aircrew and emergency medical care functions in support of Search and Rescue, MEDEVAC, and CASEVAC Missions for Navy and Marine Corps Aviation. Certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), triage, intravenous (IV) therapy, medicine administration, use of emergency medical equipment, patient handling, and aero-medical evacuation techniques.” As described on the Navy COOL website, "Search and Rescue Medical Technicians.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Lauren Thomas, the Search and Rescue Medical Technician (SMT) in training attached to HSC 5, right, performs a single patient trauma scenario on Naval Air Crewman (helicopter) 3rd Class Emmanuel Roldan-Montoya during HSC-5's training at Naval Air Station Fallon. U.S. Navy image.

across. Not all of our rescues are glamorous, in fact most are what we would say “simple,” but they are only perceived that way due to our training and ability to make educated decisions in critical situations. In May of this year, HM2 saved one of her neighbor’s lives. This individual was outside his house one evening when all of a sudden he experienced excruciating chest pain and ended up lying on the ground outside of his home, unable to move. It was late at night and hard to see a body in the dark obscured by a vehicle. HM2 and her husband just so happened to be coming home when they heard calls for help. After finding her neighbor on the ground she quickly assessed him, realizing what was happening and called for emergency services. Her quick action ended up saving his life. I had the pleasure of speaking with her neighbor, Mr. Lowe, and he said, “In today's world one often hears "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE". I would take it a step further and say 'THANK THE MILITARY FOR THE TRAINING' they provide. Paid off in my case.”

Not only are we Naval Aircrewman but SMTs also take on roles of Marine medics, civilian transport, ship’s company HM, as well as Corpsmen in hospital/clinic administration settings. Many of us take on a multitude of these roles at just one duty station. This rate is not for the faint of heart or unmotivated. Many start their careers being the only medical support Corpsman for squadrons of over two to three hundred Sailors or Marines at a time. We don’t take our responsibilities lightly. It takes someone willing to put in a lot of work in order to adapt to constant changes in medicine with the drive to continually improve your skills.

HM1 Erin Williams has been in the U.S. Navy since 2009 and served in her first duty station as an SMT in 2014. She states her most memorable rescue was in the early spring of 2021 while stationed at VX-31 SAR. They received a call for a fallen canyoneer in Rainbow Canyon, a large popular canyon within Death Valley National Park. Rainbow Canyon varies in depths with its steep canyon walls reaching 1,000 feet tall. The report stated that the anchor point the canyoneering couple had been using gave way and the patient had fallen at least 100 feet. Once they located the canyoneering pair on a small ledge midway down the canyon wall, their crew rigged for the rappel to execute the rescue.

Out of the 125 SMTs currently serving in the Navy, there are 7 females who hold this position. HM2 Sara Morris has been in the Navy for eight years, beginning her SMT career after her first command at NAS Whidbey Island, WA. After completing the SMT pipeline, she went on to serve at HSC26 where she deployed to Bahrain. She is now at HSC-2 in Norfolk, VA training new SMTs at their last stop in the pipeline before going to their first command in the Fleet. I have worked with HM2 Morris for over two years now and she is probably the most humble human I have ever come Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

"With the assistance of my crew, I proceeded to rappel approximately 180 feet down to the patient. Once on the canyon wall, I traversed over to the patient while my crew found a place to land on the opposite canyon rim with an advantageous vantage point to maintain line of site communications with my radio. When I got to the patient I quickly introduced myself and began to treat her. It was at that time I realized the extent of her injuries. There was a large pool of blood around her leg and there were two makeshift tourniquets that had been fashioned to control massive arterial bleeding caused by an open compound fracture on her right leg. She was conscious and able to speak and I quickly learned that the other individual with her was her boyfriend. I asked them to point to the location the anchor had given way. Her boyfriend, who had sustained facial and head injuries from the fallen rock, told me that the point of injury was actually far from where we were. I continued to assess her other injuries and apply an additional tourniquet to her leg. He told me that when the anchor gave way and she fell, he had initially assessed her. He went on to tell me as I worked that he had attended a Wilderness First Responder Course. When he noticed that she had a major bleed he worked quickly to control the bleeding by cutting their climbing rope. He said that once he had applied his tourniquet, he tried to call 911 but had no service. He proceeded to carry her traversing the steep canyon wall for 45 minutes until he was able to get enough signal for a distress call. I was blown away by this. After finishing addressing her additional wounds and packaging her onto the SAR litter, I got her boyfriend secured inside an additional extrication device and the two of us carefully traversed the terrain to offset him from the more critical patient to be recovered by the aircraft. I then radioed for the crew to pick him up first while I held the more critical patient to the wall in order to get them both to a trauma center. After I got him in a safe position, I moved back to his girlfriend. The aircraft then moved in, and rappelled HM2 Kyle O’Brien to retrieve the boyfriend. Once O’Brien and the boyfriend were safely in the aircraft, I set up a harness for a litter recovery to get the critical patient out of the canyon. When we finally made it to the trauma center, the critical patient was thanking me profusely and all I had to say to her was “Don’t thank me; your boyfriend saved your life today.” Given the right circumstance and a little bit of knowledge, people can do truly amazing things. I myself have been in the Navy for 11 years. I have been assigned to a station SAR command, expeditionary command, and now I am training new rescue swimmers as well as SMTs at HSC-2. Though I have a handful of rescues and MEDEVACs under my belt as well as civilian transports, my most memorable rescue is by far my first. It was a regular training flight that turned into a SAR of opportunity when the crewchief onboard witnessed a single vehicle crash on a desolate desert road we

just happened to be flying over. There was one person in the vehicle in critical condition, she was not wearing a seatbelt and was found in the back of the car she had been driving. We thankfully had a seasoned crew on the flight and were able to successfully transport the patient to a level two trauma center 30 minutes away. At that moment, I didn’t fully comprehend the level of training, teamwork, and critical thinking that goes into every rescue and every flight. It was then that I realized just exactly what I was getting into being part of the SMT Community and just how much training I still needed to accomplish. The ability to work as a team is unparalleled in this community and it is extraordinary to see what is needed when engaged in a rescue. To this day, I recall how calm the crewchief was, or at least looked, from my perspective when talking the pilots into a less than ideal landing with brown out conditions as well as loose power lines. Or, how my HM1 at the time was able to work with myself, a rookie, and our flight surgeon on board who had no idea how to operate in the back of a MH-60. The control and coordination required by the pilots to maneuver the aircraft into position, less than ideal landing zones, and the challenges of safely and effectively transiting to the hospital in record time turned an ordinary day into a rescue that would stay with me forever. This is a constant reminder how proud I am of my fellow Aircrewmen and why I strive to continue to better myself. It is hard to put into words how proud I am to be a part of this community. We spend endless hours in our office and then jump in the back of an aircraft like it is our second home when needed. We work with supplies that we can carry as well as limited machines that are adequate in the small space we have in the back of the aircraft. Manning this position in the Navy does not come without inherent risk. All of us on active duty right now know just how much dedication it takes to fill this role and the heartache that comes with losing a brother or sister in the line of duty. I once heard a fellow Sailor ask an SMT, "Why do you do this job,?" Their response was quite simple, and has stayed with me ever since. They simply replied, “If not me, then who?” and as I have come to learn, they were right. Who has a heart big enough to dedicate years of their lives to learning a craft unlike any other? Who is slightly crazy enough to fly in the back of a MH-60 rescuing a lost hiker who somehow got stuck on the edge of a cliff and has to rappel down the side of a mountain to get them? Who is brave enough to know each flight could always be their last flight but gets in anyways because we need training, or someone needs help? Every time an aircraft is launched, we relay to home or tower how many souls are on board. Every time we launch for a rescue we have a rough estimate of how many souls need help, the majority of the time, we have no idea who this soul is that we are going to rescue, but we go because there is something in us that makes us different. It is something that makes us SMTs and what is inside that drives us to live by our motto, “So Others May Live.”

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Happenstance: The Inspirational Journey of CAPT Sunita Williams By LT Elisha “Grudge” Clark, USN Stop Saying “Thing”

t was an unordinary day in 1988 on a T-34 flight line when future aircraft commander, test pilot, and astronaut Suni Williams walked out to her first aircraft. “So, tell me what’s going on here,” her onwing asked, pointing at the unassuming turboprop engine expectantly. Flashing forward to the present, Suni recounts the interaction: “I remember him asking me how the engine worked,” she recalled. “I kept saying ‘this thing is connected to that thing,’ and ‘this thing does this,’ and finally he said…” “Hey!” the instructor frowned. saying thing.”

“Stop

CAPT WIlliams suits up

Proving her dedication to her platform, after her first fleet tour she turned down the opportunity to transfer to the jet community.

Any Student Naval Aviator (SNA), current or former, can relate to this moment. You are asked a question you don’t know the answer to. Your reaction to this particular type of stressor potentially, among other factors, hold the key to your future success or failure.

“I told them: nah, I really love this. I never remembered a struggle in helicopters. It just felt natural. I always tell people: I can teach you how to hover. Just point that way and then keep pointing that way. Anyone can do it, it just takes a little concentration. You just can’t take your eye off the ball.”

Suni’s experience was no different. “Nice guy, but he was putting his foot down,” she said about her onwing. “At the Naval Academy, my grades weren’t that great. I think my foundation as an engineer was a little bit loose. When I went to flight school I just wanted to get in there and fly. It took someone to say: ‘hey, you need to pay attention. If you have a problem, you have to understand the aircraft so you can fly it.’”

Suni is certainly one of those people who never took her eye off the ball. Grow Where You’re Planted “I’d absolutely describe myself as a glutton for punishment,” she chuckled as she recounted her path to the Naval Academy.

For Suni, the struggle ensued throughout primary, although eventually the lightbulb did come on. She likes to remind us: “I am through and through a rotorhead,” despite her desire to fly jets after T-34 primary training. Her priority was making it to the fight. “When I started, there were limited spots for women in combat.” At the time, the combat restriction on female servicewomen had not been entirely lifted, and wouldn’t be until 1993. It was only 1989 when Suni earned her wings. “I knew there weren’t many billets to do something operational, so I was excited to fly helicopters. I knew with helicopters I could deploy on ships. I wanted to do the job, get out there, and do the Navy thing.”

Suni and her sister Dina

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Although she was born in Ohio, Suni attributes her firmness of spirit to her upbringing in Massachusetts. “Growing up there really shaped me because people from Boston are a little rough around the edges,” she recalled when asked to describe how her childhood had shaped her. “There was no intention for me to go into the military when I was little or when I was in high school, but I ended up getting into the Naval Academy and was looking at my options. I didn’t expect it to be such a good fit. I had long hair, I was a swimmer, I wanted to be a veterinarian, but my life came together when I went to the Naval Academy.” As the main influence in her life, Suni’s family encouraged her to test the limits of her comfort zone. Her father, born in India, overcame struggles that echo a message Suni still follows. “Gandhi was always my hero. Accomplished so much with so little. [He and my father] taught me that you can do whatever you want to, even if you start from zero.” Her father studied to become a doctor while in India, moving to America and starting his residency at Case Western Reserve University in his later 20s.

Then LT Willams with her Squadronmates

Ohio is where he met Suni’s mother, who was working at the same hospital as an x-ray technician and studying to be a nurse. She remembers her upbringing with her Mom fondly: “my mom was always a great role model. She’s the type of person who always has a pot of coffee, cookies, and is just a nice person to everyone no matter who they are.” A few years after the pair were married and Suni was born, they picked up and moved to Boston, where her father rose to become a pillar of the community in medical academia. “This is why I never thought of the military. I always thought I was destined to join the scientific community.” Suni seemed to be on a path toward vet school or professional athleticism toward the end of high school. Sometimes it only takes one person to change the trajectory of where life seems to be going. This happens to Suni quite often, in what she describes as “happenstance.” Her brother had gone to the Naval Academy four years before her, influencing her decision to apply. “He knew it would be hard, but he also knew it was something I could do,” she recalled fondly. “It’s not what I thought I was going to do, but I loved the teamwork aspect and being part of something bigger than yourself. You gravitate toward [the military community] if it’s in your personality.” Along with her mom and dad, her older brother continued to be a robust influence in Suni’s life, encouraging her at plebe summer in 1983. “He said: ‘take a chill pill kid, you’re going to be alright.’”

