JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Members of the 689th Rapid Port Opening Element teamed up with the 11th Aviation Command and the 7th Transportation Brigade to conduct sling-load and casualty evacuation training, March 24, 2016, at Fort Eustis, Virginia.
The units conducted the training to give U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to practice rigging cargo and evacuating people onto aircraft. If the situation arose, the element would have to do this if roadways were destroyed or unusable for rapid transport.
"Sling-load training is essential for our team as we are a part of the nation's global response force, and can be called upon to conduct important humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations at any given moment, anywhere in the world," said U.S. Army Maj. Corinne Bell, commander of the 689th RPOE.
As logistical first responders, the RPOE assesses and then practices the most effective way to get cargo from one place to another, especially in harsh conditions and locations such as mountainous terrain, flood conditions, earthquakes and hurricanes.
"We are making sure the war-fighters are getting everything in order to complete their mission," said Spc. Andrew Wulf, a transportation coordination manager with the 689th RPOE. "It may not be the most glamorous, but it's one of the most important jobs we can do in the Army."
Throughout the training, the Soldiers not only practiced iterations of rigging a CH-47 Chinook with cargo crates and a high mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, weighing 5,200 pounds, but they also practiced casualty evacuations.
"It's important for us to hone our skills to distribute cargo," said 1st Lt. Edward McBride, 689th Trans. Det. RPOE clearance platoon leader, "If we had a situation while we were deployed it's important that the Soldiers are comfortable with the helicopters rotor wash and other sounds while all the other ruckus is going on as an operation is taking place."
For some of the newer transport specialists, this was their first time working with a helicopter team to move cargo.
"We don't get to do this type of thing on an everyday basis, so when we do get a chance to set aside a whole day to practice, it sharpens our skills to know what to do in this type of situation," said Spc. Corrina Jost, a transportation coordination manager with the 689th RPOE. "Before, I had no knowledge on what to do. Now, I feel confident in my skills sling-loading and casualty-evacuating a Chinook."