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HMM-263 prepare helos for transport home

Marine Corps News

Story Identification #: 200521275458
Story by Cpl. Joel A. Chaverri

AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 12, 2005) -- Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit is packing up for home after eight months of service in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Part of the process involved stripping down the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopters, among other aircraft attached to the unit, for aerial transport back to their hometown unit in Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.

“It’s a long and grueling process to prepare these things,” said Capt. Chris A. Browning, tactics officer, HMM-263. “Not only do we have to disassemble the rotors, but we also have to clean out the entire helicopter.”

Airframe mechanics are responsible for ensuring that each piece is properly taken apart and cared for.

“Breaking them down is part of normal maintenance, so that part wasn’t very hard,” said Sgt. Michael L. Hughes, a 26-year-old native of Water Valley, Miss., and airframe mechanic with HMM-263. “The main thing is to knock pounds off so that they can fit on the plane.”

An Air Force C-5 Galaxy cargo plane, one of the largest in the world, can hold three CH-46E’s that have been properly stripped of excess weight and gear according to Browning.

“We take out all of the radio and tactical gear that adds weight,” said Browning, a 29-year-old native of Montgomery, Ala. “It’s a lot easier to transport the birds (helicopters) when they’re lighter.”

The helicopters are extremely beat up and dirty from operating in the harsh conditions of the Iraqi desert. This requires each piece to be thoroughly cleaned as they are disassembled.

“The hardest part has been all of the dirt and grime,” said Gunnery Sgt. Michael A. Hamilton, flight line chief, HMM-263. “There can be none left on the bird. It has to be spotless.”

The process can be compared to the auto-detailing a car dealer does before reselling a pre-owned automobile. Only the helicopter is like an off-road truck that’s been driving through the dirt for 100,000 miles. Hydraulic fluid, common to the Vietnam ear helicopters, attracts dust from the high winds created by rotor wash. All of this build up has to be removes to get the birds back to show-room condition.

“It’s taken us about five days just to clean these seven,” said Hamilton, a 36-year-old native of Woodville, Texas as he pointed to the aircraft. “We’re had to use toothbrushes and rags to get into all of the nooks and crannies.”

The faces on the Marines expressed they were happy to finally be getting home after all of the hard work put into the departure.

“We’ve finished all of the work and it makes me feel pretty good,” said Hughes. “The birds are ready to go home, and so am I.”