For the Prospective AWS/"Dry" Helo Guys...

Haasino · 01-13-2015, 01:24 PM

Okay...

So this is something that I've been hesitant to discuss for a while now. Not to say there's a cover-up, or that this is the Navy's dirty little secret... it's just a harsh reality that's not really discussed too openly outside the Aircrew community. I'm talking about the MH-53E Sea Dragon and the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadrons... specifically the horrendous safety issues the fleet is suffering.

Last January, I was on a training flight out of Jacksonville when we were rerouted North toward Norfolk to assist in the search for the crew of a Sea Dragon that had burst into flames and gone into the water. As we flew low enough to pick up occasional spotty cellphone reception, I was in the back sending out the "Are you okay?" texts to my AWS buddies from Candidate School who were going through training in HM-14. Nobody I knew was on the aircraft that day, but it opened a window to an issue none of us were really aware of... these series of reports from the Virginian-Pilot, bluntly titled Sea Dragon Down, outline the issue better than I could...

As I said, I've been hesitant to post about this issue... Naval Aviation in inherently dangerous; that's why aircrew gets payed an extra $150 a month starting the moment their boot touches the inside of an aircraft. I had two civilian instructors in VP-30 who still remember the day in 1991 when they came to work and learned that 24 of their friends and colleagues had died in a midair collision the night before... it's rare, but it happens. I don't want to sound like I'm actively discouraging anyone from going a specific route... or give the impression that I'm bagging on a specific community to make others look better. The Helicopter Mine Countermeasures squadrons are a critical part of Naval Aviation... that's essentially why they're having these issues - we can't get rid of them, even when parts are becoming nonexistent and maintenance is struggling to keep them airworthy.

AWS "Dry" billets aren't generally assigned at random during NACCS... they find out how many, if any, Sea Dragon billets are available during the first week of class, and they ask for volunteers among the AIRC Candidates. With very rare exceptions, nobody is randomly assigned an AWS "Dry" billet at NACCS... you specifically request it. The point of this thread is not for me to tell you, "Don't request it!"... nor is it an implication that, if you go Sea Dragon, you're going to die. That would be like me telling a SpecWar candidate, "Don't do it; it's too dangerous!" Where SpecWar and Sea Dragons differ, however, is that everyone knows the risk associated with being a SEAL... It was a conversation I had with my buddy, and former NACCS roommate, who recently graduated Sea Dragon FRS training... we were talking about the safety issues, and I asked him if he would have still requested AWS had he known about these issues. He told me he probably would have, but he knows a few other aircrewman who wouldn't have... and they all wish they had at least been aware of what they were agreeing to be part of.

The purpose of this site is to provide information to prospective and Future Sailors so they can make informed decisions on what they want to do in the Navy. That's why I'm putting this information out there... not to critique the Sea Dragon, or criticize the Navy's maintenance program... but to let you, as potential Aircrew Candidates have the best information available when the time comes to give your rating input at NACCS.

- Haasino

01-13-2015, 01:24 PM	#1
Haasino Active Duty Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Pacific Northwest Posts: 1,439 Rep Power: 286	For the Prospective AWS/"Dry" Helo Guys... Okay... So this is something that I've been hesitant to discuss for a while now. Not to say there's a cover-up, or that this is the Navy's dirty little secret... it's just a harsh reality that's not really discussed too openly outside the Aircrew community. I'm talking about the MH-53E Sea Dragon and the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadrons... specifically the horrendous safety issues the fleet is suffering. Last January, I was on a training flight out of Jacksonville when we were rerouted North toward Norfolk to assist in the search for the crew of a Sea Dragon that had burst into flames and gone into the water. As we flew low enough to pick up occasional spotty cellphone reception, I was in the back sending out the "Are you okay?" texts to my AWS buddies from Candidate School who were going through training in HM-14. Nobody I knew was on the aircraft that day, but it opened a window to an issue none of us were really aware of... these series of reports from the Virginian-Pilot, bluntly titled Sea Dragon Down, outline the issue better than I could... As I said, I've been hesitant to post about this issue... Naval Aviation in inherently dangerous; that's why aircrew gets payed an extra $150 a month starting the moment their boot touches the inside of an aircraft. I had two civilian instructors in VP-30 who still remember the day in 1991 when they came to work and learned that 24 of their friends and colleagues had died in a midair collision the night before... it's rare, but it happens. I don't want to sound like I'm actively discouraging anyone from going a specific route... or give the impression that I'm bagging on a specific community to make others look better. The Helicopter Mine Countermeasures squadrons are a critical part of Naval Aviation... that's essentially why they're having these issues - we can't get rid of them, even when parts are becoming nonexistent and maintenance is struggling to keep them airworthy. AWS "Dry" billets aren't generally assigned at random during NACCS... they find out how many, if any, Sea Dragon billets are available during the first week of class, and they ask for volunteers among the AIRC Candidates. With very rare exceptions, nobody is randomly assigned an AWS "Dry" billet at NACCS... you specifically request it. The point of this thread is not for me to tell you, "Don't request it!"... nor is it an implication that, if you go Sea Dragon, you're going to die. That would be like me telling a SpecWar candidate, "Don't do it; it's too dangerous!" Where SpecWar and Sea Dragons differ, however, is that everyone knows the risk associated with being a SEAL... It was a conversation I had with my buddy, and former NACCS roommate, who recently graduated Sea Dragon FRS training... we were talking about the safety issues, and I asked him if he would have still requested AWS had he known about these issues. He told me he probably would have, but he knows a few other aircrewman who wouldn't have... and they all wish they had at least been aware of what they were agreeing to be part of. The purpose of this site is to provide information to prospective and Future Sailors so they can make informed decisions on what they want to do in the Navy. That's why I'm putting this information out there... not to critique the Sea Dragon, or criticize the Navy's maintenance program... but to let you, as potential Aircrew Candidates have the best information available when the time comes to give your rating input at NACCS. - Haasino __________________ "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"