MasterBates
Well-Known Member
If you are flying a bird with a GAU-17, Skid's warning is true. No juice, no spin, no bang.
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Survival Gear and Preparation...
- Thread starter scoober78
- Start date
Something Ive wondered pondering that whole fight over the first ship that went down. Seemed like the aircraft was pretty much left in the middle of both teams fields of fire. Just how much cover (actual bullet stopping position) as apose to conceilment (bullets dont need to see me to pass through where Im at and kill me) could somebody inside one of those aircraft expect.
My understanding was the majority of helos are about as armored as your average car (IE not). And unless you were behind something heavy, dense, and metal you might as well be standing in the open.
Somewhat redundant and I don't know what you guys carry today, but I suppose some things are constant. Any of my suggestions are prefaced with -- it's old but hopefully still pertinent information .... some things really don't change.
For jet guys: just plan on having what you can carry on your body (G-suit/survival vest/flight suit pockets). If you're on the ground longer than a few hours, your chances of pick-up go down exponentially. I suppose it IS theater specific, as always.
I was a gun guy and I like guns, but I didn't plan on shooting my way out of anything. Just carried for last ditch maneuvers and signaling --- so I carried a .45 w/2 mags, the issue .38 w/all flares and a pocket .25 w/one mag. Mix or match at your discretion. If I had to do it again today, I'd carry something for flares (.38?) and a small 9mm. Again, I'm clueless on the "requirements".....
We didn't plan on building any fires in Indian country, but I carried a lighter just in case I needed flame .... so basically just something to keep dry with, like a fold up double sided poncho/space blanket; i.e. orange for signal/camo for hiding.
A good knife. The issue knife was crap and would not hold an edge.
Plenty of water. Water is at a premium. Use it while flying and cycle the bottles to keep it "fresh". Take as much as possible and practicable.
Aspirin tablets. Seriously ...
Extra radio or extra battery for radio. Your radio is your lifeline.
For jet guys: just plan on having what you can carry on your body (G-suit/survival vest/flight suit pockets). If you're on the ground longer than a few hours, your chances of pick-up go down exponentially. I suppose it IS theater specific, as always.
I was a gun guy and I like guns, but I didn't plan on shooting my way out of anything. Just carried for last ditch maneuvers and signaling --- so I carried a .45 w/2 mags, the issue .38 w/all flares and a pocket .25 w/one mag. Mix or match at your discretion. If I had to do it again today, I'd carry something for flares (.38?) and a small 9mm. Again, I'm clueless on the "requirements".....
We didn't plan on building any fires in Indian country, but I carried a lighter just in case I needed flame .... so basically just something to keep dry with, like a fold up double sided poncho/space blanket; i.e. orange for signal/camo for hiding.
A good knife. The issue knife was crap and would not hold an edge.
Plenty of water. Water is at a premium. Use it while flying and cycle the bottles to keep it "fresh". Take as much as possible and practicable.
Aspirin tablets. Seriously ...
Extra radio or extra battery for radio. Your radio is your lifeline.
I would tend to tailor what I carried to the theater of ops. In the Gulf in the summer...water, water, water. I carried those greenbottles in each g-suit pocket and one in my navbag, one in my vest. That clear 2 oz. plastic bottle of water in your survival gear is a joke.
My top items for SWA:
Water
extra batteries for radio
small handheld GPS
gun w/ extra ammo
large size signal mirrors
THREADJACK
Now my standard load out for Cubi...well that's a different story
Cash...pesos...trojans...ID....
/THREADJACK
My top items for SWA:
Water
extra batteries for radio
small handheld GPS
gun w/ extra ammo
large size signal mirrors
THREADJACK
Now my standard load out for Cubi...well that's a different story
Cash...pesos...trojans...ID....
/THREADJACK
We had SEAL Platoon with us during Desert Shield and for part of Desert Storm (they left to do something). They would take an aviator from each squadron inland almost daily into Saudi desert via helo and teach survival tips. Everyone came back believing in hydration. The LT gave us a lecture and said if you ever see yellow urine (except when you first wake up), then you are alreay behind the curve. We had a contest to see who could carry the most water and it got way up there from the pitiful little white bottle the PRs give you.