Climbing the Herndon Monumentat the end of Plebe Year

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Five and Out After earning her wings in July of 1989, Suni moved on to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron Three (HC-3), where she learned how to fly the H-46, and then ultimately was assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron (HC-8) in Norfolk, Virginia. She participated in multiple deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Persian Gulf in support of Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort 1. At the end of her fleet tour in 1992, she was entrusted with the responsibility of Officer in Charge in Miami for relief from Hurricane Andrew. At the time, the commitment for Naval Aviators was 5 years after wings, and Suni had started with the “five and out” mentality. Another happenstance moment changed that trajectory. “People noticed that I was very curious about how things worked. One of the senior enlisted told me I should go to Test Pilot School (TPS). Good people around you who understand what you are interested in are so important.” She applied and was accepted, starting TPS in 1993. For Suni, this was when “five and out” started to turn into a career. She graduated from TPS in December of 1993 and began testing. She filled her logbook with over ten different types of aircraft, including the SH-60B/F and CH-53.

Not even then LT Suni Williams could escape the dreaded disassociated tour. She reported to the USS Saipan (LHA2) as the Aircraft Handler and eventually Assistant Air Boss (cite source from NASA). Suni has a talent for making every situation work for her, growing wherever she is planted. The Saipan was no exception. Suni speaks warmly of those days, describing life on the ship as “really fun,” which is quite a contrast against grumbling aviators when they describe mandatory time on a ship away from the aircraft. “I like to find out how things work,” she said, remembering how she would spend her free time in Norfolk while her husband was working as a as a deputy U.S. Marshall in Washington D.C. “I lived on the ship and would just hang out with the [sailors] on the weekends. With the fuel guys, I loved following them through the bowels of the ship down to where they worked, I ran chocks and chains, I tried needle gunning. I was even there when I got the call from NASA.” When Suni got the call that would forever shift the trajectory of her life and career, she was sitting in the Air Operations office. It was a typical workday. Sailors from the Air Department were in and out, making coffee and jokes, answering and dialing calls on the singular shared phone in the office.

“I really did like testing. I had the opportunity to fly everything in the Navy and Marine Corps at the time. Let’s change an engine, let’s change a rotor head and test it out, see how it works. I even ended up going back to TPS as an instructor.”

After hours, as Suni was finishing up some work, the phone rang. As most had trickled out of the office by this point, Suni picked up the phone.

The stay-go decision can be a tumultuous one for Naval Aviators, and it was no different for Suni.

“Suni! I’m so sorry, we have been trying to reach out all day.” It was Theresa Gomez, the administrative assistant for the Astronaut selection office at NASA.

“I didn’t have too many options at the time,” she said chuckling. “They said to me: ‘you just got off a pretty good tour so if you want to stay in the Navy, you’ll have to do your disassociated sea tour, and I was like ‘oh no… I don’t want to do it,’ but I reluctantly agreed.”

“Hello?”

“After she started to say that, I thought ‘oh, well that’s that, I didn’t get in.’ When applying to NASA, if you got in, the Chief of the Office will call you to tell you. If you didn’t, the Admin will, ” Suni explained. “We have been trying to reach out all day, but couldn’t get through!” Theresa continued. “The Chief left and wanted me to tell you that we want you to come work at NASA!” A Unique Perspective: Bridging the Gap with Aviation Experience

Graduation from Test Pilot School

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

As every other pivotal event in her life and career, applying to NASA was another happenstance moment for Suni. “I never realized that [TPS] was a stepping-stone to apply to be an astronaut. People around me started applying to NASA and I’m like alright, I guess that is how it works,” she recalled, describing the casual nature of the decision making process that led to her successful NASA career.

“We went down to the Johnson space center and sat for a talk with John Young, who had been to the moon a few times and he was talking about the Lunar Training Vehicle (LTV) that they flew to get ready to land on the moon. As a helicopter pilot I thought, ‘oh, I think I have some of those skills!” Helicopter pilots do carry some of those marketable NASA skills- a fact the organization readily recognized. Out of all the pilots in Suni’s TPS class, both of the rotary-wing students were accepted to the astronaut program, leaving behind the remaining fixed wing pilots. Suni’s NASA career would take her to many notable places, the most notable of which was arguably outer space. That said, the experience that brought her back to her helicopter roots the most took place in the towering mountains of Colorado. The High Altitude Aviation Training Site (HAATS), established in 1985 to train military helicopter pilots how to fly in mountainous terrain, conducts training at altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 14,000 feet MSL. With Lakota helicopters organic to the schoolhouse,helicopters organic to the schoolhouse, and utilizing the native platform of attendees (dubbed a “bring your own helicopter” school by the nearby Eagle County Airport web page, 2 instructors teach the students of HAATS the concepts of helicopter landing zone evaluation. For some time, these students have included NASA astronauts. Most recently, the crew of Artemis III was sent to the course in Gypsum, Colorado to gain skills that will be sorely needed to navigate the lunar surface for missions in the future.3 The concepts attendees trained to at HAATS would have been put to good use by the pilots of the first lunar landing, had they been given the opportunity. Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong missed their landing site by about 4 miles on their first approach. The Apollo 11 crew only realized this as they were 9 minutes away from touchdown. Scrambling to find a different landing site, the crew had to overcome the unanticipated hazards of terrain flight. The moon’s surface is rocky and unforgiving terrain, not unlike unprepared landings in the mountains of Colorado. As a result, the crew’s original landing site had been chosen because it was relatively smooth and free of boulders and craters. They were forced to find a new place to land, and quickly.4 These are the skills that get imparted and sharpened at HAATS. The ability to scan the terrain and evaluate a landing site are crucial to lunar-bound astronauts. “You have to understand visual illusions and altered planes of reference to be able to land on the moon,” Suni explained. She traveled there several times for NASA related assignments.

“Every time I come back, my husband tells me, ‘my god, you have the sh*t eating grin on your face,’ and I say ‘they’re my people, I love them, I can’t help it!’” The mechanics of flying are not the only unique quality helicopter pilots bring to the table at NASA. Suni demonstrated this fact during a visit to the Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL). Housed in the Johnson Space Center, the NBL prepares NASA astronauts for missions involving spacewalks. Trainees don spacesuits and are submerged in the 40 foot deep pool, practicing tasks and skills they will be responsible for in space. It is the closest simulation to zero gravity that earth offers.5 Suni showcased the inherent Crew Resource Management (CRM) and situational awareness she possessed from her days in the cockpit readily in the NBL. “When we got in there, I said wow, this is like two helicopters deploying together,” she recalled. “During the lab, there are two of you in the water and there’s a guy doing a task in another spot. You always want to know where the other helicopter is so you can act as SAR for them, so I was always asking where the other person was in the water. It’s the same concept.” Suni would go on to complete 50 hours and 40 minutes of spacewalks, second on the list of total spacewalk time by a female astronaut.6 A Cherished Role Model Not only was Suni was able to successfully bridge the gap between space-flight and earth-flight; she also successfully carved a spot for herself in the hearts and minds of young women who aspire to be pilots and astronauts. “The aircraft doesn’t know who is flying it,” Suni stated candidly when describing the challenges of a career as a minority female. “Perceptions of physicality were hard to overcome, and actually more so at NASA.” As it turns out, space suits only come in medium-large and extra-large, making it that much more difficult to get used to an entirely foreign environment. Suni could have reacted to this news with despair, but that wouldn’t have been her style. “Life isn’t fair,” she argued. “Things aren’t going to be handed to you. Things aren’t going to be equal and fair. But it’s not personal. Don’t take any of those things personal. When you do, it gets in your mind and gets in the way. When you accept it and say ‘that’s how it is, and I have to make the best of it,’ you surprise people by how well you do. The spacesuit doesn’t know who is wearing it. The aircraft doesn’t know who is flying it. Make it do what you want to do.”

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Suni recalled a time when she taught this lesson of what equality truly means to her to one of the junior pilots in her squadron. “We were flying onto the ship in the North Atlantic, and my copilot was getting out of the helicopter. Someone approached her to take her seabag. I turned to her and said: ‘come on, take your own bag.’ Later, she asked me why I would make such a big deal of that. I said to her: ‘because, you don’t have people do things for you right from the get-go. That is how people are going to treat you [from then on], like you have to be waited on. You’re strong enough, I’ve seen you out there doing PT. Don’t let people have the impression that you’re weak; you’re not. Be confident that you can do hard things.” Suni’s relationship with her husband was built on this foundation of mutual respect for one another’s ability to “do the hard things.” Suni reflected on what it was like to have her husband in the sister squadron to hers during her first sea tour. “It was really nice having someone to bounce things off and have professional conversations with.” Suni’s husband, Mike, regards her as an equal partner, fueling her confidence to achieve the goals she set her mind to. “My husband never gave me a break, and I appreciated that, just like my onwing never gave me a break. His thing was ‘hey, just because you’re a girl, doesn’t mean you’re allowed to not know what this part of the aircraft is called.’” Countless books about Suni’s life and career line the shelves for children and young adults in English and Hindi, reaching readers around the world. In 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name the town’s new elementary school after her. She continues to make headlines, always preparing for the next mission, the next adventure.

Suni and Dina

Suni proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that anyone, regardless of background, can “do hard things,” an axiom she continues to live by today. Footnotes 1. https://www.nasa.gov/people/sunita-l-williams/ 2. https://www.flyvail.com/general-aviation/haats 3. https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/eagle-county-airport-high-altitude-training-site-us-army/ 4. https://www.history.com/news/apollo-11-moon-landing-terrifying-moments 5. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/167748main_fs_nbl508c.pdf 6. https://www.nasa.gov/people/sunita-l-williams/

Start Them Young: An Account from the Aircrew Library Volunteers of San Diego County By LT Jared “Dogbeers” Jackson, USN

e arrived at the La Mesa Branch Library 15 minutes before the children to find the room prepped for story time. There were craft tables at the back, chairs for the adults in the middle, and a large colorful rug at the front for our young and aspiring aviators to sit on. The rug was partitioned into 2x2ft squares, each with its own color. The craft tables held partially assembled helicopters made out of dixie cups for the kids to finish. We brought a few pieces of flight gear and other assorted military trinkets, and set up a slideshow on an iPad with a few dozen deployment photos. At the appointed time, the doors were opened and around 60 young hellions, ages one to five, rushed inside to claim their own square, all hoping to be nearest the reader. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Pictured left to right: LT Jared Jackson, LT Melissa Curry, and LT Evan Richards

After each kid had found their square, and a few arguments over who got to each square first, we started the singing and dancing portion of the day. There were three separate songs: The first was meant to get some energy out of the rascals, and involved lots of spinning, jumping, and waving arms and stomping feet. The second was Wheels on the Bus. The third was a calming song meant to quiet them down and get them ready for the story, involving a lot of shushing and winding down motions. All three songs were sung bilingually in half English - half Spanish, with the help of two puppets who were present for the entire event.

All in all, around 110 people were there if you include the families, and the event lasted for one hour and fifteen minutes. For such a simple and short event, it was very fun to participate and very rewarding for all involved. While the younglings didn't seem to really care if we were in uniform or not (probably too young a crowd), the adults definitely did. We fielded dozens of questions from curious family members about what we did or where we've deployed or what we've seen, and received a "Thank you for your service" remark from nearly every adult there. Overall, a good day and one that reinforces that what we do matters, especially the simple things with the youngest members of our community.

After the youths were finally all settled, it was story time! There was only one story about Roto and Roy, read by the event coordinators. The munchkins listened about as well as you would expect a group of 60 hellraisers to listen. After the story, there was another round of dancing, this time involving maracas and light weight fabric scarves the kiddies could run around and dance with.

If you would like to get involved with influencing the next generation of Naval Aviators and Aircrew by reading to the children of San Diego County, please email LT Elisha “Grudge” Clark at Elisha.s.Clark2.mil@us.navy.mil.

Finally, as the group portion of the day wound down, the families moved over to the craft tables. They all worked together to build and decorate their very own dixie cup helicopter. The hosts of the event generously set up a coffee and chocolate milk bar for the parents and small fries respectively, but they weren't too upset if an adult asked for chocolate milk instead.

