Nearly 30 members of one of the United States Marine Corps' most decorated Heavy Helicopter squadrons toured Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) Oct. 2.

Retired Marines who had previously served with the 'Flying Tigers' of Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 361 toured NATTC spaces during their hour-long visit to Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, visiting classrooms and observing training that several HMH-361 Marines had undergone many years before.

"Most of these guys went through 'A' School training in Millington, Tennessee, years ago," said reunion organizer retired Chief Warrant Officer 5 Michael Perko. "Being able to come here to Pensacola to see this new environment, especially the electronic classrooms, the new technology and how it applies to today is something I know we can all appreciate."

The squadron flies the CH-53 Super Stallion, the largest and heaviest helicopter in the United States military's inventory. Capable of transporting more than 50 troops or carrying 18 tons of slung cargo, the variants of the aircraft have been a Marine Corps mainstay since the late 1960s.

Tour guide and NATTC Executive Officer Cmdr. Scott C. Sherman said the opportunity to showcase the facility to former students--some of whom used skills learned while students at NATTC in combat areas around the world--is something he feels strongly about.

"Being able to demonstrate new technology (and) to show the way we train Sailors and Marines to perform maintenance on these aircraft today to service members who worked on helos during some of the United States' armed conflicts in the past is very rewarding," he said. "These Marines touring here are part of NATTC legacy and history. It's an honor to show them where they have helped steer aviation technical training."

The tour group was able to visit several NATTC schoolhouses, including the Avionics and Mechanical Departments, receiving briefings on current aviation technical training practices from Navy and Marine Corps instructors.

"Marines today are highly motivated and they want to be here," Perko said. "These Marines are all up to speed with computers and technology and they're coming in with these sorts of skills they've been using since high school, and the way they're training today reflects that."

For more than 70 years, the Naval Air Technical Training Center has been providing training and increasing readiness within the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE). The facility graduates approximately 15,000 Navy, Marine and international students annually and is part of the Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training (CNATT), which provides single site management for Navy and Marine Corps aviation technical training.

CNATT is the technical training agent for the Naval Aviation Enterprise (NAE), an organization designed to advance and sustain naval aviation warfighting capabilities at an affordable cost, and is the largest training center under the Naval Education and Training Command.

For more news from Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training, visit www.navy.mil/.