Note: Got to be prepared well before getting into the cockpit by continually hydrating. That means pissing clear and taking water with you in the aircraft (not your survival water that needs to be untouched until you need it). On a long mission, this is even more critical and requires even more water.
Some HMM history has indicated that the best piece of gear is another bird in your flight.
A radio to call your escorts sounds like it would be worthwhile. In case you were wondering, they tend to carry a lot of:
A radio to call your escorts sounds like it would be worthwhile. In case you were wondering, they tend to carry a lot of:
phrogpilot73
Well-Known Member
Good read, I know all but one of the pilots. One guy is out now, and is in the IRR - but I heard he may be rushing a NCANG squadron.
I believed that in a really bad crash/shootdown that I wouldn't be able to bring anything with me. So, here's what I kept on my person (either in my flight suit, or my AirSave):
Water in a Camelback Stealth under my flight gear (72 oz, and I didn't touch it during flight). The Stealth spreads it out flatter, and it is actually comfortable to wear in flight.
GPS with extra batteries (in ziploc bag)
Lighter x 2
Water resistant matches x 2
Unopened pack of Reds (to barter with Hajji if need be)
$200 in cash
ID Card
Space blanket (small kind)
Mag compass
Blood Chit
M9 w/ 4 magazines
TP (enough for 1-2 shits)
Pens/Pencils
IR firefly (in addition to the one that we were issued), plus batteries x 2
GCP-1A (good to point out for rotary wing, not so good for fixed wing)
Flashlight with Lithium batteries and 4-color filter
Evasion Chart
That's about all I had on my person, I had a hit bag (in case of a more controlled landing and need to run) that had:
1 x socks, underwear, t-shirt
more smokes (this time for me)
more water (90-some ounces)
main meal/side dish from an MRE
large space blanket
4 x M9 magazines
6 x M16 magazines
Full roll of TP
More batteries
I think that's all I had... I'm glad I never had to use it.
That is why you carry a M240 in the cabin -- it can use the same type of link
That is a nice luxury that the Huey guys dont really have. As for us 2 M4s and 2 M9s is as good as it gets, space is limited.
The answer to the question is very theater/scenario dependent. Here in Afghanistan, the extra gear I carry is quite different from what I carried in Iraq. Also, winter is a far different season from summer (duh), so the things you'd carry here in January are different than what you'd want in August.
Here, the cold is the biggest threat. Over and above what's in my vest, my extras include:
-A set of decent winter gloves
-A balaclava
-My own firestarting kit
-Some instant handwarmers
-Extra GPS, with some useful extra info (you can download Afghanistan and Iraq map bases from the Army if you have a CAC card: https://tsunami.tec.army.mil/Products/GarminMapSupport/index.cfm)
-Extra 550 cord
-Space blanket
-Water purification tabs
-Water purifying "straw"
-Firefly
-Wire saw
-Blast match
It can be tough stuffing all this stuff into your vest or G-suit pockets, especially when you're already bulky from being layered up, but I'd rather have this stuff than not.
Also, don't forget the dress to egress rule: If you think it sucks to wake up in the morning to find your little shack is at 32 degrees (which it is....), try waking up with no shack on the side of an 18K mountain....
Here, the cold is the biggest threat. Over and above what's in my vest, my extras include:
-A set of decent winter gloves
-A balaclava
-My own firestarting kit
-Some instant handwarmers
-Extra GPS, with some useful extra info (you can download Afghanistan and Iraq map bases from the Army if you have a CAC card: https://tsunami.tec.army.mil/Products/GarminMapSupport/index.cfm)
-Extra 550 cord
-Space blanket
-Water purification tabs
-Water purifying "straw"
-Firefly
-Wire saw
-Blast match
It can be tough stuffing all this stuff into your vest or G-suit pockets, especially when you're already bulky from being layered up, but I'd rather have this stuff than not.
Also, don't forget the dress to egress rule: If you think it sucks to wake up in the morning to find your little shack is at 32 degrees (which it is....), try waking up with no shack on the side of an 18K mountain....
What's the deal with carrying weapons while flying? I was always under the impression that you can only fly with an issued M9, but I'm hearing talk of .45s and M4's and M-16 mags on here. What's the official word?
I'm bringing my sword, I don't care what the skipper says.