AWR2 Anthony Trevino reading to children at the Alpine Library Branch

LT Bill Weiland reading to children

AWR2 Anthony Trevino

LT Evan Richards reading to children 57

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Features Managing the Hazards: Extreme Cold Weather Helicopter Detachment Operations By LT Patrick “The HOFF” Fonda, USN

ecember 2022, Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 51 (HSM-51) Detachment 1 “Komainu” embarked aboard USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), a guided missile destroyer, home ported at Yokosuka Naval Base, for a routine deployment in the 7th Area of Responsibility. This underway proved exceptionally dynamic, even as the ship/air team routinely operated in the cold, snowy seas near Hokkaido, Japan. Temperatures would typically fall to as low as -15 degrees C. Winter operations in 7th Fleet are historically known to be accompanied with heavy seas and poor weather which test both the ship’s crew and the helicopter detachment. These operations require an emphasis on operating at a world class level with hazard identification and proper risk discussions as key components to successful operations. DDG 115 and HSM-51.1 reinforced existing “all weather operations” capabilities during these operations and identified several lessons learned that other ship/air teams can utilize in their planning and execution phases on future operations. Predeployment Preparations Prior to the underway, the Helicopter Aircraft Commanders (HACs) of HSM-51.1 identified unique risks that the detachment would face for the upcoming deployment and included these in discussions with ship leadership and during the required Initial Ship Aviation Team Training (ISATT) safety briefs. The brief included an in-depth discussion on the need for a team mentality between the ship and air detachment, one that was exemplified in the operational relationship between the ship’s Captain and Detachment Officer in Charge (OIC). Specific lessons learned from historical flight deck mishaps provided talking points to enforce an increased focus on wave hazard plots and ensuring proper channels were open to communicating hazards between the bridge watch team (BWT), Landing Safety Officer (LSO), Helicopter Control Tower (HCO), and the helicopter crews were established early. These discussions also ensured small details were accounted for such as the BWT using the wave hazard plotter for all flight quarters operations and relaying real-time hazards to the LSO and HCO which greatly mitigated the risk of seawater crashing onto the flight deck and causing potential loss of personnel or damage to aircraft. DDG 115 had not had a helicopter detachment onboard for over a year, which although normal for ships completing routine maintenance cycles, is still something that must be addressed during underway workups with proper planning and training, effective and focused leadership, and overall crew motivation and enthusiasm in order to meet the standard required for operations in this AOR. The enthusiasm of the ship’s leadership and crew was a crucial element that would ensure proper risk decisions were made during the upcoming deployment.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

LT Patrick “The Hoff” Fonda conducting preflight checks of Warlord 01 engine #1 in a dry suit.

Flight Deck and Aircrew Gear With a projected winter deployment, our Det leadership identified a major concern with the gear our aircrew and maintenance personnel would be wearing on the flight deck. We had to ensure they could safely operate while being exposed to the extreme cold and wet conditions associated with flight deck operations. We identified that the standard flight gear issued to pilots and aircrew, with the exception of aircrew drysuits, would not be adequate enough to protect pilots and helicopter aircrew from the extreme weather. We quickly inventoried all flight gear and ordered the below gear. Pilots and Aircrewmen: 1. Green GORE-TEX pants and jacket 2. Green Fleece jacket liner 3. Green Fleece neck warmers 4. Cold weather GORE-TEX gloves In the aircraft, when flying in sub zero degrees Celsius temperatures or above cold water, pilots and aircrew are instructed to fly with standard issue dry suits; however, aircraft maintainers are not at all accustomed to cold weather. HSM-51 does a good job issuing all maintenance department Sailors blue cold weather jackets, rain gear, thermal underwear and gloves, but these would not be enough for extreme cold weather. Based on previous ship deployments, the HACs requested the use of Orange Stearns Challenger Anti58

Exposure Worksuits from Deck Department to be used by all flight deck personnel. The ship had limited supplies of these suits, approximately 20, but covered the need to ensure maintenance and flight deck operations were conducted safely. These are highly recommended for any detachment projected to operate in extreme cold weather and should be discussed with ship leadership early in order to ensure availability for maintenance crews during the underway. If a ship is intended to operate for extended periods of time, the ship might not have enough for the squadron personnel and might have to be purchased or borrowed from another ship to supplement. Detachment personnel checked the anti-exposure suits out of the ship’s boatswain’s locker daily during shift turnovers. Sailors also wore Navy standard issue watchcaps when the ship wasn’t at flight quarters. Lastly, we highly recommend having the command purchase neck warmers as early as possible due to supply and acquisition lead times. At the time of our underway, neck warmers had a 3 month lead time so our detachment was unable to purchase these in time. Maintenance Personnel: 1. Fleece base layers 2. Fleece neck warmer 3. Warm cold weather gloves 4. Orange Stearns Challenger Anti-Exposure Worksuits 1 Aircrew Training Once the Det was on the ship, we conducted pilot and aircrew training on cold weather operations led by the HACs and our OIC who had previous cold weather flying experience flying rescues at an inland station SAR command. We based our training following NATOPS guidance and ensured all pilots and aircrew knew their operating restrictions and requirements and knew of potential risks associated with flying in snow and temperatures below freezing. We discussed the following: 1. Ice Buildup on the Flight Deck 2. High Sea States 3. Icing of Aircraft Systems and Equipment 4. Snow and Freezing Rain Ship / Air Department Risk Decisions Next came time to make risk decisions and apply timecritical ORM. Oftentimes, this involved both the aircrew and maintenance to come to a conclusion that would minimize time that not only the aircraft spent on the flight deck, but also personnel. The aircraft is susceptible to icing buildup in engine intakes, and oil lines expand and contract with the drastic change in temperatures, potentially leading to oil seal cracking and rupturing. Aboard a guided missile destroyer, the flight deck serves as the most hazardous workplace for aviation personnel even on days with excellent weather. Sitting less than 20 feet off the water, one wrong step could find an Aviation Machinist Mate in the water and potentially even lost at sea. Additionally, personnel on the flight deck are susceptible to

frostbite, fatigue, and hypothermia, posing a greater risk to the success of the air detachment. In order to mitigate the risk to both personnel and aircraft, the decision was made to carry out preflight checks in the hangar. Following the completion of preflight checks, the aircraft would be traversed to the flight deck and a rotor head and tail pylon check would be conducted prior to starting up the aircraft. Oftentimes, ice buildup would occur on the RAST control station—colloquially referred to as the “LSO Shack” on CRUDES deployers—which could potentially hinder critical visibility between the aircrew and the LSO. The solution? A mix of vinegar and warm water to prevent cracking the glass with drastic changes in temperature while preventing subsequent salt buildup and encrustation. At night, pilots expertly and regularly land an MH-60R in waves over 10 feet, resulting in an incredibly dynamic nighttime shipboard landing environment. An additional hazard that required both in-depth and time-critical ORM was snow and freezing rain. Flying in icing conditions increases the risk of unusual vibrations in flight due to the buildup of ice on the main rotor blades, which is generally mitigated by the use of blade de-ice equipment. Ice buildup could lead to a multitude of issues, the most prevalent of which being that if drastic enough, the aircraft may be unable to establish autorotative RPM in the event of a dual engine failure. To mitigate this, the aircrew conducted blade-deice checks to ensure the main rotor and tail rotor deice systems on the MH-60R were working as advertised. The blade de-ice system on the MH-60R is designed to provide controlled electrical power to integral heating elements in the main and tail rotor blades, causing the ice bond layer to weaken, allowing symmetrical ice shedding. Further information on the blade de-ice system can be found in the MH-60R NATOPS, paragraph 2.22.3.2. Hazards, Mitigations, and Recommendations The following are additional hazards, associated mitigations, and future recommendations when operating in extreme weather operations that HSM-51.1 encountered in Northern Japan: 1. When the OAT reaches 5 deg. C or below with engines operating in visible moisture, the engine inlet guide vanes and the engine inlet are susceptible to icing. Ensure ENG ANTIICE Checks are done prior to launch, and ENG ANTI-ICE Switches shall be turned on when in OAT below 5 deg C in visible moisture. 2. On a Flight IIA DDG (as well as other CRUDES ships), “pad eyes” (tie-down points for the chains on the flight deck) are susceptible to icing when water is allowed to accumulate. This may result in the inability to secure the aircraft with tiedowns, or chains. Deviating from tie-down configurations could potentially lead to poor oversight as to where tie-downs are attached. HSM-51.1 mitigated this by ensuring pad-eyes were blown out at the end of every flight schedule.

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Features

HSM-51.1 conducting flight operations in extreme weather suits, colloquially known as “Pumpkin Suits.”

3. When shutting down on potentially icy surfaces—i.e., the flight deck of a Flight IIA DDG—it is advisable to allow the rotor RPM to spool down smoothly, or coast down. Possible aircraft rotation could occur with rapid and excessive application of the rotor brake.

6. During operations in extreme weather and high sea states, keep the aircraft hangared to the max extent possible. We recommend conducting pre-flight checks with the aircraft hangared to minimize personnel exposure. Additionally, ensure heavy weather tiedown configuration is adhered to and RSD beams are open. This will prevent damage to the RAST probe due to prolonged fatigue stress.

4. If the aircraft is to be spotted on the flight deck for an extended period of time, ensure scuppers on cockpit and cabin windows are opened. It may be counterintuitive, but this will allow sufficient air circulation to prevent frost buildup and reduce cracking of transparent areas due to differential contractions.

7. It is important to accept risks when benefits outweigh the costs. For every executed fly day in extreme weather operations, there is a canceled fly day right around the corner. Prior to flight operations, it is important to analyze sea state, sea surface temperature, and forecast weather to determine if the benefit of extreme weather operations outweighs the cost.

5. When flying in icing conditions and periods of reduced visibility, flight operations can be disorienting to not only the pilots but the entire flight deck team, bridge team, and tactical watchstanders. To mitigate this, it is recommended that the most senior aircraft commander embarked is on the bridge to facilitate proper risk decisions during time critical situations. At night, we recommend using a pair of standard issue NVGs to aid the bridge team in identifying worsening conditions at night and thus steer the ship away from conditions that would put flight operations in jeopardy. The remaining aircraft commander(s) and pilots should be in CIC and tower to provide real-time updates to all critical watch stations.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

In conclusion, HSM-51.1 flew over 100 hours in conditions rarely encountered by CRUDES-embarked HSM detachments, resulting in several lessons learned and recommendations to all future deployers in areas of extreme cold. We hope this article provides useful insight to the entire Rotary Wing Community. Notes 1. Suits are Issued by the ship or purchased by the command. Website: https://www.fisheriessupply. com/stearns-stearns-challenger-anti-exposureworksuit/3000002911

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Features Preparing the Navy for the Indo-Pacific: Advancing UAS for Great Power Competition By Carl Forsling and Chris Misner

fter twenty years engaged in the Global War on Terrorism, the U.S. Navy finds itself having to rapidly retool its arsenal for a new set of threats and missions. Combating terrorism is a very different mission than facing a peer competitor in the Indo-Pacific. This shift will challenge every community in the Navy, but perhaps none more than the Surface Fleet. During any conflict against a peer or near-peer adversary, U.S. Navy surface The V-247 Vigilant is an example of a modern unmanned system designed to meet the combatants will challenges posed by future conflicts. Image by Bell, Textron. Inc need to find, fix, and destroy surface and submarine targets at ranges beyond those supported by UAS means that the use of highly capable weapons, such as current embarked unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and the Tomahawk Block V, is greatly constrained. As a result, helicopters. Any future system must significantly reduce the surface combatants are left dependent on higher-echelon logistical support needed to support and sustain operations. It assets to acquire and track targets. must combine the vertical-lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, Similarly, those combatants rely on Maritime Patrol and provide 24-hour persistent surveillance, and be able to deliver national assets to alert them of potential threats. Peer and long-range precision fires. near-peer adversaries have systems like the YJ-12B cruise missile that can be launched from well outside the range of Surface Action Groups (SAGs) face significant capability current Navy tactical UASs. By the time the ship’s organic gaps in organic Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, sensors detect the inbound threat, the time-to-impact is short, and Targeting (ISR-T). While manned aircraft, such as the and the point of origin has moved. Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance (MPRA) P-8 Poseidon, conduct a significant part of this mission, UAS are by-and-large This puts a significant burden on a finite quantity of MPRA more suitable. While the MQ-4C Triton is an outstanding and other shore-based assets, which are further limited by their ISR-T platform, offering the long-range and endurance of a runway and infrastructure requirements. Supporting surface UAS, it shares some of the same liabilities as the P-8—it needs combatants conducting Distributed Maritime Operations a long runway and infrastructure ashore. (DMO) will severely stress even well-resourced land-based air support. Even if there are sufficient assets, they may not be The Navy lags in fielding shipboard-capable UAS to perform near the point of need in terms of either responsiveness to this mission. The MQ-8C, ScanEagle, and RQ-21A all have emergent threats or in time-on-station once they arrive. They limited range, significantly less than 150 nm. This means that are further constrained by competing higher priorities, and in the ship’s own weapons will usually outrange the visibility the event of a peer or near-peer conflict, there will be a lot of afforded by its UAS support. You can only hit what you can competition. observe. The limited range and endurance of current Naval Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

That’s just in terms of providing targeting information and situational awareness. No current Navy UAS, even the MQ-4C, has the capability to launch its own ordnance. This means that the only airborne striking power available to any surface combatant is the venerable MH-60R. While a capable platform, the MH-60R is limited in range, altitude, and endurance by its inherent nature as a manned helicopter. That’s not even accounting for the risk in exposing human aircrew to a medium or high-threat environment with limited ability to conduct personnel recovery.

