V CORPS SOLDIERS HELP MAKE SKIES OVER BAGHDAD SAFER
V Corps Press Release
By Spc. Christopher Stanis 1st Armored Division Public Affairs Office
BAGHDAD, IRAQ -- The skies here are safer now that soldiers of V Corps' 1st Armored Division gathered up anti-aircraft weapons left over from the former Iraqi army last week.
With the aid of UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from 2nd Battalion, 501st Aviation Regiment, the sling load operation removed five pieces of air defense artillery from the Iraqi community south of Baghdad International Airport.
Clearing the weapons systems is extremely important, especially with the pending reopening of the airport to civilian air traffic, said Sgt. 1st Class Fernando Alicea, the senior force protection NCO at the airport and sling load rigger for the operation.
"If the guns are serviceable, (someone) could fix them up and start firing rounds at the airplanes," he said. "That's exactly what we don't want."
This was the second sling load operation for the Division Artillery Brigade soldier since the unit arrived in Iraq. Members of the community feel more secure with the guns removed, said Sgt. 1st Class Hugo Vives, a communications platoon sergeant with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, DIVARTY, and the second rigger for the operation.
"They're so happy we're here (removing the guns)," Vives said, "that during the first operation, a couple of Iraqis tried to help us."
Vives, who earned his sling load experience at the Army's air assault and pathfinder schools, and Alicea, who spent eight years with perhaps the Army's busiest sling-loaders -- the 101st Airborne Division -- rigged the loads, but six soldiers from HHB, DIVARTY, actually hooked the weapons to the helicopters.
Alicea gave the soldiers a three-hour class on sling loading procedures prior to the operation.
"I taught them basic air assault and basic rigging, but I focused on the process of the hook-up, since that is what they were doing," he said.
When the time came to actually hook and haul the guns, the soldiers said, the real thing was just like training.
"The class showed us how to do it, and it was executed exactly how we were shown," said Pfc. Quillon Soard, HHB, DIVARTY. Soard said the force of the Black Hawk's rotor wash made his task difficult, but a team effort got the job done.
"It was too hard to keep your balance, but you had somebody there, holding you up," he said.
Cargo reach pendants were used to attach the loads to the aircraft.
According to Alicea, the reach pendant, which is shaped like a giant cotton swab, serves two purposes: to diffuse the static electricity built up by the helicopter's rotor blades and to give a better reach for the hook-up.
Prior to leaving for the weapon sites, Alicea assembled the sling sets based on what he knew about the guns, but what they expected to find and what they found were two different things.
"I rigged for a specific type of gun," Alicea said. "If (the weapon) is missing parts, we have to readjust according to the gun's gravity, shape and how it is going to travel."
"If a load is not properly balanced, it becomes what is called a frustrating load," he continued, explaining that improper rigging can cause the load to swing, and jerk the helicopter around.
While every hook-up went smoothly, the team ran in to one problem during the operation. The guns had to be lifted from the roof of a building, but the ladder designed to provide access to the roof had been removed. But the team came up with a quick solution -- they had themselves lifted to the roof by one of the helicopters.
"We planned on the spot," Vives said. "We had to improvise, and we overcame."
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