Helicopters, ammo, and danger. It's just another day of training at fort hood. Wednesday troops trained on transporting ammo. It sounds easy enough, but KCEN HD News Reporter Amanda Kenney shows us how dangerous it really is.
While you may run away from a helicopter coming
towards you, these men and women stand still waiting for their
training to begin.
"You get ammo, sit it in a big net, hook it onto a big helicopter and take it where it's needs to go," said SPC Eddie Barnes of 665 Ordnance Company.
SPC Barnes makes it sound easy, but Sling Load Training
is not only dangerous but also critical when troops are fighting in
rough terrain.
"If we get deployed and we have to ship ammo to a unit that's out, this is the way that we would do it," said SPC Barnes.
"This is very important, if we can't get the ammunition to the war fighters then they don't have what they need," said SSG Michael Williams of 664 Ordnance Company.
Each soldier has to learn three different roles.
After they prepare the cargo, one uses the static probe, the other
hooks the cargo onto the helicopter, and another is guiding the plane
as it hovers over the cargo.
All three need to work together.
"If one guy doesn't do his job, the other guy can't, and shouldn't," said SSG Williams.
The helicopter is the most dangerous element to Sling Load Training. It adds wind, debris, and could possibly turn deadly.
"At
anytime that helicopter can lose power and it can come down on you so
you have to know how to react to every situation that occurs under
there," said SPC Barnes.
Troops
can sling load anything from vehicles, to food, or equipment. But the
most difficult they say is ammo, which is what they're training with, making it a very important day of training.
The 664 Ordnance Company trains for sling loading at least once a year.