One example of that technology is the Bell V-247 Vigilant. The V-247 represents a next-generation unmanned capability based on proven tiltrotor technology and performance, which are also foundations of the V-280 Valor manned tiltrotor recently chosen as the basis for the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). The jump in capability from current aircraft is not limited to advances in rotors and drive systems, but also in the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) underneath the skin. MOSA will allow the V-247 to deploy the newest sensors and weapons throughout its service life.

Surface combatants, especially DDGs, will provide the preponderance of the Navy’s tactical striking power in the event of a major conflict, yet they are not being provided UAS commensurate with their value to the Fleet. The Navy needs to replace the MH-60 aboard DDGs with an unmanned system capable of carrying a comparable sensor and weapon loadout, to include torpedoes and long-range missiles, but at significantly greater ranges.

Regardless of the aircraft chosen, the Navy needs to set its course now. While smaller UAS will fill near-term capability gaps, without the right vision and resources today, the Surface Navy will face the threats of 2035 with a UAS capability not much changed from the Navy of 2025. The Navy’s UAS Roadmap needs to incorporate not just the exigent requirements of today’s operational environment, but those of the 2030s and beyond.

The physics of carrying larger sensors and weapons at long range and endurance are unchanging. There is a steep change in capability with larger UASs. While small UASs are often rapidly developed and iterable, larger UASs are major weapons systems. They need concerted and sustained programmatic effort to develop and field. The threat is not diminishing. Technologies exist that can put an MPRA-type capability on the back of destroyers – “Group 5” large UAS with Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) capability.

About the Authors Carl Forsling and Chris Misner are Senior Managers for Military Sales & Strategy at Bell.

The V-247 Vigilant will modernize unmanned rotary-wing capabilities with significant increases in speed, range, and lethality.

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Features A Case for Auditory Learning Resources in Naval Aviation Training By LT Andrew George, USN

Problem Statement: Naval Aviation does not provide auditory-based learning resources when training students to fly a Type/Model/Series (T/M/S). Background: tudent Naval Aviators (SNA) and Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) students are issued several primary resources when learning to fly a T/M/S for the first time, or as a CAT II or III FRS student. These primary resources include but are not limited to the NATOPS Flight Manual, NATOPS Pocket Checklist, Flight Training Instruction (FTI) in flight school, and Maneuver Description Guide (MDG) at the FRS. Ground-based Training in a T/M/S is then further supplemented by a combination of instructor led classes and computer based training such as Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) and Interactive Courseware (ICW). In some instances, students are also provided with digital copies of these publications and courseware on a CD/DVD. If CD/DVDs containing study materials are not provided in an official manner, aviators will typically distribute publications to themselves and others by attaching files to emails and cloudbased file-sharing services. Although the importance of having hard copies of these primary study materials is a necessary minimum requirement, the portability and accessibility of digital study materials is invaluable when it comes to being able to study in any environment with a cellular device, tablet, or computer. While distribution of digital publications is a topic in itself, this document addresses a much larger concern underlying the primary learning style in Naval Aviation training.

Discussion: The one thing that primary source publications and computer-based courseware have in common is that they appeal to a visual learning style. There are virtually no resources based on an auditory learning style that are available to flight students to take home or study on a portable electronic device. Compare this to an ever-growing audiobook industry with companies such as Audible that has most of Amazon’s vast database of eBooks recorded in audio format for playback; it is clear that Naval Aviation is lagging behind when it comes to tapping into this alternative method of learning. Reference (a) concludes that visual and auditory learning are equally effective learning methods and that a combination of these methods leads to "more efficient comprehension" over using visual or auditory alone. Reference (a) also suggests auditory learning can, in some cases, be more effective than visual learning when studying "meaningful, familiar material" compared to studying "meaningless and unfamiliar material" where visual learning is more effective. Recommendation: It is my recommendation that CNATRA and NATOPS Model Managers of all T/M/S explore and implement low cost but effective learning resources based on an auditory learning style for distribution to all aviators of their assigned T/M/S. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Distributed with the caveat that the auditory materials are not to replace the primary sources they are based on, and that the auditory learning materials can be regarded as supplementary. A specific example of how easily this can be implemented would be to focus on Chapter 12 Emergency Procedures of the NATOPS Flight Manual. Anyone with a decent voice can sit in front of a computer and microphone, and over the course of a working day or two, record and edit all the Critical Memory Items (CMI) with associated Notes, Warnings, and Cautions for distribution as an auditory study resource. In addition, recordings could implement mnemonics or other memory aids that increase retention. Distribution could be in the form of a CD/DVD as previously mentioned, or could be downloaded directly onto an electronic device such as an Android cell phone through the GEOINT App Store, a government-controlled medium. Reference (b) outlines examples of how playback of recorded knowledge can be utilized. In the same way people listen to audiobooks, freeing their hands to accomplish other tasks while engaging the mind to listen and learn, Naval Aviators can listen to a recording of life-saving CMIs while they drive to work, cook or clean at home, and at the gym. This specific method of studying was successfully implemented by a pilot at HSC-25, who over the course of his Naval Aviation training, made recordings of CMIs for every T/M/S he flew including the T-6, TH-57, and MH60S. With an extremely busy family life, he found that, "concentrating on EPs while doing another task really helped it sink in." Introducing an auditory resource like this that not only covers Emergency Procedures, but Systems, Limitations, Flight Characteristics, etc. would transform the way we learn our assigned aircraft, reduce flight school attrition, increase Fleet readiness, and make us better aviators. Summary And Conclusions The implications of the experimental evidence for the first of these questions is quite clear. Approximately half of the research has favored a visual, and half, an auditory method of presentation. It must then be concluded that neither an auditory nor visual presentation of information is more suited per se to efficient comprehension. 1. A Combined visual and auditory presentation of material leads to more efficient comprehension than the presentation of either auditory or visual material alone. 2. Meaningful, familiar material is more efficiently presented aurally, whereas meaningless and unfamiliar material is more efficiently presented visually. 64

Conclusions: From the statements of the language learners we can conclude that they should study in groups and talk things out, get a small tape recorder or smartphone in the classroom to record lectures and study groups. They should reduce lecture and course notes and put them on tape to keep them in mind later. Rather than writing down the texts, they should read the texts out loud or get them into recorder. Auditory learners enjoy listening, for this reason, they should listen to text tapes while driving, resting or entertaining. So as to keep in mind and fast analyse, they should read questions and work out problems aloud.

Reference (a) excerpts on visual vs. auditory learners: Ref:(a) Day, W. F., & Beach, R. B. (1950). Comparing The Visual and Auditory Presentation of Information. Charlottesville: United States Air Force Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Reference (b) excerpt on recommendations for auditory learners: Ref:(b) Kaylar, F., & Kaylar, F. (2017). The Effects of Auditory Learning Strategy on Learning Skills of Language Learners (Students’ Views). IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS).

ABAV

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Features Flight Of Four Lands On Arthur Ashe Stadium Court By CAPT Joellen Drag-Oslund, USNR (Ret.)

t’s “Oh Dark Thirty” on September 2, 2023, and I’m one of a handful of active duty and former military members exiting our shuttle van at the President’s Gate at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, NY. Our very long day at the U.S. Open tennis is about to begin for what will become one of our most thrilling and memorable experiences ever. On Saturday of Labor Day weekend, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) celebrates "LT Joe Hunt U.S. Open Military Appreciation Day." LT Hunt graduated from the Naval Academy and is the only tennis player in history to win the U.S. National Boys’, Junior, Collegiate and Men’s Singles titles. He won the U.S. Nationals in 1943 while on leave from the Navy. Two years later, he died in service to his country when his fighter plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean.

RADM Shoshana Chatfield, USN, (SH-3, CH-46D, MH-60S) LT Audrey Mackovjak, USN (F/A-18E), LT Julia Baily, USN (MH-60S, CMV-22B), and CAPT Joellen Drag Oslund, USN (Ret.), pose as military veterans are honored on court.

Throughout this year’s U.S. Open, the USTA commemorated and celebrated "50 Years of Equal Prize Money" for all its tennis competitors. And for their Military Appreciation Day, they also saluted "50 Years of Women Flying in the U.S. Navy."

Each year, the U.S. Open invites veterans from all the U.S. military branches to watch day and evening session matches; participate in pre-match coin tosses; take part in a tennis clinic in Arthur Ashe Stadium; and other opportunities on-site. Upon our arrival, we were escorted through the players locker room and down the same hall that the players walk through to reach the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court. When we emerged on the court, the experience was a lot to take in and we all had to pause for a moment and pinch ourselves to be sure we were really there. We were then joined by Joe Hunt, LT Hunt’s great nephew, and treated to a 90-minute tennis clinic. I was honored to be joined by RADM Shoshana Chatfield (SH-3, CH-46D, MH-60S) and LTs Julia Baily (MH-60S, CMV-22B) and Audrey Mackovjak (F/A-18E) to tell our stories as Navy women pilots, past and present. It’s worth noting that the LTs were also Naval Academy graduates and former members of the varsity tennis team. After the clinic and breakfast in the players lounge, we ventured out onto the grounds of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. With them wearing their summer whites and flight suits, and me in my 50+ year old Navy leather flight jacket, we attracted a lot of attention and interest. We were proud to interact directly with hundreds of guests and to Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

be seen by thousands of spectators. Everyone we met and spoke with was very interested to hear of our experiences, ask questions about today’s Navy, and thank us for our service. For the rest of the day, we were hosted by Brian Hainline, USTA Chairman and President, and met several Board Members, other USTA leaders from around the country, and distinguished guests. RADM Chatfield and I were warmly received as we presented remarks to over 200 guests at lunch and dinner. Other engagements included an opportunity to meet with and answer questions posed by tournament referees and umpires, several of whom were veterans. LT Baily and LT Mackovjak were the stars of that meet and greet. We also met with veterans, military families and military support groups Black Veterans for Social Justice, Blue Star Families, Four Block, Hope for the Warriors, and Zero Mills in the Veteran's Suite and a photo op at the Artur Ashe statue on the Tennis Center grounds. The Navy's "50 Years of Women Flying in the U.S. Navy" celebration was a perfect complement to the USTA's theme "Commemorating 50 Years of Equal Prize Money," an achievement championed by Billie Jean King in 1973. Board members of the USTA were so inspired by the Navy presence and our remarks, they rearranged the schedule for Labor Day to make a meet and greet with Billie Jean for RADM Chatfield and me. Getting to meet BJK was incredible--a brave and tenacious trailblazer in her own right and a hero of mine. We fought 66

different but parallel battles in the 70's and she is still a force to be reckoned with as she approaches 80 years old. She was so gracious, funny and generous with her time. The highlight of meeting Billie Jean for me was sharing a tennis connection. As an 11- or 12-year old, she played in a tennis tournament against my mother, who was then in her early 30s and a mother of five. BJK remembered that Long Beach City Tennis Tournament as the first time she played against adults. Much to my mother’s chagrin, Billie Jean won handily. A further connection happened when my mom also played a mixed doubles exhibition match with Bobby Riggs, a few years after Billie Jean defeated him in the famous “Battle of the Sexes” Match in 1973. Our wonderful day concluded with the four of us back on the stadium court to be introduced at the evening session of the LT Joe Hunt Military Appreciation Day Opening Ceremony which was broadcast to 180 countries around the world and on the USTA domestic digital network. In her remarks, RADM Chatfield thanked the USTA for inviting the Navy to attend Military Appreciation Day, and for naming it after a true Navy Legend. She honored LT Joe Hunt who took home the highest achievement in tennis and gave his life serving our country, and Billie Jean King for fighting to equalize prize money for women and men. They are just two of many whose shoulders we stand on, both in tennis and military service. RADM Chatfield closed by offering warm well wishes to the USTA Tennis Family and the family of LT Joe Hunt, and by remembering the many men and women serving all over the world as they stand watch in defense of our freedom.

