Ready or Not

Ready or Not

By LT Anna “LiMP” Halverson, USN

As 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Based on the urgency of the patient, there was no time to plan and the crew of Indian 620 was forced to launch with an out-of-date instrument approach plate and a GPS datum for a hospital in Phuket, Thailand.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 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!