Deployed JBER Airman helps with Afghanistan rescue effort

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • 438th AEW Public Affairs
KABUL, Afghanistan --  Hovering 75 feet above a tricky landing zone in the treacherous snow covered mountains in northern Afghanistan, the entire aircrew of the MI-17 Hip acted as one.

The pilot's view was greatly diminished and he depended heavily on what his crew was seeing out the side doors as the aircraft slowly descended into its parking spot that was only a foot larger than the helicopter he was trying to land.

The snow covered many points, like a rock or tree, which the pilot could use as reference points. He needed the eyes of his crew to ensure he touched down exactly where he needed to.

This was the situation that faced a crew of 438th Air Expeditionary Squadron advisers faced during a humanitarian mission Jan. 24, when they provided life-saving support to 31 Afghan avalanche victims.

Air Force Lt. Col. John Conmy, 438th Air Expeditionary Advisory Squadron commander and a participant in the mission, said only a crew that worked in perfect harmony would have been able to make the landing.

"Without the guys in the back, we could not do it as there was no way to ensure our tail was clear," said Conmy, a native of Buffalo, N.Y. "Because the pilots could not see the landing zone, they had to rely 100 percent on the aircrew to tell them where it was."

Senior Master Sgt. Todd Peplow, an aerial gunner and adviser for the 438th AEAS, has experienced numerous rescue missions in his career. He said the aircrew's ability to work together is integral to successful missions.

"We need to have a close personal relationship between the pilots and the rest of the aircrew," said the native of Anchorage and an Alaska Air National Guardsman of 176th Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. "We have to talk them through it, when you are in a hover, because they can't see below or behind the helicopter. Everybody's input is valuable, they may be seeing something that nobody else can see."

The sergeant said, though everybody shares what they see, the decision about what to do is still made by one person.

"Ultimately the pilot has to make the final decision," Peplow said. "But he is making that decision with the best information."

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jonathan Hill, a flight engineer and adviser for the 438th AEAS, said the aircrew has to use the same terminology and they have to choose their words carefully when they share what they are seeing.

"You want to give them a full picture but you don't want to be too elaborate," he said. "You have to be very clear and concise."

Hill, a native of League City, Texas, said he really enjoys being part of such a tight-knit team.
Conmy said the forming of a great team is not an accident and is done in part with a program called Crew Resource Management. The program focuses on interpersonal communication, leadership and decision making in the cockpit. He said these tools are vital for an aircrew.

The landing zone in the mountains put all of those skills to the test the colonel said.
The pilot passed over the area a few times to scout the location and allow the aircrew to form a strategy for the landing. The landing zone was a third of the size of the minimum area used in training sorties. The landing zone had been shoveled out by the villagers, but the perimeter of it was formed by five-foot high snow banks.

The pilot had to land the helicopter diagonally in the rectangular landing zone. He performed his descent slowly to mitigate the amount of snow blowing and to give his aircrew plenty of time to alert him if something looked wrong. When the helicopter came to rest, there was only two feet of clearance between the tail rotor and snow bank.

The aircrew had to repeat the procedure later in the day because they could not fit all of the 31 victims onto one flight.

Conmy said he was very proud of the work his aircrew accomplished and it all came down to the great communication skills the Air Force has instilled in them.

"I don't think anyone in the world does it better," said Conmy. "It is that type of crew coordination that allows us, the U.S. military, to do the amazing things we
do."

(Editor's note: This article's writer, Tech. Sgt. Jeremy Larlee, is home stationed at JBER with the 673d Air Base Wing)