CAPTs Oslund show their NHA LTM coins

And with that, the same shuttle van that landed us on the National Tennis Center at “Oh Dark Thirty” that morning delivered us back to our hotel, a bit weary but still hovering out of ground effect from the magnificent experience. The four of us agreed that it was truly an honor and privilege as Women Naval Aviators to represent our Navy and tell our stories on a day that we will never forget. On a closing personal note, I am always thrilled to meet today's incredible women aviators like Julia and Audrey and RADM Chatfield. It is not often that the trailblazers in history get to see the positive results and impact of their struggles, much less to be honored for those milestones and to meet the very people who have been able to follow and succeed in their footsteps. I am so incredibly blessed to be one of those pioneers. I can hardly describe how it feels; thrilling, gratifying, humbling and overwhelming - but even those words can barely capture it. Today's Women Naval Aviators embody all the hopes of those who came before and my heart soars to the sky with each and every one of them that I meet. They are living the dreams the "First Six" of us envisioned 50 years ago! V/r, CAPT Joellen Drag Oslund, USNR (Ret.) Woman Naval Aviator #4 Woman Navy Helicopter Pilot #1 NHA 2023 CAPT Mark Starr Pioneer Awardee NHA Lifetime Member #487

Billie Jean King presents poster to RADM Chatfield & CAPT Oslund 67

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Features A Bridge for Intra-Theater Distributed Fleet Operations: The CMV-22B By Robbin Laird

s the joint force shapes a distributed force for enhanced survival and relevant presence, the ability to sustain and deliver relevant payloads to that force in combat is critical. Distributed force operations across the Pacific as a giant chessboard, requires an ability to cross link and cross support that force. This requires continued progress of the relevant command and control (C2) systems to connect the combat clusters that make up a distributed force, but also requires an ability to resupply the relevant payloads used by forces within those combat clusters. The advantage of the sea base is mobility and speed. The disadvantage of the sea base includes consumption of assets and in times of conflict, there remains the need to resupply the weapons of other payloads it is consuming in combat. What the combat cluster needs will vary over time– fuel, weapons, Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs), Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs), and other payloads in development – but some can be supplied by the combat force moving back to the supply system. But if it remains operating within a hot zone, the most likely delivery system will be airborne. If speed and range is not an issue, rotorcraft will do. But if speed and range are critical, say in the resupply of weapons, then the Navy will need to rely on the CMV-22B. Bought to “replace” the C-2A Greyhound, the CMV-22B is no more a replacement for this aircraft than the MV-22 was for the CH-46. Much like the Osprey changed how the Marines would operate when they mastered Osprey operations and brought it to the Pacific, the Navy is discovering that the Osprey can now provide an intra-theater lift capability which is critical to a distributed force. In my book, The Role of the Osprey in the Pivot to the Pacific, published this year, I described how the Osprey came with the Marines in the original pivot to the Pacific and now is becoming a key part of how the Navy works its way forward in distributed maritime operations, or DMO. And as the Marines work their Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operation, or EABO Concept, the Ospreys for the Marines play a key role as well, which makes them the players in the “second” act for the Marines as they move beyond the pivot to becoming embedded in the Navy-Marine Corps Team of 21st century integrated operations. As I noted in my book, the importance of the Osprey in the shift in CONOPS was highlighted in an interview I did in April 2023 with a senior U.S. Navy commander. He emphasized that the Navy needs to be able to more effectively do intra-theater logistics and to do so with effective speed and survivability. Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

As the Admiral underscored: "If we are going to have distributed maritime operations, we better have the ability to support battle damage repair, sustainment, and medical services provided at way more rapid than 20 knots." With the Navy needing to augment significantly over time its intra-theater logistics support, they are starting with the replacement of the C-2A Greyhound with the CMV-22B tiltrotor aircraft. The Admiral described this as a shift from a limited specialized support asset to having a distributed Fleet support asset which provides for intra-theater logistics, a priority need. The Osprey provides an important stimulant for the shift in con-ops whereby the Navy‘s experimentation with distributed operations intersects with the U.S. Air Force’s approach to agile combat employment and the Marine Corps’ renewed interest in Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations. In other words, the reshaping of joint and coalition maritime combat operations is underway which focuses upon distributed task forces capable of delivering enhanced lethality and survivability. And the notion of support is augmented in such a situation. The CMV-22B with its flexibility to land on a wide range of sea bases, and to move rapidly from a variety of land bases, means that it can lead to a significant “rethink” of how to perform logistical support across the Fleet and to be able to work very differently across the joint force. But to enhance in the short and mid-term the lethality and survivability of the Fleet, the low hanging fruit is to increase the numbers of this core logistics asset to ensure the Fleet can meet logistics requirements in a contested environment. But I would argue even more broadly than this goal. Buying a significant number of CMV-22Bs will allow the Navy to more rapidly and cost effectively meet the logistical shortfall for wider Fleet support as well as shape new ways of working with the joint force, both to support them as well as finding new ways for the joint force to enhance the Fleet’s operational reach, survivability, and lethality. In other words, going beyond the current CMV-22B Program of Record provides a thread which can tie together the wider Fleet and the joint force into a more lethal and effective distributed kill web force.

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Industry and Technology Elbit America to Supply Integrated Avionics Processors for V-22 Elbit Systems to provide advanced processing power to U.S. Navy’s long-range, medium lift tilt-rotor aircraft Press Release

lbit Systems of America (Elbit America) received a purchase order contract to provide Integrated Avionics Processors (IAPs) to support the United States Navy’s V-22 aircraft. The IAPs will be produced in Fort Worth, Texas and Haifa, Israel. The contract is through the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support. Elbit America is a leading avionics manufacturer and has extensive experience supporting rotary and tiltrotor aircraft for the U.S. military and its allies. This award extends the company’s legacy of providing advanced processing to improve aviator’s situational awareness for mission success. Elbit America’s IAPs rely on open systems architecture, leveraging commercial, off-the-shelf technology, while delivering advanced computing power. “Naval Aviators need to focus on the mission, not on sensor management,” said Paul Cooke, Vice President of Business Development for Airborne Solutions at the company. “Elbit America’s Integrated Avionics Processors are high-powered and dependable, so aviators can fly confidently in the most challenging conditions.” Elbit America has provided V-22 cockpit avionics for nearly two decades. The company is currently under contract to repair line-replaceable units for the aircraft, and has supplied components for the aircraft’s Color Helmet Mounted Display System. The V-22 is currently used by the U.S. Navy to transport personnel, supplies, and high-priority cargo from land to aircraft carriers at sea. The V-22 uses tilt-rotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft. Elbit America offers the U.S. Navy a diverse set of capabilities, such as helmet mounted displays and advanced cockpit displays for its F/A-18 aircraft, as well as fire control solutions for the service’s MH-60R Seahawk. The company is also developing autonomous systems to support the service, such as unmanned aircraft and unmanned surface vessels. Adding the expertise of its subsidiary, Sparton – a Tier I supplier of sonobuoys – the company enhances the U.S. Navy’s mission in all domains. Learn more about Elbit America’s Airborne solutions at https://www.elbitamerica.com/airborne.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Collins Opens Power Lab for Hybrid, Electric Tech Press Release

ollins Aerospace held ceremonies recently at its Rockford, Illinois site to formally open a $50 million advanced electric power systems lab—dubbed “The Grid”—that is designed to explore step changes toward the future of hybrid and electric flight. Announced in 2019, the 25,000-sq-ft lab will build on knowledge the company has gained as a power systems supplier over multiple platforms for decades, including the 1.5-megawatt power management and distribution system aboard the Boeing 787. The facility will have an initial test capability "The Grid" of eight megawatts, enabling Collins to develop cutting-edge electric motors, controllers, generators, and distribution systems, the company said. Collins cited plans to use The Grid to test a one-megawatt motor for the RTX hybrid-electric flight demonstrator and the European Union Clean Aviation Switch Program. The facility also will test a one-megawatt generator for the Air Force Research Laboratory. During the opening, the company displayed a one-megawatt motor and unveiled a 250-kilowatt motor. Collins further outlined a technology roadmap for a family of electric motors that can be scaled up or down to various aircraft segments. “In the coming years, we will use The Grid to break new ground in the development of electric systems that are more powerful, more efficient, and lighter than ever before,” said Henry Brooks, President of Power & Controls for Collins Aerospace.

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Industry and Technology Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions: Founded with a Purpose, Serving with Passion By Jay Johnson

ounded in the vibrant city of San Diego in October 2017, Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions is a trailblazing real estate company driven by a profound commitment to our military community. Our journey began as a heartfelt collaboration between our two founders: AWSCS Jay Johnson, USN (Ret.) and Maya Muilenburg. With a combined vision to empower active duty members and veterans on their path to homeownership, we set out on a mission that continues to inspire and guide us today.

Landing Collective Team Members: Danielle Popoff, Jay Johnson, Maya Muilenburg, Christina Rounds, and Anthony Magana

Educating, Empowering, and Elevating Our initial focus was clear: we aimed to educate our nation's heroes on the invaluable benefits of the VA Loan and the pursuit of homeownership. We understood that serving those who've served our country required more than just buying and selling homes. It was about providing the knowledge and resources to navigate the real estate world with confidence. This educational mission evolved to include dynamic workshops on real estate investing and equipping veterans with the tools to secure their financial futures. Additionally, our monthly veteran investor meet-ups fostered a community of like-minded individuals sharing experiences and expertise. Your PCS Partners: Making Moves Easier But our commitment didn't stop there. We understood the challenges military families face when relocating, and that's why we introduced Your PCS Partners. This game-changing platform was designed to streamline military moves, offering local knowledge and invaluable connections at new duty stations. Our aim is to make the transition as smooth as possible, ensuring military families find not just a house but a true home wherever they're stationed. Beyond San Diego: Serving Nationwide and Beyond Since our inception, Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions has grown far beyond the shores of San Diego. We now proudly serve real estate needs nationwide, extending our support to a few foreign countries as well. Our diverse range of services includes real estate sales, real estate investments, property management, and, of course, VA Loans. We've expanded our reach to be wherever our clients need us, ensuring that the Landing Collective commitment to excellence knows no bounds. At Landing Collective, we don't just sell properties; we build futures, we foster communities, and we honor the sacrifices of our military members. We invite you to experience the difference with Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions. Let us help you secure your dream home, your financial independence, and your peace of mind. We're not just a real estate company; we're your dedicated partner in making your real estate dreams come true. Landing Collective Real Estate Solutions - Community Focus, Global Reach Discover a world of real estate solutions and community support. Your home, your future, your collective. Visit us at https:// www.landingcollective.com and explore military moves made easier with www.yourPCSpartners.com.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

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Industry and Technology Bristow Secures Early Delivery Positions for Five Elroy Air Chaparral Aircraft Bristow Press Release, September 5, 2023

ristow Group Inc., a global provider of innovative and sustainable vertical flight solutions, has reserved early delivery slots for five of Elroy Air’s vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) cargo systems, the Chaparral. Bristow signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Elroy Air to pre-order 100 Chaparral hybridelectric cargo VTOL aircraft last year. The Chaparral will be the first of its kind VTOL aircraft dedicated to cargo movement to be introduced into Bristow’s aircraft fleet. Bristow plans to use the Chaparral internationally to move time-sensitive cargo for logistics, healthcare and energy applications.

The Chaparral will be the first of its kind VTOL aircraft dedicated to cargo movement to be introduced into Bristow’s aircraft fleet.

“There is an increasing demand for the movement of time-sensitive cargo for logistics, health care and energy applications. Securing these early delivery positions underscores our commitment to leading the advanced air mobility market and builds on our 75-plus year legacy of vertical lift innovations,” said Bristow Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, Dave Stepanek. “At Bristow, we’re excited to usher in a new era of vertical lift operations and collaborate with Elroy Air to meet the emerging market of express shipping cargo in cities and regions without relying on existing or new airport infrastructure.” The Chaparral is a “lift plus cruise” hybrid eVTOL cargo aircraft that leverages the benefits of both conventional turbines and electric propulsion, for efficient autonomous operation and longer range. Engineered with an advanced carbon composite airframe, Chaparral can be configured to ship inside a 40-foot container or in aircraft for rapid global deployment. Elroy Air has introduced advanced modular cargo pods that complement the Chaparral’s capabilities. The pods are preloaded by ground personnel and autonomously retrieved by the Chaparral aircraft before takeoff. Upon arrival at the delivery location, the aircraft autonomously lowers the pod to the ground. The Chaparral aircraft then retrieves the next pre-packed pod, creating a seamless bi-directional conveyor belt through the sky. “Getting to this stage of the process – reserved delivery positions secured with deposits, underscores our relationship built with Bristow and we are extremely pleased to be at this stage in development,” said Elroy Air’s VP of Business Development and strategy, Kofi Asante.“Bristow’s expertise is a strong catalyst for bringing new aircraft like ours to the market. Their rotorcraft expertise, global footprint and innovative mindset have made them a strong partner and we are excited for the next chapter together. We look forward to seeing the Chaparral operate internationally as part of the Bristow Fleet.”

