Dstar

I left out a "t". Should have been 24 litters or stretchers. Mass casualty mission, which is rarely trained for or configured. 24 litters is a capability that I have never heard of ever being utilized.

I was on the schedule to fly that night. The phone rang that morning and I was told to turn on the TV. I watched the second tower fall. I tried to get to work and was unable and the Squadron told me to go home and show up at 2000. After arriving at work, I went out to preflight and assume the duties of the general support section leader. I stepped into the aircraft and it was configured with 24 litters. I was a little taken back. I had never seen 24 litters rigged before and I have not seen 24 litters in a 53 since. It was an eye opener. The Squadron’s aircraft remained configured that way for a week. To this day, I can still picture the cabin configuration and my thoughts that I hope it would not be needed.

Speaking from the Marine/Navy way of doing things, it works. Pilots are the Maintenance Division Officers (QA, Flightline, Power Plants, Airframes, etc)in the line Squadrons. The Maintenance Officer in a line Squadron is also an aviator. In every Group (equiv to a wing in the USAF) there is a Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS), which is commanded by a "professional" Maintenance Officer who started life in a line Squadron as the Maintenance Material Control Officer. MALS provides intermediate level maintenance for all the Group's Squadrons. The other bonus of having mechanics in the Squadron in the helicopter world is the Aerial Observer. They are mechanics that have volunteered to fly as an additional duty on top of performing maintenance. So when you are away from home and you break down, you have a Mech on board the aircraft who can fix the problem and therefore complete the mission.

I am a helo driver and I wear my gloves. I make my crew wear their gloves. I wear mine and I make my crew wear theirs because if there is a fire, I am going to pull them out and the grunts in the back and I want them to be able to do the same without hesitation. I can say the same about wearing body armor to include the chicken plate. I do not care how hot it is. It only takes 1 bullet to wish you or someone in your crew was wearing their body armor.

123abc, currently all Marine JTACs are officers who are either Naval Aviators or Naval Flight Officers. There are a couple of exceptions with Force Recon but they are few. Enlisted Marine JTACs are in the works for the maneuver battalions. Having aviators that are JTACs brings some things to the fight that are not tangible. I can stand in a potential LZ and know if it is going to work for a section of 53s sling loading ammo and fuel. A non-aviator JTAC is not going to have the first hand knowledge to answer that question. He can look it up in the book and determine that the dimensions support it but might not know the soil composition etc. Same goes for dropping bombs or shooting PGMs. Shooters bring more to the table on that arena. They help the assault support helo driver and herk driver JTAC in that area. Aviator JTACs have the mental picture of what things on the ground the aircraft might be able to see in order to get the talk on accomplished quickly. The perspective of an aviator that can be learned but it takes time. What you get with a Marine JTAC is an officer who has the background as an infantry officer, supporting guys on the ground who he eats, sleeps, laughs, goes on patrol, and he went to OCS and TBS with while controlling aircraft flown by former squadron mates who he did the same thing. It is a small sick world that gets things done. When you are talking to an aircraft and they check in and you recognize their voice and they recognize your personal callsign, somehow people try harder because you are literally supporting your buddy. Just imagine flying CAS a year after a JTAC tour and talking to a JTAC in contact, you have been there in the past and will do anything you can to support that JTAC now that it is your turn. Just the way the USMC does business. We have been doing it since WWII and it seems to work. Enlisted JTACs are on the way and they are needed. We do not have enough pilots to fly our aircraft and we do not have enough JTACs to support the individual maneuver elements.

I have decided to weigh in on this discussion. First, on opportunities to become a Marine pilot. As mentioned on page one in a post, yes the USMC gives pilot slots relatively easily compared to the other services. No other service will sign up an 18 year old college freshman for a guaranteed aviation training slot four and a half years in the future. There are some hurdles one must complete prior to making it to flight school. First and foremost, is the successful completion of Officer Candidates School. People get kicked out and that is that. PLC candidates might get to go twice, once after their freshman year and then after their junior year. Then you must in fact graduate from college (2.0 and go or at the worst 2.5 and survive). Then you report to The Basic School were you learn how to be a Marine Officer and a rifle platoon commander in a very intense 6 month period of instruction. After successful completion of TBS you get to go to flight school. You must still be physically qualified in order to start training. After successful completion of flight school, you then go to the Fleet Replacement Squadron were you once again must perform. So from the time you start TBS until the time you hit your first Fleet Squadron, it will most likely take you 3-3.5 years. It does not stop then. If you fail to perform in the Fleet, they can still take your wings and you become a Supply officer or whatever the Corps needs. So yes, at first glance, it appears that the USMC will give a pilot slot to anyone. There are many opportunities along the way to fail and loose the opportunity given to you. The USMC does not care what your grades were in college or what your major was. The USMC awards performance and leadership. Another unique side of the Marine Officer is how his MOS is assigned. Unlike all the other services, a new Marine 2ndLt upon commissioning is either a ground officer or an air officer. When you report to TBS you get to compete with all the other 2ndLts for an MOS. Performance gets you your top choices. So if I have lost anyone, there is not a single Marine infantry officer out there who knew he was going to be an infantry officer until month 5 of TBS. The USMC will also reward some 2ndLts with an aviation slot out of TBS. Performance counts. The USMC is looking for leaders of Marines, not F/A-18 drivers. On the CAS thing. I have controlled “purple” air and Marine air in combat with Gas and Trash. I can tell you that some communities are better than others. Rainman, I never had the pleasure of controlling a Warthog but overall the boys in blue did an awesome job putting steel on target. In fact, given the choice of a Viper and a Harrier, I would go with the Viper every day of the week and twice on Sunday over the Harriers who were supporting me at the time. Rtstolwo, if you are looking for a way of life the USMC is not the service for you. The USMC wants Marines first, Officers and leaders second. They are not looking for want to be F/A-18 pilots. The needs of the Corps will determine what you fly. Big Iron alluded to that on page one as well. The USMC is standing up a new active duty HMH (CH-53E) and HMLA (AH-1W and UH-1N) squadron in FY 08. At least 2 F/A-18 Squadrons are going to be decommissioned. You do the math. Your greatest chance at being a Naval Aviator in the USMC is going to be at the controls of a helicopter. You are going to be on a boat and you are going to be given the chance to become a JTAC and shape the battlefield one GBU-12 at a time. Somehow I do not think that is the lifestyle you are looking for from your first post.

Concur with Gas and Trash on the different view from an attack helicopter verus the jet. Close in fight from the helo cockpit verus the L-pod. Two different experiences. Oprah went out the way he wanted to, providing CAS.