Helicopter Mine Countermeasure Squadron 15 (HM-15) "Blackhawks" pilots and aircrewmen visited Fort Drum, New York, July 27, to participate in Operation Steele Root alongside the U.S. Army 1/108th Field Artillery Regiment.

During the three-day training exercise, the pilots took shifts flying over the regiment in an MH-53 Sea Dragon helicopter to perform sling-load external lifting operations.

Each pilot practiced individually lifting and moving five M777 Howitzers, a 155mm 39-caliber towed gun, testing the power and maneuvering capabilities of the aircraft.

According to HM-15 Weapons and Tactics Training Officer Lt. Jeff Spencer, the purpose of the exercise was to work with the Soldiers to provide training for rotary-wing movement of their M777 Howitzers while simultaneously providing HM-15 pilots with real-world joint heavy-lift experience and proficiency.

"For our community and our airframe, it's rare that we get operational tasking that requires this amount of coordination which pushes the limits of the aircraft and our aircrew," he said. "This real-world training provides us experience and proficiency to mitigate the risks associated with these types of missions."

This is the third year the squadron has participated in the training evolution, which is held annually in different locations around the U.S., and according to Spencer, this is a unique training opportunity that doesn't come often for the squadron.

"Our primary mission doesn't provide us much time to get out and test the full capabilities and limitations of the MH-53 like this," he said.

Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class Nick Borah said the training provided a unique opportunity for the aircrewmen to get hands-on experience with unusual single-point load lifting.

"We expected the Howitzer to move a bit because we're picking up something that has different snag points," said Borah. "We're used to doing this in a nice grass field with a concrete block where it's pretty much a controlled environment, so this was a good gauge to see how we need to operate under these conditions."

Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) 1st Class Nathan Moore said he felt the joint environment and working with the Army's ground sling load crew helped build the aircrew's situational awareness.

"We train to the block and that's a base-level skill," said Moore. "Here we're adding different layers and going for a higher skill level. There were more people on the ground, different rigs and unfamiliar terrain. The field we were at had a lot more dust for the helicopter to kick up into the air, so it made us focus more, which was tricky because we also had to look out for the Army sling load team's safety as well as our own."

The pilots faced their own set of obstacles including power availability and maneuvering the aircraft with a massive amount of extra weight, explained Spencer.

"Most of the challenges we faced this year were with pushing the power limits of the aircraft, which we rarely do," said Spencer. "In these lifts, especially early on, we were operating at about 13 percent below the maximum capability of the engines, which provides us a good safety margin for training. It's something we're not used to seeing. It forces the pilots to closely monitor and manage the power output and usage of the engines."

In a real-world environment, the skills learned during Operation Steele Root could be applied during defense support of civil authorities and humanitarian aid and disaster relief, where the squadron could be tasked with taking on massive amounts of cargo and passengers, or performing external lifts similar to the training, Spencer explained.

"This airframe provides capabilities that others just can't, so it's important that we get this training, and to be ready and able to properly execute that," he said. "I think the interoperability with the Army gives us an outside perspective on how other people do things, and lets people evaluate us and see how we can better operate."

One of the most important facets was communication, explained Spencer. The high-paced training environment allowed the aircrewmen to see how they would manage the flight, and how communication flows.

"We have one intercom system and everyone is on it, and there is information about the load and what's happening on the ground that the pilot needs, that he can't physically put eyes on," he said. "In this situation, the aircrew essentially becomes the eyes for the pilot. Practicing that at this high of a level broadens capability to work together as a team, and increases the safety margin in everything we can do."

Moore said he felt the skills he and his counterparts will return home with will help broaden the capabilities of the squadron as a whole, and are essential to raising the bar in the aircrewman field.

"In the end, this type of training helps us develop better crew chiefs and a better skill level throughout the squadron and the community," said Moore.

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