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Metro Aviation, a SkillBridge Partner Metro Aviation Press Release

s the largest air medical helicopter completion center and traditional air medical operator, Metro Aviation has a reputation as an industry trendsetter. Headquartered in Shreveport, Louisiana, but with a nationwide presence, the family-owned company aims to provide the safest and best products and services. As an air medical operator, Metro Aviation operates more than 160 aircraft over 40 traditional programs in more than 25 states, including Washington, D.C. As a traditional operator, Metro Aviation provides pilots, technicians, and aviation oversight for its family of customers. However, Metro doesn't employ any medical crew or billing professionals. The traditional model allows Metro to focus on what it knows best, aviation, without the pressure of flight volumes.

Metro delivering the first of two new ec145e aircraft to Flight for Life

Metro's Part 145 Completion Center delivers an average of 35 helicopters annually. While most of those aircraft are for air medical customers, they also complete a significant number of law enforcement, utility, and VIP aircraft. Consisting of a dynamic team of avionics installers, machinists, sheet metal technicians, painters, avionics technicians, and more, the only job the completion center outsources is upholstery. The people of Metro are what makes it such a successful company, and with veterans making up nearly one-third of their workforce, Metro is committed to helping the nation's military community find their second career. That's why Metro teamed up with BreakTurn (formerly known as Skybridge), a Skillbridge intermediary assisting veterans transitioning from the military to an aviation career. The DOD Skillbridge Program is like an internship, allowing military members to train for a new career with an approved business. It is an opportunity for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service. Metro Aviation has more than 40 years of experience in the industry and is actively hiring leaders for the next 40 years and beyond. Visit choosemetro.metroaviation.com to find your place in the family.

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Change of Command COMNAVAIRFOR

Naval Air Facility Atsugi

HSMWINGLANT

RADM George Wikoff, USN relieved VADM Kenneth Whitesell, USN September 7, 2023

CAPT John Anderson relieved CAPT Teague Laguens, USN September 14, 2023

Naval Station Great Lakes

CAPT Nicolas Leclerc, USN relieved CAPT Manning Montagnet, USN August 24, 2023.

HSC-8 Eightballers

HSC-23 Wildcards

CAPT Stephen Yargosz, USN relieved CAPT Jason J. Williamson , USN September 19, 2023

CDR Ronnie P. Cituk, USN relieved CDR Jimmy Dalo, USN August 31, 2023

CDR Marcus Hoogewind, USN relieved CDR Ryan Klamper, USN November 16, 2023 Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

MARITIME SUPPORT WING

CAPT Nathan Rodenbarger USN relieved CAPT Edward Hoak, USN September 21, 2023

HSM-77 Saberhawks

TRAINING WING FIVE

USS Boxer LHD 4

CAPT Brian L. Holmes, USN relieved CAPT Matthew W. Cieslukowski, USN September 7, 2023

Col. Anthony Krockel, USMC relieved CAPT Jade Lepke USN September 21, 2023

HM-12 Sea Dragons

CDR Eric Johnson, USN relieved CDR Andrea Ragusa, USN August 11, 2023

CDR Sean T. Cavanagh, USN relieved CDR Blade A. Schallenberger, USN September 7, 2023 77

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Squadron Updates VX-1 Turns 80 - Celebrating 80 Years of Pioneer Pride By LCDR Brian Miller, USN (Ret.)

The officers and men of VX-1 assembled for inspection. The squadron was evaluating the AN/AQS-4 dipping sonar. The Sikorsky HO4S was the preferred platform for this, but had significant performance issues while maintaining a prolonged hover. The HUP-1 was quickly eliminated due to ground resonance problems. The HRP proved successful only after it had its fabric skin removed to reduce weight at the cost of increased corrosion issues. VX-1 eventually chose the stripped down HRP over the HO4S.

or those who may not know, VX-1 grew out of a Top Secret WWII project in Key West to solve the German U-boat problem off our own coastlines. They essentially started as an aviation detachment assigned to the larger program. The 2002 Naval Helicopter Association Historical Society’s Mark Starr recipient, CDR Stewart Graham, was a Coast Guard pilot who flew the first experimental dipping missions in a grossly underpowered helicopter. He wrote a fair amount about it, but to make a long story short, the capabilities that the MH-60R has today can be directly attributed to a lot of the work they did back then. About the time this photo was taken, VX-1 identified the need for a dedicated ASW helicopter. This led directly to investments in engine technology that in turn led to the development of the H-3 (at least that is how Sikorsky tells it) in a relatively short period of time. The H-3, as many here know far better than myself, was the first purpose-built ASW aircraft that could dip and shoot from a single helicopter. Prior to that, the H-34, as I understand it, had to work in hunter-killer teams. Today, based out of Patuxent River, MD, the VX-1 Pioneers continue to thrive and play an integral role in the testing, evaluation, and tactical application of numerous platforms, systems, and capabilities before they are fielded to the Fleet. In doing so, VX-1 has expanded its focus beyond just ASW, now applying expertise to the growth, evolution, and tempering of missions including Surface Warfare (SUW), Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), Battle Management Command and Control (C2), logistics support, Search and Rescue (SAR), and Electronic Warfare (EW), just to name a few. VX-1 currently owns or works directly on capabilities for the E-2D Hawkeye, P-8A Poseidon, KC-130J Hercules, E-6B Mercury, MH-60S Knighthawk, MH-60R Seahawk, MQ-4C Triton, and MQ-8C Firescout. The squadron was established on April 1st, 1943.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

50 Years of Women Flying in Naval Aviation By LT Sorcha "Sparky" Hartman, USN

First female Junior Officer Conversion IPs (JO CIPs) are: from HT-28, LT Audrey Peterson; and from HT18, LT Sorcha Hartman. Not pictured is the first JO from HT-8, LT Erin Snook.

ILTON, FL. – 34 years ago, LT Patsy Van Bloem checked into Helicopter Training Squadron 18 (HT-18) as the first female instructor pilot. It may be surprising to some that she began instructing in 1989 - when an entire 16 years had already passed since women were allowed to start flight training as unrestricted naval aviators (the first female helicopter pilot received her Wings of Gold in 1974). 2023 marks the 50th year of women flying in Naval Aviation, and this is a monumental landmark for the trailblazers who worked tirelessly against all odds fifty years ago. Women in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are still having ‘firsts’ in their respective fields all the time, from the first female African-American TACAIR pilot, the first female Student Naval Aviator selected directly to the F-35C syllabus, to the first female Marine Corps pilot to command a NASA mission that went to the International Space Station. T here are whole aircraft launching operations that have been comprised entirely of women, all the way from the LSE (Landing Signal Enlisted) on the flight deck to the Air Officer in the ship’s tower. The landscape of flying is changing, and it starts in the cradle of Naval Aviation, in Pensacola, FL. At Naval Air Station Whiting Field, history is being quietly made, yet again, as the first female TH-73A pilots are learning, defining, and teaching the brand new helicopter trainer to instructors and students alike. From the dedicated staff positions to the first conversion pilots, all the women currently involved in flying the TH-73A are breaking new ground every day. While women still only represent about 12% of aviators in the military, the percentage is growing, and finding women who are leading change and defining the future is increasingly commonplace.

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Talofa Lava, Samoa from Det X By LT Jackson "Prison Mike" Cotney, USN

elicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 Detachment 10 recently deployed aboard USS Jackson (LCS 6) participating in "Pacific Partnership 2023," an ongoing show of support and commitment to island nations across the South Pacific. On September 15, 2023, HSC-23 Det 10 was at a reception onboard the LCS in Apia, Samoa held by the American Chargé d’Affaires, Ms. Noriko Horiuchi, and U.S. Embassy New Zealand. Also at the reception was the acting Prime Minister of Samoa, Tuala Losefo Ponifasio, and his staff of national ministers. Initially showing an interest in the pilots’ callsigns, the acting Prime Minister made several remarks about the MH-60S and his desire to fly, but there were no plans at the time for any U.S. flight operations in the country due to uncertainty in the scheme of maneuver for the ship. The acting Prime Minister then invited the aviation detachment to his own residence for entertainment where he continued his interest in U.S. Naval Aviation and the capabilities they could offer to partner nations. Only two days later, the members of Det 10 had completed all the approval and planning processes to fly the acting head of state around his island in a demonstration of humanitarian aid and disaster relief. This flight was a highlight of U.S. relations within this area and demonstrated the importance of quick planning cells and the benefit of face-to-face interactions with America’s allies.

The crew executed a pier-side take off from the flight deck and flew around the capital of Samoa and surrounding areas where they demonstrated the ship-to-shore sequence of events in a disaster scenario and showcased the logistics transport and search and rescue capabilities of the MH-60S. Passengers on this flight included the aforementioned Noriko Horiuchi and Tuala Losefo Ponifasio, the Samoan Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure, Olo Fiti Vaai, Minister of Samoan Natural Resources and Environment, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, the Minister of Samoan Police, Faualo Harry Schuster, and Political and Economic Specialist to U.S. Embassy in Samoa, Ms. Funefe’ai Dikaiosune Atoa Tamaalii.

High visibility transport evolutions like flying the acting head of state as well as high risk flight evolutions like pier-side operations usually take months, and include in depth levels of planning, security, and operational risk management, but thanks to combined efforts from multiple fronts, the United States was able to strengthen bonds with partners in a vital area of interest. A show of the capabilities and limits of small ships and their aviation detachments serves as proof of concept for many different advertised mission sets. This effort involved rapid planning and creative support from multiple levels of government and military including the U.S. State Department, U.S. Navy 7th Fleet, U.S. Embassy Det 10 flew around the capital of Samoa and surrounding areas where they New Zealand, The Office of the Prime demonstrated the ship-to-shore sequence of events in a disaster scenario and Minister of Samoa, the Aviation showcased the logistics transport and search and rescue capabilities of the MH- Administration of Samoa, Samoan 60S. Police and Disaster Management

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Passengers on this demonstration flight were Noriko Horiuchi and Tuala Losefo Ponifasio, the Samoan Minister of Works Transport and Infrastructure Olo Fiti Vaai, Minister of Samoan Natural Resources and Environment Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, the Minister of Samoan Police Faualo Harry Schuster, and Political and Economic Specialist to U.S. Embassy in Samoa Ms. Funefe’ai Dikaiosune Atoa Tamaalii.

Ministers, U.S. Defense Attaché Office, Wellington, New Zealand, and USS Jackson Commanding Officer and Crew. This flight served to demonstrate the resolve of the United States to preemptively actuate processes to aid our island partners and friends in cases of humanitarian crisis. The countries impacted by Pacific Partnership are in a hotbed of international politics and are crucial to an ongoing open and free Pacific. The importance of our collaboration now with world leaders in these countries is best summed up by an anecdote relayed by the acting Prime Minister of Samoa. When he was 13 years old, a French Frigate pulled into the Apia harbor and executed community relation events with schoolboys across the island.

his village and being elected to office in a position on the international stage, he made several decisions about French investment and military operations in and around Samoa based on his favorable impression of a French Frigate port of call many years ago. “I remember them being a wonderful culture and wonderful boys and have thought highly of them ever since," he described. Pacific Partnership gave U.S. servicemen the ability to execute community events and this demonstration flight to the current and future leaders of Samoa in the same way. The crew of USS Jackson and HSC23 Det 10 no doubt left a lasting and important impact on our partners and friends in the South Pacific that will resonate for years to come.

