June 25 Helo Ride

Helo Ride!!!
Today was the big day!!! After checking the travel manifest last night, I discovered that I was going to be one of the lucky few who travelled to their site by helicopter. I was consumed with excitement as I lay down to bed last night. I woke up several times during the night because I was so excited and also afraid that I would be one of those people who overslept and held up the flight (even though I was still getting up at my regular time). It has been stressed repeatedly that you must be at the flight deck on time or you will be left behind.

My call away time was at 7:10 this means that an announcement over the ship’s com reminds everyone on that call away must be at the flight deck within 10 minutes. Once you get to the flight deck, you pass a table usually stocked with MREs and water. Because of the food shortage we had a boxed lunch containing ham salad kits, chips, and soft batch cookies. Once you have grabbed you meal for the day, you will head to the waiting room.
Normally, you will sit in the waiting room for about 20 minutes. One of the officers told me that you have to have long sleeves in order to fly in the plane. I have learned that it is always good to keep a light weight long sleeve jacket or shirt near you at all times since you will need it for abandon ship drills and helo rides. After donning my jacket, we were called to the prep area.

In the prep area, a soldier briefed us on how to enter the aircraft, how to get in and out of your seatbelt as well as what to do in both an overland and oversea crash. The soldier giving the brief had done it so many times before that it took less than 3 minutes to cover all the basics. Once properly briefed, we are given a weighted floatation device to place over our heads and around our waist as well as a helmet with goggles and ear protection. The helmets are stretchy, so they will fit almost any head and have enough pressure to drown out most sounds.

As soon as we were fully garbed, we headed to the helicopter. Once we were all settled in and the doors closed, we went straight up into the air. After riding in so many planes, it was a strange sensation to just lift straight up into the air. The ride was smooth and surprisingly quiet. The scenery was magnificent. El Salvador is a very mountainous area with lots of islands dotting the coastline. Since this is the rainy season, the whole country is covered in a blanket of lush vivacious green. It is a beautiful country.

Riding in a helicopter is an amazing experience. You can see for miles!! The country is so beautiful words can not describe it all and pictures can only say so much. There are huge green islands that populate the vast seas. You really cannot get a perspective at how many there are or how big they are from the deck of the boat. It is awesome to see this country from the air.

Our flight was about 10 minutes long which was slightly disappointing because the experience was so neat. I was grateful for my ride in more ways than one. To have the experience was awesome, but it was also great not to have to ride a boat for an hour and thirty minutes on rough seas to reach the same destination was also a blessing. We have had a great deal of problems with the transportation at this port.

Since we are not at our original port, we must find alternate ways to get our supplies, meet officials, and move personnel. With the recent tropical storm, the sea has been a bit rough. In addition, the helicopters have been up and down in the hanger with fuel issues due to cost and supply issues. On several occasions there have been trouble with the hospitality boats in the rough seas. Several people have gotten sick and a few people have been thrown into the floor of the boats on more than one occasion. These transportation issues are at the heart of the reason why so many people are doing RON missions at this port.

Once we arrived at the helo landing zone (HLZ) we were boarded on an air-conditioned bus for our 45 minute journey to Loma Larga School. The ride was really nice because it gave me a chance to see the beautiful countryside. Like I mentioned earlier, the country is awash in a brilliant green. Every now and again there a these beautiful trees that are covered with bright orange flowers which makes beautiful contrast with all of the green surrounding it. These trees are called “Arbor del fuego,” which means “Tree of Fire.” After such a neat bus tour of the country, I was ready to get to work.