NAVAL AIR STATION FALLON, Nev. -- A KC-130 flight crew based here for exercise Javelin Thrust 2009 made a trip down to Hawthorne Army Depot, Nev. June 17 to give Reserve Marines the opportunity to practice evacuating casualties by aircraft.
Javelin Thrust 2009 took place June 6 – 19 at six military installations in three states and involved more than 2,600 active duty and Reserve Marines in preparation for possible deployment in support of overseas contingency operations, especially those in the US Central Command’s geographic area of responsibility.
According to the scenario, a U.S. Marine convoy traveling between two operating bases in a rural, mountainous region of Afghanistan was hit by an enemy ambush, resulting in nine casualties. Several Marines had life-threatening injuries.
The wilderness of the Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif., provided the ideal terrain to replicate the Afghan environment.
Agile Marine CH-46 helicopters flew into the remote landing zone to pick up the casualties and transport them to an expeditionary airfield at a forward operating base.
The runway at the Hawthorne, Nev. Airport, outside the town of about 3,000 residents, resembled the capacity found at a typical expeditionary airfield at a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
The notional casualties with less-serious wounds were taken by military ambulance from the airfield to a field medical facility nearby, where they were treated and evaluated for return to duty.
The critically injured Marines were loaded into a Fallon-based KC-130 Hercules airplane, which had, according to the scenario, flown in from Kandahar International Airport.
The Hercules then transported the injured Marines to a more modern military hospital back in Kandahar, where the injured troops could receive a high level of critical care.
In reality, the “casualties” were strapped to a stretcher in the plane and flown around the area for about 20 minutes, before being dropped back off at the Hawthorne Airport for their return trip to Bridgeport by helicopter.
“The intent was to assess their (Task Force Javelin Thrust’s) ability to get casualties from the battlefield to somewhere where there’s a runway so that a (KC)-130 could get them to an established medical facility,” said Maj. Brad Rakov, a KC-130 pilot sent from Marine Corps Training and Education Command’s aviation branch in Quantico, Va. to “observe and evaluate expeditionary airfield operations.”
“Everything was on time,” said Rakov. “There was good coordination between the timing of the “Frogs” (CH-46 helicopters) and the 130s… only five minutes between when the Frogs landed at the airfield and the 130s pulled in.”
Rakov explained that one key learning point of the exercise was “time on deck” at the expeditionary airfield where the troops were transferred from the helicopters to the Hercules.
Because the aircraft are vulnerable to enemy indirect fire while on the ground, it is important that casualties are triaged and moved as quickly as possible off the airfield.
“We recognize the value that we can gain from working with TECOM throughout this exercise and the lessons we can learn from their expertise,” said Lt. Col. Mike Gavin, the pilot of the KC-130. “From my perspective, it went well. It was a good training evolution.”
Gavin emphasized the importance of the Marines training in an environment like western Nevada, similar to what they will see if deployed to Afghanistan.
“There were a lot of moving parts, and a lot of people talking and communicating,” said Gavin. “From our end, it was a success. They got exposure to several different platforms and capabilities from different communities.”
Gavin explained that the “platforms” which the Reserve Marines became familiar with were the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 774, based in Norfolk, Va., and his KC-130 airplane from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 452, headquartered in Newburgh, N.Y.
The special capabilities included a variety of tactical vehicles from various infantry and logistics units from 4th Marine Division and 4th Marine Logistics Group, medical equipment and personnel from the 4th Medical Battalion and direct air support controllers from the Marine Corps Communications and Electronics School in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
All of these aircraft and capabilities form the uniquely integrated Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) concept.
As Javelin Thrust comes to a close and the Reserve Marines and sailors prepare to return to their civilian lives and careers, leaders throughout the Force can send their troops home with the reassurance they are better trained and prepared for their future role in augmenting active duty Marine Corps MAGTF.