Sea Dragon Down
As a member of the United States Navy, every time I deploy, it is my number one goal to return home with all of our troops. I am part of a helicopter squadron that is responsible for deploying around the world in support of heavy lift and mine sweeping operations. The aircraft that we carry out our missions is the MH-53E Sea Dragon; it is known to be the biggest helicopter in the Navy’s inventory. My job, as a mechanic, is to keep these powerful machines ready for any mission and keep them running smooth. There is one mission that took place on July 19th, 2012 that I will never forget, the day that we lost JP and Sully. My squadron was deployed to Manama, Bahrain in the Middle East to provide airborne mine countermeasure support in the Arabian Gulf. It was my second deployment and I had adapted to the extremely heat that this region offered. The temperature during the summer months would reach as high as 130 degrees. Even with the elements of Mother Nature, we kept our powerful and well-groomed flying machines in the air performing every mission that we were tasked with. On July 17th, my name along with ten others, was called on to go on a special heavy lift …show more content…
Across our line of sight, the tips of the mountain stood out like a row of thorns. It was so quiet and there was no disturbance any were to be found within a 100-mile radius. We used the first day to survey the sight of the downed helicopter and develop a detailed plan to successfully complete the objective. The flight required experience and skilled pilots; they would have to hover low at 100 feet with only 20 feet between the blade tips and the mountainside. The landing zone was staged in a near by flat area just on the other side of the ridge line. Everything up to this point had been running smooth and as planned. We had a plan in place and our aircraft standing by for the order from the commanding
As a member of the United States Navy, every time I deploy, it is my number one goal to return home with all of our troops. I am part of a helicopter squadron that is responsible for deploying around the world in support of heavy lift and mine sweeping operations. The aircraft that we carry out our missions is the MH-53E Sea Dragon; it is known to be the biggest helicopter in the Navy’s inventory. My job, as a mechanic, is to keep these powerful machines ready for any mission and keep them running smooth. There is one mission that took place on July 19th, 2012 that I will never forget, the day that we lost JP and Sully. My squadron was deployed to Manama, Bahrain in the Middle East to provide airborne mine countermeasure support in the Arabian Gulf. It was my second deployment and I had adapted to the extremely heat that this region offered. The temperature during the summer months would reach as high as 130 degrees. Even with the elements of Mother Nature, we kept our powerful and well-groomed flying machines in the air performing every mission that we were tasked with. On July 17th, my name along with ten others, was called on to go on a special heavy lift …show more content…
Across our line of sight, the tips of the mountain stood out like a row of thorns. It was so quiet and there was no disturbance any were to be found within a 100-mile radius. We used the first day to survey the sight of the downed helicopter and develop a detailed plan to successfully complete the objective. The flight required experience and skilled pilots; they would have to hover low at 100 feet with only 20 feet between the blade tips and the mountainside. The landing zone was staged in a near by flat area just on the other side of the ridge line. Everything up to this point had been running smooth and as planned. We had a plan in place and our aircraft standing by for the order from the commanding