Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point -- Staff Sgt. Christopher Pierce, a crew chief with Marine Transportation Squadron 1, rappels from an HH-46E helicopter during a rappel training exercise at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic, March 10. VMR-1 conducts rappel training exercises to prepare search and rescue crews for situations where a controlled descent is needed.
Navy Lt. John T. Cleaves, an in-flight surgeon with Marine Transportation Squadron 1, waits to be short-hauled during a rappel training exercise at Marine Corps Outlying Landing Field Atlantic, March 10. “A short haul is the easiest way to evacuate a person from a place where the HH-46E can’t land,” said Staff Sgt. Christopher Pierce, a crew chief with VMR-1. Search and Rescue members perform short hauls when an aircraft cannot land due to limited space, it would then hover above the victim.