He vividly remembered playing rugby with the sailors and trying out some of his newly acquired French language skills. His interactions in grade 7 have positively impacted his view of the French Navy since then. Fast forward almost 50 years, after a lengthy stint as a talking chief in

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HSM-49 Pilots Attend Marine Corps MAWTS By LT Nick “Gerber” Huffman, USN

nteroperability will be a key enabler in the success of our forces in the next major conflict. In preparing ourselves for the future fight, U.S. military forces are striving to improve their capability to integrate with dissimilar platforms across all military branches. Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron Four Nine is spearheading this integration with Marine Aviation assets in both Surface and Anti-Submarine Warfare. HSM-49 was the first HSM Squadron to send pilots to attend the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron (MAWTS) Course as academic students. MAWTS is the Marine Corps’ approach to provide standardized, advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications in order to support Fleet training and readiness. The Scorpions of HSM-49 attended lectures and took exams alongside these prospective Weapons and Tactics Instructors (WTI). Scorpion participation in MAWTS academics provided insight into how the Marine Corps plans to approach the complex battle problem of an increasingly capable enemy in the maritime environment. Additionally, Scorpion presence gave Marine WTIs a better look into what the MH-60R can bring to the fight with its sensors and weapon systems. Scorpion pilots also participated in the MAWTS Final Exercise, a concluding scenario in which MAWTS students plan, brief, and execute a simulated battle plan involving multiple warfare areas. In an effort to increase integration, this event has expanded to include anti-submarine warfare. For the final exercise, HSM-49 employed an MH-60R to join a flight of two MV-22 Ospreys to search, detect, track, and attack an Expendable Mobile Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Target (EMATT), an unmanned subsurface target that emulates the acoustic characteristics of a submarine. The MV-22s flew specific search patterns and manually deployed passive sonobuoys while the MH-60R processed the acoustic data. The event marked a major step forward for Navy and Marine Corps ASW integration efforts and proof of concept: that Marine MV-22s are capable of extending on-station time and substantially increasing sensor coverage during ASW missions. As "blue and green operators" work together, community-specific brevity terms, preferred flight profiles, tactics, techniques, and procedures become familiar, allowing optimized employment of sensors and weapons. WTI is a seven-week training event hosted by MAWTS-1, providing standardized advanced tactical training and certification of unit instructor qualifications to support Marine aviation training and readiness, and assists in developing and employing aviation weapons and tactics. Photo by Lance Cpl. Ruben Padilla, USMC

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

There is Still Time to Break Out Your Cameras and Shoot! NHA Annual NHA Rotor Review Photo Contest You may submit your photos between October 31 - December 15, 2023 You can email your entries by email to rotorreview@navalhelicopterassn.org or upload to the NHA G-Drive: https://drive.google.com/ drive/folders/1RtVyx07yEX_S-v6KyMVnlw2P0w8jAa-v?usp=sharing Please include your name and contact information with your submission.

Eligibility: NHA Rotor Review Photo Contest is open to all Naval Helicopter Association (NHA) Members. Time Period: The NHA Rotor Review Photo Contest ends December 15, 2023.

Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mike Lenart photographs amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge from a MH-60S Knight Hawk helicopter with HSC-22. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Scott Pittman.)

What to Enter: There are two categories for images: Current and Historical. Acceptable photo entries need to be high resolution 300 dpi or more and without extensive photo manipulation. No photoshopping with the exception of cropping or minor contrast adjustments. Include a caption and a brief description of your photographic process (camera used, lens, settings, lighting and any post production image manipulation). All entries must meet the following guidelines: • Media does not display any classified information or material. • No depictions of sensitive actions or personnel. • No “outside” NATOPS maneuvers or actions or said actions that could be perceived as violating procedures. • All submissions should portray the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard in a positive light. Judging: NHA members will judge the entries of the NHA Rotor Review Photo Contest. The voting process will begin 12:00a.m. PDT on December 1, 2023 and end at 11: 59p.m. PDT on December 30, 2023. Entries will be assigned a random number and scored on a point system. Multiple judging emails from a single address will only be counted once. Prizes: NHA will give out the following prizes for winning photos in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in both Current and Historical Categories. 1st Prize: $150.00 Visa Gift Card - The 1st Prize Photo submissions will be on upcoming covers of Rotor Review. 2nd Prize: $100.00 Visa Gift Card 3rd Prize: $50.00 Visa Gift Card Authorization of Release : Entry into this contest authorizes the Rotor Review Editorial Staff and NHA authorization to publish in Rotor Review and any other NHA media. 83

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Off Duty Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin by Eileen A. Bjorkman Reviewed by LCDR Chip Lancaster, USN (Ret.)

ileen Bjorkman has been fascinated by and, one might say, is even obsessed with ejection seats having spent more than 35 years and 700 hours in them as a Flight Test Engineer and then the Flight Test Director at Edwards Air Force Base. Retired now, she has penned a work that encapsulates the breadth of her knowledge on the subject. Her deep understanding of the development of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) during the Vietnam War to her knowledge of current aircrew survival techniques informs a book with a narrative structure which keeps the reader informed and wanting more. The author weaves a tapestry, taking us in and out of the true story of young Naval Aviator, Willie Sharp, and beyond. Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin starts by abruptly smacking the reader with Willie’s aircraft being struck by a SAM and his ejection that leaves you on the edge of your seat with Willie drifting through the cloud deck. You know the story will be continued, but at Eileen’s speed and style. We’re given a history of air sea rescue from World War I to World War II to Korea embellished with numerous accounts and aircraft from the PBY Catalina to the Sikorsky R-4, H-5, and H-19 to the Vertol H-21 and the Grumman UA16 Albatross leading to the establishment of the Sea Rescue Service. Of note is the detailed recounting of the post-Korea airliner midair over the Grand Canyon involving efforts by Air Force H-19s, Army H-21s and De Haviland O-1 Otters with Army aircraft doing most of the recovery work. Willie’s life is brought back into the story with his formative years growing up in the late 1940s and early ‘50s fascinated by all things military, especially with the Navy, having uncles that served in WWII. He even builds a dirt aircraft carrier landing strip to practice FCLPs with his bicycle, mastering the technique until as a teenager he sees a newspaper picture of the new F8U Crusader jet fighter being developed for the Navy. It’s the plane of his dreams, but he knows he’ll never fly it; flying, to his thinking, is for other lucky people. In the early ‘60s, he gets a fam-hop in a T-34 from a Navy recruiter, and he’s bitten again by the aviation bug. He is accepted into Aviation Officer Candidate School, gets commissioned, and takes to flight school like a duck to water, cruising through the T-34, T-2 and TF-9 until hitting the big boy, the supersonic F-11 Tiger. Willie’s career begins with a squadron tour as the author folds us into a history of U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Along with the geopolitical situation comes the development of combat involvement and of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) starting with Air Force H-43B/F Huskies and HU-16 Albatrosses (see RR137 Summer 2017, They Called It Naked Fanny) eventually Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

forming the Pacific Air Rescue Center. The rescue situation in Vietnam is aggravated by a multilayered jungle that swallows up crashed aircraft and crews literally disappearing into the environment. Willie finally meets the F-8 Crusader at Miramar and dives into the history of the aircraft: a winged 1000 mph rocket built around four 20 mm cannons and a pilot. It’s dubbed “the last of the gunfighters” for its designed role of air superiority. The F-8 is single seat; there are no 2-seaters, so your first flight is all you. As with any aircraft, landing is the most important part of any flight. Landing ashore is no problem, but hitting the boat for a 3-wire trap is a different story. The author provides an in-depth description of carrier landings with Willie’s maxim, “line-up, airspeed, glideslope” paying attention to the ball and LSO. The story morphs to the Gulf of Tonkin at Yankee Station off North Vietnam aboard USS Bonhomme Richard (CVA 31) in VF-191. Life on the carrier is relayed in detail from island to ready room and everything in between, so much so that you can smell the oil and steam and feel the hissing, beat and slam of the cats and arresting gear. Willie’s squadron callsign is “Feedbag," their mission AAA and SAM suppression for the A-4 and A-1 ground attack squadrons. A new antiaircraft weapon is introduced by the NVA, the Russian built SA-2 SAM, a radar guided telephone pole that can take out aircraft at altitude. CSAR has improved with H-2s stationed on offshore frigates and A-1 Skyraiders providing ground attack cover for downed pilots. It's a new day, and the squadron’s mission is AAA and SAM suppression. Willie’s day is covered from breakfast to intel to preflighting and manning-up his Crusader. Juxtaposed with Willie’s preparation is that of a Vietnamese fisherman preparing his boat and crew for a day on the gulf, including arming-up with an NVA provided AK-47. During the mission, Willie’s F-8 is hit causing him to eject. The ejection process is described in minute detail with units responding as soon as they hear his “Mayday” call; F-8s, A-4s, A-1s, HU-16 and an H-2. While everyone is responding, Willie is fished 84

out of the water by a fisherman. He has an altercation with the fisherman and his mate, wherein previous actions by his wife and CAG come together to save his life and prevent his capture. A-1 strafing runs keep the rest of the fishing boats at bay while the H-2 comes in for a hoist recovery. Willie’s return to his squadron and the F-8 and back into action is thoroughly integrated with discussions of CSAR improvements and PTSD. His ejection coupled with the interaction of his potential captors and a follow-on second tour fatal LSO incident leave him with recurring nightmares, furthering the author’s discussion on the history of PTSD, from which Willie is still trying to recover. Amplifying her talk on PTSD, the author covers the plight of POW/MIAs from WW I to Vietnam to present day. She recounts the function and actions of the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) which continuously seeks to account for and recover whenever possible the remains of our fallen and missing warriors. The program was born during Vietnam with the actions of Jane Denton and Sybil Stockdale, the wives of two POWs. She wraps up the history of CSAR and the

DPAA with the advent of the Soldier’s, Sailor’s and Airman’s Creeds to “leave no one behind." Noting that even today, the DPAA is finding and recovering our warriors’ remains. Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin is a beautifully written, in-depth and thorough accounting, of which I have only scratched the surface with my comments. In addition to a wealth of information, the book has hundreds of chapter notes, a detailed bibliography (including the seminal work Leave No Man Behind by Naval Aviators and Rotor Review contributors George Galdorisi and Tom Phillips), and an extensive cross-referenced index. Every time you go through the main gate of NAS North Island, note that it is the Admiral Stockdale Gate. An A-4, similar to the one that ADM Stockdale was shot down in is on the left while on the right there will soon be an SH-60 dedicated to CDR Clyde Lassen, USN (Ret.). Both of these Naval Aviators were awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during Vietnam; ADM Stockdale for actions as a POW and CDR Lassen as a LTJG CSAR H-2 Pilot. I heartly give Unforgotten two thumbs up, check it out, you can find it online, and in the NHAHS Library in Bldg 654.

Chip’s List of 10 Best Aviation Movies

ou probably had your own plans for vegging out at home during the holidays. If you don’t have anything better to do, and we know you probably don’t, here’s our top ten aviation flicks for your consideration:

6. Black Hawk Down (2001) Gritty graphic Army helo action in Somalia. 7. Pearl Harbor (2001) Bad reviews again, but we don’t care. Great WWII aerial combat action.

1. Midway (2019) This got bad reviews, but we don’t care. The Navy flying action more than makes up for it.

8. Air America (1990) Vietnam aviation dramedy from another point of view.

2. Planes: Fire and Rescue (2014) Seriously, you will love this one. The boss is a helicopter.

9. The Aviator (2004) Great flying with Howard Hughes and the Spruce Goose.

3. Red Tails (2012) WWII Tuskegee Airmen with plenty of aerial combat action with Mustangs and ME’s. 4. Always (1989) Firebomber action with an all star cast, including Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfuss. 5. Flyboys (2006) WWI aerial combat with amazing sound, your favorite drink, special effects, and a Zeppelin.

10. Apocalypse Now (1979) You’ll definitely want to flathat (but don’t do it!) after this powerful Vietnam flick. There’s ten for you or maybe you have your own list. Let us know if you do. Whatever the case, grab some popcorn and sit back with a good flick. Have a good one from all of us at Rotor Review.

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Engaging Rotors Congratulations to the next generation of Naval Aviation warfighters who received their Wings of Gold at NAS Whiting Field. These aviators will move to the Fleet to learn their designated platforms.

Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators October 27, 2023

Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators October 13, 2023

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators September 29, 2023

Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators September 15, 2023

www.navalhelicopterassn.org

Engaging Rotors Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators August 25, 2023

Congratulations to the New Naval Aviators August 11, 2023

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

Congratulations to the New Aircrew of HSC-3 September 29, 2023

AWS3 Adrian J. Acosta, USN, AWS3 Justin D. Bresee, USN, AWS3 Jacob Husovsky, USN, AWS3, William C. Jones, USN, and AWS3Tanner McMurdie, USN

Congratulations to the New Aircrew of HSC-3 August 18, 2023

AWS3 Garlick, USN, AWS3 Fischetti, USN, AWS3 Rodriguez, USN, AWS3 Simkins, USN, and AWS3 Smith, USN 89

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Signal Charlie CAPT Dick Catone, USN (Ret.) following a memorial service for a fellow helicopter pilot, is credited with the following statement: “I guess we are all in the starboard delta waiting for Signal Charlie.” Starboard Delta is the holding pattern for the airborne Search and Rescue helicopters on the starboard (right) side of the aircraft carrier. They fly at a low altitude so as not to interfere with the fixed-wing aircraft recovery pattern, and only land when the last fixed-wing aircraft is safe on board. When tower calls the helicopter to pass “Charlie” to a landing spot, the crew knows the fixed-wing recovery is complete, all is well, and it is time to come back. Hence, the statement appears appropriate that someday we will receive our own “Signal Charlie” and will be called home for a final landing. Signal Charlie has been created to inform our membership and honor the passing of fellow unrestricted aviators. It is only as good as the information we receive. If you have an obituary or other information that you would like to provide concerning the passing of a shipmate, co-worker, or friend of the community, please contact the NHA National Office at signalcharlie@navalhelicopterassn.org and we will get the word out.

e e

CDR John Charles “Jack” Macidull, USNR (Ret.)

TJG Macidull became a Naval Aviator on September 16, 1968 at HT-8, NAS Ellyson Field, Pensacola, Florida. LTJG Macidull is Navy Helicopter Pilot Designation Number # R-10059. Commander John C. Macidull USNR (Ret.) passed away peacefully in the night on August 12, 2023 at his home in Hayes, VA. He was 79 years old. “Jack” was born into a military family on February 17, 1944 in Philadelphia, PA; his father Joseph Macidull was a Colonel in the U.S. Army. Jack graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1967 where he excelled as an aero engineering scholar taking many elective courses, and also as a 2nd tenor in the USNA Glee Club. After completing flight training in Pensacola, Jack was designated a naval aviator and a helicopter pilot in 1968. His first tour of duty was with HC-1 during the Vietnam conflict flying SAR in H-2s and H-3s. Jack made two WestPac deployments on aircraft carriers in 1969 and 1971 and performed combat rescues under challenging conditions. For these rescues he was awarded four Navy Commendation Medals with Combat V and also the Air Medal with Bronze Star for a night rescue in the Tonkin Gulf in poor weather and an inoperative doppler system. From HC-1 he served at NWC China Lake, CA, from 1971-74 as a weapons test pilot in fixed-wing and helicopter aircraft. He also performed a number of challenging rescues during this tour of duty including one high altitude rescue of a stranded injured hiker on Mount Whitney at 13,000 feet altitude for which he received an Air Medal. In civilian life, Jack worked as an aerospace engineer with several companies beginning in 1974 with Teledyne-Ryan Aeronautical Company in San Diego, CA where he helped develop drone aircraft and other aircraft types. In 1979 he began work as an accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. He became a senior aircraft engineer/investigator for NTSB investigating many accidents, perhaps most notably working on the team that investigated the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. One of nine books he published was about that disaster and it was entitled, “Challenger’s Shadow.” In 1990, Jack retired from the Naval Reserve with 20 years service. After his retirement from Civil Service in 1994 as a GS15, Jack’s main pursuits were travel, music, Annapolis reunions and authoring books on a variety of subjects. Six of his books are available on Kindle. Jack eventually retired to Hayes, Virginia with his wife Eva, where they have enjoyed the past 20 years in their home on Chesapeake Bay. Jack was predeceased by his parents Joseph and Mary Macidull and his brother Boyd Macidull. He is survived by his wife Eva Marie; sisters Joan and Madeline Leigh, step-daughter Sierra, and step-granddaughter Eliana. Fair Winds and Following Seas Commander Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

RDML Ronald “Rabbit” Christenson, USN (Ret.)

TJG Ronald Christenson became a Naval Aviator on August 2, 1971 at HT-8, NAS Ellyson Field, Pensacola, FL. LTJG Christenson is Navy Helicopter Pilot Designator Number R-11719. When the orders for immediate transfer came early, Rear Admiral “Rabbit” Christenson departed the pattern for his permanent duty station on the Lord’s Staff in heaven on August 25, 2023, entering into travel status, suddenly, at his home in Leesburg, VA, where he had been executing his previously directed retirement with his accustomed and well-documented aplomb. Designated Ronald Lee Christenson upon his worldly arrival on November 11, 1947, Ron honored that name with an outstanding work ethic which led to significant academic and athletic recognition, including, but not limited to, eading Mt Morris High to a Michigan football state championship and garnering offers from Dartmouth and Navy, entering the latter in June of 1965. Shortly after matriculating, though the actual date and circumstance is shrouded in the mists of time, he became known as “Rabbit,” a moniker which has endured. Rabbit was a Navy footballer for all four years, wore academic stars throughout, and established his position as a true leader. He graduated in 1969, with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, which he quickly converted into a Master’s degree at Cal Tech. Continually demonstrating his breadth of talent as a true renaissance man, he complemented his academics by joining his wife Mackie as finalists on The Newlywed Game. Rabbit then attended Naval Flight School and was designated a Naval Aviator in 1971, with his first stop at H-3 Readiness Training and assignment to Antisubmarine Squadron 15 aboard USS Guam (LPH 9). Thereafter, in 1975, he reported to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 1, Patuxent River, MD, followed by selection as an exchange pilot, serving with United Kingdom Royal Navy, as a Sea King pilot, in Squadrons 820 and 706, Royal Naval Air Station, Culdrose, England. His next duty station was Administrative and Maintenance Officer, Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 5, aboard USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69). After a tour on the staff of Commander, Sea Base ASW Wings Atlantic, he became Executive and then Commanding Officer, Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron 7, aboard USS John F Kennedy (CV 67). In 1986 he reported to Naval Personnel Command as Aviation Enlisted Assignment Officer. He entered the Nuclear Power Program in 1988, in preparation for his assignment as Executive Officer, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in 1990. After assuming Command of USS Dubuque (LPD 8), Sasebo, Japan, in 1992, he returned to USS Theodore Roosevelt as its Commanding Officer, serving from1994 through 1996. His final duty station was as Head, Carrier Programs and Aviation Manpower and Training Branches, Washington, DC. Upon retirement from the Navy, Rabbit joined Lockheed Martin, where he served in a number of influential posts, most notably as Group Managing Director of United Kingdom Integrated Systems, headquartered in Chichester, England. Rabbit departed the Lockheed Martin warren in 2011, but his retirement was from formal employment only, as he pursued his fishing and hunting activities, oil and gas and realty investments, golf with the Jim Calvert Group of the USNA class of 1969, Asian rug and “Blue Coyote” art collecting and traveling with his family and friends, with the same zeal that made him such an exemplary Naval Officer and corporate executive. In 2013 he was Baptized and Confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church. He was also a Trustee of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, the Sports and Athletic Program board of the Naval Academy Foundation and a lifetime member and trustee of the National Helicopter Association. He was constantly a man in productive motion. In the words of Toby Keith, Rabbit never “let the old man in.” Rabbit’s parents, Roy and Dorothy (Evelyn) Christenson, of Mt Morris, Michigan, preceded him in death. He is survived by his spouse, the love of his life, Mackie, the former Sharon McIntyre, two sons, Stephen Scott Christenson and Martin Alexander (Marty) Christenson, of Alexandria, Virginia and Franklin, West Virginia, respectively, and his brothers, Gerald Bruce (Jerry) Christenson, of San Antonio, Texas, and James Craig (Jim) Christenson, of Fair Play, South Carolina. A catholic funeral mass was held on September 2, 2023 at 11:30am at Saint John the Apostle Catholic in Leesburg, Virginia. In Lieu of flowers, Memorial donations can be made in Rabbit’s honor to The Theodore Roosevelt Association Rear Admiral Ronald Lee Christensen, USN(Ret.) will be laid to rest at the United States Naval Academy on a later date. 91

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Signal Charlie CAPT Richard “Rick” Grant, USN (Ret.)

NS Grant became a Naval Aviator on April 23,1965 at HT-8, NAS Ellyson Field, Pensacola, FL. ENS Grant was Navy Helicopter Pilot Designator # R-7852.

Captain Richard “Rick” Grant, USN (Ret.) of Memphis, TN, passed away on Friday, September 22nd, 2023, leaving behind a lasting legacy of family, friendship and service to his country and community. Rick will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 56 years, Elyse Howard Grant of Lovington, NM; his daughters, Stacey Grant Navin and her husband, Paul Navin, along with their three children, Amanda, Stephanie and Elizabeth, who reside in Milton, GA; and Kelley Grant MacDonald and her husband, David MacDonald, with their two children, Margaret (Maggie) MacDonald, and Grant MacDonald, who live in Fort Mill, SC. He is also survived by his loyal dog and favorite walking companion, Sunshine. Born October 21, 1940, in Jackson, MS, Rick grew up in Chicago, IL, and was the only son of the late Margaret O. Schultz and Maurice H. Paquette. He held a deep affection for his grandparents, frequently sharing fond memories of his time at their home in Blue Mountain, MS. Cherished moments included his grandfather taking him hunting and fishing, playing Rook with his grandmother, and enjoying her delicious Southern cooking. As a teenager, Rick’s passion for sports, especially baseball, took root during high school and continued through his graduation from Fenger High School in 1957. He pursued his education at Murray State University where he played baseball, graduating in 1963. Rick later earned his Master’s Degree from the University of Utah in 1970, where he taught Navy ROTC. Rick had a distinguished military career in the United States Navy, proudly serving for 26 years. In August 1963, Rick reported to Pensacola, Florida for flight training as an Aviation Officer Candidate and was commissioned an Ensign in 1964. He served two tours in Vietnam and was involved in five combat rescues of downed U.S. pilots. Additional following notable assignments included command of aircraft-carrier based Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron HS-5 (Jacksonville, FL) and HS-10 (NAS North Island, CA), where he made lifelong friendships. Rick, Elyse, Stacey and Kelley took their final Navy family adventure in 1987 when he screened for major command as Commanding Officer, NAS Memphis, at Millington, TN, an assignment he loved. After retiring from the Navy in 1989, Rick and Elyse made Memphis their permanent home. Rick continued with his civilian career as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Millington and Vice President of Distribution at TBC, eventually retiring in 2001. Rick remained deeply committed to his community and served in various leadership roles including President of the Germantown Rotary, President of the Memphis Navy League, and President of the World Cataract Foundation. His passion for veterans led him to serve on the board for the Tennessee State Veterans Home, where he played a pivotal role in the establishment of a VA home in Memphis, which is currently under construction. Rick was a loving husband, father, grandfather, and a loyal friend. His family was a source of immense pride, and he never missed a chance to tell them. On the golf course, where he found great joy, Rick celebrated three holes in one – though he always attributed them to luck. Known for having a wonderful sense of humor, love of puns, gregarious nature, and genuine enthusiasm for celebrating the successes of others, Rick was beloved by all who knew him. A celebration of Rick’s life was held at Memorial Park Funeral Home on Saturday, October 21st, 2023. Memorial contributions may be made in Rick’s honor to the World Cataract Foundation, National Helicopter Association (NHA) Scholarship, or the Memphis Navy League. CAPT Grant was NHA Lifetime Member #34.

Rotor Review #162 Fall '23

YO U R M E M B E R S H I P H E L P S YO U R M E M B E R S H I P H E L P S

BU L DBU OIN UIS L D ON

EXCELLENCE! EXCELLENCE!

JOIN US Now is an excit ing t im e t o become a NHA M em b er !

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Naval Helicopter Association

Membership Application (circle selection)

Name ________________________________________ Rank / Grade _____________ Branch of Service:

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Aircraft Flown:___________________________________________________________ Mailing Address: ___________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________________________________ State_____ Zip Code____________ Unit / Squadron ____________________ Current Assignment____________ Ship / Station_________ Warfare Community (i.e. HSC / HSM / HM / VMM / CG) _____________________________________ Primary Phone Number: ______________________________________ Secondary Phone Number (optional) : ____________________________ Email Address:______________________________________________________________________ Levels of Membership: 1 year - $40.00

3 years - $110.00

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Rotor Review Fall 2023 # 162 "So Others May Live"

Articles inside

Crossword - Answers

CROSSWORD

Chairman's Brief

National President's Message

Rotor Executive Director's View

VP of Membership Report

From the JO President

A New EIC Takes the Helm