U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David Ulrich, center, air delivery platoon, shows Philippine air force members how to properly assemble a container delivery system used in air delivery operations Tuesday during training on Clark Air Base in the Philippines. The Filipino servicemembers assembled a CDS, along with a parachute, which was to be dropped during Exercise Talon Vision training on Wednesday. (Fred Zimmerman / S&S)
CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines — Never let a little thing like a huge, grounded plane ruin a teachable moment.
That might be the watchword of the 70 Marines here this week for Exercise Talon Vision 05.
The KC-130 aircraft they’d planned to use to drop cargo and troops sat idled by mechanical problems, awaiting parts being flown in from Okinawa. So the troops switched to bilateral training they could do on the ground.
In the morning and afternoon, U.S. Marines from Air Delivery Platoon — part of the Okinawa-based 3rd Materiel Readiness Battalion — shared their expertise of packing cargo and parachutes with members of the Philippine air force.
Master Gunnery Sgt. Frankie Segarra, paraloft chief, said his Marines taught the Filipinos how to pack a container delivery system, a giant bulky package that allows equipment and supplies to be parachuted to the ground. From 500 pounds to 2,000 pounds of equipment can be dropped, depending on the parachute used.
Segarra said the Philippine forces lack the capability to perform air delivery operations, but the Marines were training them should they eventually acquire it.
Learning how to build the CDS packages isn’t that hard, Segarra said. “This is something that doesn’t take a lot of man hours or training hours.”
Lance Cpl. David Ulrich, who taught the Tuesday afternoon class, said the Philippine troops caught on quickly.
“I’d start one step and they would finish it up,” he said. “I tried to keep it basic.… I know we’ll have 100 percent mission accomplishment tomorrow.”
The CDS package the Philippine troops built was to be dropped during a training mission Wednesday — one of three parachute operations scheduled for the day, involving both cargo and troops.
In addition to building the packages, Segarra said, the two sides also shared how they pack parachutes. He said their styles are similar but the training was important so each service learns how the other operates.
“It makes it a whole lot safer when we operate together,” he said. “We know their capabilities and they know ours.”
Meanwhile, Marines from Okinawa’s Marine Wing Support Squadron 172’s crash, fire and rescue unit were conducting their own training with their Philippine air force counterparts.
Gunnery Sgt. Brian Breidenstine, noncommissioned officer in charge of MWSS 172 crash, fire and rescue, said the training wasn’t planned, but with the KC-130 temporarily out of commission, unit members asked to use it for their own training on the ground.
Four simulated aircraft crash victims were placed throughout the KC-130. Then rescue personnel were notified of the crash. The crews threw on their gear, jumped in their trucks and raced to the aircraft. U.S. and Philippine crash, fire and rescue personnel entered the plane and carried out the victims.
The “injured” role players were carried to a triage area where U.S. Navy and Philippine air force medical personnel administered care before the role players were returned to the hangar via ambulance.
As the medical personnel tended the “injured,” U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Angel Dionisio quizzed them on what they were doing. He said they did well, that the few mistakes he saw all were minor and were easy fixes.
The training was a “unique opportunity for the Philippine air force crash crew to train with the Marines,” Breidenstine said.
Philippine Air Force Tech Sgt. Ireneo Jerez, noncommissioned officer in charge of the crash crew on Clark Air Base, said the training was the first time his unit had conducted a simulated rescue from a KC-130 airplane.
“It’s going smooth,” Jerez said. “We gained some knowledge in regards to rescue.”
He said his troops always train with their U.S. peers whenever there’s an exercise at Clark, but Tuesday was the first time the training involved a KC-130. Jerez said his crew now would be better prepared should it ever face an actual emergency involving one of the planes.
As the day’s training sessions wrapped up late in the afternoon, a second aircraft arrived with the parts to fix the KC-130. The second aircraft was scheduled to stay and help fly the three air delivery and parachute missions the next day.
