Reserve C-17 crews familiarize Guardsmen with helo loading

by Army Maj. Cindi King
South Carolina National Guard Public Affairs

1/12/2015 - EASTOVER, S.C. -- Air Force Reserve crews taught South Carolina Army National Guardsmen how to load UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters onto an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III during familiarization training at McEntire Joint National Guard Base here Jan. 10.

A crew from the 315th Airlift Wing, Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, flew their C-17 to McEntire JNGB for their drill weekend to execute the air transport training.

"The last time the majority of our Soldiers loaded one of our helicopters into a cargo aircraft was in 2008 for deployment to Iraq," said 1st Sgt. Kenneth Caldwell, Company A, 1-111th Aviation Battalion, S.C. Army National Guard. "We have many young Soldiers who have never had a chance to see how this works."

Master Sgt. Eric Walker, a loadmaster with the 315th Airlift Control Flight, said the training went very well and they hope the two units can train more in the future.

"There are lots of areas where we can help and be creative with training opportunities," said Walker. "Sometimes the first step is just asking the question, can it be done?"

"Training like this is important because we can identify issues now, so if have to load for long distance deployments and can't self-deploy, our Soldiers will know how it is done," said Caldwell.

The morning included a safety brief, a loadmaster overview of what would take place, preparations for the UH-60 Black Hawk to be pushed onto the C17 ramp using a small tow and then carefully guiding it on the ramp.

The goal was to load one helicopter nose first, and the other one tail first to demonstrate to the teams how each is configured when secured on the Globemaster III. After one of the Black Hawks was loaded, the C-17 pilots took the Soldiers for a short takeoff and landing so they could see how cargo is secured and have the experience of being in a large cargo aircraft with their Black Hawk.

Caldwell added the training was equally valuable to him, because he recently returned from a state partnership engagement in Colombia, where he assisted the Colombian military practice loading their helicopters onto a cargo aircraft.

"There are many skills that are a part of the air load, to include folding the blades, removing antennae and hazardous materials certification," Caldwell added.