Ohio Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Jacob Weemes, with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 237th Support Battalion, conducts training on how to properly prepare vehicles for sling load transportation May 18, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield near Ne...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion train on how to prepare vehicles for sling load transport May 18, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling load operations allow for vital resources to be transported to difficult-to-rea...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion connect loads beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. These unit...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion prepare to connect a loads beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohi...
A crew member secures equipment beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. The Chinook unit conducted sling l...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion connect a vehicle load beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. T...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion connect a vehicle load beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. T...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion connect a vehicle load beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. T...
Soldiers with the 237th Support Battalion connect loads beneath a CH-47 Chinook helicopter of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment May 19, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. These unit...
An Ohio National Guard CH-47 Chinook lifts a M777 howitzer into the air as part of sling load operations training May 20, 2019,at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enable vehicles, equipment an...
Sgt. Cyle Schenkel, with 1st Battalion, 134th Field Artillery Regiment, trains Soldiers how to prepare artillery pieces for sling load transportation May 18, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling load training is performed to...
Ohio National Guard Soldiers attach an M777 howitzer to the underside of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during sling load operations training May 20, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enab...
Ohio National Guard Soldiers prepare a howitzer for transport during sling load operations training May 20, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enable vehicles, equipment and supplies to...
Ohio National Guard Soldiers link up a Humvee to the underside of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during sling load operations training May 20, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enables veh...
Ohio National Guard Soldiers attach an M777 howitzer to the underside of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter during sling load operations training May 20, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enab...
An Ohio Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter airlifts a Humvee as part of sling load operations training May 20, 2019, at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center near Newton Falls, Ohio. Sling loads enables vehicles, equipment a...
NEWTON FALLS, Ohio - Getting supplies or vehicles to remote, inaccessible locations is a problem that challenges commanders in both combat and domestic operations situations. The Ohio National Guard trains for those situations by attaching vital equipment to the underside of helicopters, bypassing ground-based obstacles.
"When it comes down to it, if we can't get a truck in, we can load up anything we need to and hook it up to a helicopter and fly it in," said Sgt. 1st Class James Jarkewicz, a platoon sergeant with Company A, 237th Support Battalion in Cleveland. "We can fly in water, food or any kind of equipment we need during a natural disaster response."
About 75 Ohio National Guard Soldiers, along with a small group of Michigan National Guard Soldiers, practiced preparing and rigging a variety of military equipment and vehicles before attaching them to CH-47 Chinook helicopters and watching them lift off.
"Everybody is staying involved and getting good training," said Sgt. Kevin Fowler, one of the instructors and a squad leader with Company A, 237th Support Battalion. "This is the first time we've done training at this scale, with this many units. It gives Soldiers a chance to get involved."
All the instructors are organic to the Ohio Army National Guard, bringing skills learned through training and experience back to their units.
"We bring all kinds of skills to the table," said Capt. Erica Anderson, an operations officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 237th Support Battalion. "We have air assault-qualified people, we have sling load-qualified people, and we have pathfinder-qualified people. They are bringing all their training together to teach our Soldiers."
The training culminated in multiple CH-47s circling overhead, with Soldiers hooking up trucks and howitzers, struggling against the blast of the downdraft put out by the two massive helicopter rotors on each aircraft.
"Live hook (up) is windy, loud and gets the heart racing," Fowler said. "Every time you get to do it is a fun experience."
The Ohio National Guard has utilized these skills in response to many natural disasters, including transporting generators and equipment to areas of Puerto Rico devastated by Hurricane Maria, supplies to flooded areas of Texas, and areas affected by tornados here in Ohio.
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