HMH-465 builds squadron from scratch
Submitted by: 3d Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification Number: 2004312141453
Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte

AL ANBAR PROVINCE, Iraq(March 12, 2004) -- A crew of Marines from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 toils during the warm, Iraqi winter days and another works through the chilly winter nights for one particular purpose.

The purpose is to get the squadron's eight CH-53E Super Stallion Helicopters fully operational and in the air as soon as possible.

HMH-465 arrived in country in late February and its Marines have been working steadily to piece the helicopters together again.

The helicopters didn't break down and maintenance was not overlooked on the planes, claimed Staff Sgt. John Klimm, flight line staff non-commissioned officer in charge, HMH-465.

"To transport (the helicopters) we had to do a C-5 breakdown," Klimm said. "We had to get the aircraft down to a certain size to get it into an (Air Force C-5 Galaxy cargo plane)."

"It's a lot of work and now we have to build them back up."

Most of the main components are stripped from the helicopter in order to get it into the plane, claimed Lance Cpl. Michael Wolf, CH-53E crew chief, HMH-465.

"To break one of these (helicopters) down, you have to take off the main and tail rotor blades and gear boxes," he explained. "Then we have to replace the tires with smaller tires, lower the suspension system and take off the auxiliary fuel tanks and other miscellaneous parts."

After all the parts were taken off the planes, they were stored inside the helicopters and flown over in the cargo planes.

To achieve this, there is a conglomeration of Marines working together to get the helicopters up, Wolf described.

To get the job done there are crew chiefs, avionics technicians, airframe and hydraulic mechanics, corrosion control technicians and aircraft mechanics.

The real work begins when the planes arrive in country, Wolf claimed.

"Building up takes longer because you have to check bolt torque specifications, perform function checks and replace consumable items," he explained. "Before we fly, we have to test all of our equipment."

"It's time consuming," he added. "We have to scrutinize everything."

The Marines are taking all precautions not to damage anything while they are putting the helicopters together, Klimm said, but there are a few benefits to look at while the Marines are working.

"Since the (helicopters) are so far torn down, we have access to look at all the areas of the plane that we cannot normally see," he explained.

Wolf added that this is a definite bonus to day-to-day checks.

"We inspect the planes daily," he said. "But now, as we're putting the plane together we can do little things now that will save us lots of time later. There is no such thing as a loose bolt on these planes."

These "little things" will hopefully keep the planes from breaking and get the mission accomplished, Wolf said, after all, "When these things break, you can't just pull over to the side of the road."

The job of putting the planes together is hard on the Marines, Klimm explained.

The Marines will appreciate the hard work once it is done, he added.

"This gives us a good chance to do what we train for," he said. "It gives the Marines a sense of accomplishment to see an aircraft take-off that they completely tore down and put together again."

When the helicopters are finished and in the air, the Marines can start conducting business as usual, Wolf said.

"I'm anxious to get back to what we always do," he said. "Get the job done in the air."

With all the rotations of Marines in flux because of deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Wolf claims the squadron has faced a normal routine that has been changed.

"This is just what we do," he said. "It is normal to deploy, but it's not usual for us to deploy this quickly. However, we do what the Marine Corps needs us to do."

The mission is set, and Klimm and his crew of Marines are going to get the job done.

"We're running two shifts, non-stop," Klimm stated. "We should be done by the end of the week. By done I mean fully operational."