MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- No other rotary wing aircraft compares to the awesome lift power of the CH-53E.

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 462, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, demonstrated this awesome strength Aug. 31 at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

According to Maj. Brett A. Giordano, operations officer, HMH-462, the training that equips pilots with the necessary skills to fly with loads that can be in excess of 20,000 pounds takes little time.

"To be fully qualified with external loads is approximately 12 and a half hours," said Giordano.

From weapons like the M198 155mm Medium Howitzer, which weighs more than 15,000 pounds, to the Humvee, which weighs more than 5,000 pounds, the CH-53E is capable of externally hauling everything in between, according to Giordano, a Miami native.

"A 155 (Howitzer) would be considered a heavy load," Giordano said. "To train to pick up heavy lifts like this, the pilots fly around training areas at Camp Pendleton and pick up concrete blocks that weigh anywhere from 6,000 to 22,000 pounds.

"The blocks will have either a single or dual-point hook up," he continued. "There has to be a helicopter support team with us when we do this. We have to bring them with, or they have to be (at the site) waiting for us."

The helicopter support team  assists the squadron by preparing and hooking up loads to the aircraft.

He added that heavy objects, such as the concrete blocks, cannot be flown around at random.

"We have certain restrictions to fly heavy lift during training," he said. "We can't fly the equipment over the Interstate because of safety reasons."

The use of the concrete blocks limits damage to serviceable gear, saving the Marine Corps money.

"We have to haul things that don't cost anything before we can haul anything that does," said Giordano. "If we trained hauling (useable) gear, we wouldn't have anything to haul."
Captain Tyler Leonard, pilot, HMH-462, has been qualified to haul external loads for more than three years and says there is very little difference when there is a load outside the aircraft.

"An external load gently sways the helicopter and an internal load is no different than empty, it just takes a little more power to get it off the ground," said the 29-year-old Roseberg, Ore., native.

Leonard added that during deployments, such as his more recent one in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the CH-53E lifts more than just the "bullets and Band-Aids" needed to keep the Marine Corps operating during combat.

"We hauled a lot of personnel, (insurgent) detainees, food and water," he said. "Flying in those (desert) conditions can be very challenging, so we have to pay more attention to what we are doing."

Sergeant Lee T. Revill, landing support specialist, Landing Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, 1st Force Service Support Group, and helicopter support team commander, said that his role in helping train pilots is dangerous, but worth it.

"We have a beast hovering above us and it could fall at any time," said Revill, a 31-year-old Moultrie, Ga., native. "But we're training these pilots for a real life mission.

"It is very critical for them to be able to listen to us on the ground, because they can get tired hovering the helicopter above us," he continued. "If they get too tired, the helo moves around more, and we have to wave them off."

With all the training the Marines conduct to safely accomplish their missions, Revill added that although tiring, the job is equivalent to extreme sports.

"It's a rush being under the helicopter," he said. "You can compare it to parachuting, but this is what I signed up for."