"Forgotten" Missions Bring Succor To Pakistani, Filipino
Disaster Victims
By Aero-News Senior Correspondent Kevin R.C. "Hognose"
O'Brien
Marines break things and hurt people. Navy Structural Mechanics
fix shipboard aircraft. Seabees build airfields and fortifications;
Army helicopters sweep troops into and out of combat. That's the
conventional wisdom about the US military machine; and there's
little reporting about it, until somebody dies in Iraq.
Pakistan: Region Wracked By Earthquake
Here's another side of our fighting airmen: bringing relief to
the disaster-stricken citizens of friendly foreign nations. In the
first photo (above) Marines snap a slingload of emergency food onto
the central cling hook of an Army CH-47 Chinook, under the watchful
eye of the copter's crew chief. It takes a lot of skill to hold the
big machine in a low hover in the dusty conditions -- and a
lot of trust for the Marines to go underneath to do their job.
The US and other nations are supporting Pakistan's relief
efforts in a region that remains devastated by last October's
earthquake. These slingloaded supplies may mean life itself to
people who still can't be reached by road.
While the helicopters bring supplies, Navy Seabee Nathan Luetjen
bulldozes a precarious, unsafe building. Navy Mobile Construction
Battalion 4, Luetjen's unit, sent a detachment of men and equipment
into the rugged, mountainous area, where the only way to move is by
helicopter.
Philippines: Village Destroyed By Landslide
In the Philippines, Marines Staff Sgt. Jimmy Wheeler (right) and
Cpl. Joe Rainey of the 31st MEU take supplies from a CH-46 Sea
Knight helicopter and stack them (below). The Marines are
pitching in to help the people of Guinsaugon village on Leyte
Island recover from a Feb. 17 landslide.
During that same mission, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Reginald
Davidson tries to cheer up a young landslide survivor with a toy.
Over fifty sailors and Marines like Davidson, Wheeler and Rainey
came ashore to help clean up a schoolhouse in St. Bernard where
homeless villagers from the devastated town of Guinsaugon are now
staying, and to hand out donated necessities. Davidson is a
Navy aviation structural mechanic aboard the amphibious assault
ship USS Essex (LHD 2). Essex is the fifth ship to bear that name
in the US Navy, following in the tradition of an illustrious
frigate of the War of 1812 and a celebrated aircraft carrier of
World War II.
Essex projects her power through the Marine Air Combat Element,
including Harrier STOVL fighters and several types of helicopters.
In the last photo, one of the Marines' elderly Boeing CH-46 Sea
Knight helicopters of Marine Air Combat Element 262 safely returns
to Essex, and air and ground crew cooperate to bring the helicopter
safely aboard. Sikorsky CH-53E Sea Stallions also participated in
the relief mission, delivering relief supplies and digging
equipment.
(All photos DOD official. Aero-News salutes [in order] Tech
Sgt. Joseph McLean, USAF, PO2 James Godown, USN, Cpl. Justin Park,
USMC, and Airman Christian L. Lemus, USN)
Classic Aero-TV: Remembering Bob Hoover
See All