CAMP SCHWAB, OKINAWA, Japan -- The CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter glided precariously low over the choppy water off the beach of Camp Schwab, dropping pairs of reconnaissance Marines into the ocean. The splash of the Marines’ entry into the waves was lost in the wind-whipped water that sprayed underneath the dual rotors of the helicopter.
“I believe we are (jumping) at 10 feet and 10 knots,” said Lorena, Texas native, Cpl. Jeb Love, a 24-year-old reconnaissance man with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. “That’s pretty standard.”
Marines from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and 3rd Recon Bn. were conducting combined helocast operations training, an insertion technique where Marines jump out of the back of a moving helicopter into the water and swim to the shore, said St. Louis native, Sgt. James M. Ryan, a 26-year-old crew chief with HMM-265.
“(This training is) for everybody on all sides of the house – the pilots get to work on their hovering and approaches, the crew chiefs make sure everybody stays safe and calls out any obstacles the pilots may not see, and for the jumpers themselves,” said Ryan. “They are jumping out of moving helicopters. That’s something you are probably never going to get to do that much and if you do need to do it (in a real-life scenario), it’s definitely better to have done it once or more times before.”
3rd Recon Bn. and HMM-265 prepared extensively for the combined training to ensure inherent risks were controlled.
The runs would be aborted if the helicopters were deemed to be moving too fast or the waves made it unsafe, said Love. The standard procedure for helocasting is a speed of 10 knots and 10 feet off the top of the water, with the maximum speed of 20 knots and 20 feet off the water.
Proper protective equipment is also required, including trading in the Marine Corps combat boots for something slightly less traditional.
“Chucks are the standard (Reconnaissance) booty. (These) booties (protect your feet and allow you to) throw on fins when you get in the water,” said Love. “And the vest, of course, so if someone gets hurt you can yank on theirs, keep them afloat and their face out of the water while you drag them to shore.”
According to plan, the training day went smoothly and did not require the use of rescue techniques or personal flotation devices.
“I thought it went really well,” said Ryan. “The guys were definitely ready to train. They had all their gear ready so we weren’t waiting on them, we could just keep going back and doing pick up after pick up.”
One of the reasons the training evolution went so smoothly is the familiarity between Marines from 3rd Recon. Bn. and HMM-265.
“We work with (3rd Reconnaissance) all the time,” said Ryan. “Helocasting is just the sort of training that this battalion is known for, and the execution of this training evolution lived up to expectations, with both recon and HMM-265 pilots and crew gaining valuable experience.”