Capt. Robert Attebury | Special to the Press Gazette/USA TODAY NETWORK
NAVAL AIR STATION WHITING FIELD Lt. Col. Jason N. Dale, U.S. Marine Corps, relieved Cmdr. R. David Mims, U.S. Navy, as the 57th commanding officer of the “Shooters,” Training Squadron Six (VT-6), in a unique ceremony at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in late April.
The squadron is one of three fixed-wing aircraft training squadrons under Training Air Wing Five (TRAWING FIVE).
Mims and Dale conducted their change of command in a unique airborne ceremony while squadron members, friends, and family looked on.
Three T-6B aircraft participated in a formation flight with the first flown by Mims, the second by Dale, and the third with the commodore of Training Air Wing Five (TW-5), Col. Jeffrey Pavelko, serving as the ceremony’s officiating officer.
Retired Chief Warrant Officer of US Army, Douglas Englen, who played a central role in Operation Neptune’s Spear which resulted in the US Special Operations forces gunning down Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, has said that a special US Marine Corps’ air-to-air course saved him from Pakistani F-16s during the 2011 operation.
Englen was the pilot of MH-47G Chinook which brought a team of a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) to Bin Laden’s compound after one of the two Black Hawks crashed during the operation.
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After arriving on the scene, the QRF helped in loading up Osama’s body and components of potential intelligence interest of the crashed Black Hawk.
Last week, we reported on a military exercise taking place on the Twentynine Palms Marine base, in which the Marines were training to “rescue” civilians out of a foreign country. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more information about the non-combatant evacuation operation…
“Basically we are told this country, they need help, and they have a lot of US citizens that they need to evacuate. So it’s our job to basically come here, secure this landing zone, without being harassed by protesters. And it’s our job to basically ensure that all Americans get evacuated.”
SSgt Damian Salaman said Marines are sent in to help with evacuations overseas for a variety of reasons: including civil unrest, military uprisings, environmental concerns, and natural disasters. The evacuations are recommended (or ordered) by the Department of State, and the Defense Department sends in the Marines. The NEO training was part of Weapons and Tactics Instructors course at the Combat Center in Twenty
Last week, we reported on a military exercise taking place on the Twentynine Palms Marine base, in which the Marines were training to “rescue” civilians out of a foreign country. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more information about the non-combatant evacuation operation…
“Basically we are told this country, they need help, and they have a lot of US citizens that they need to evacuate. So it’s our job to basically come here, secure this landing zone, without being harassed by protesters. And it’s our job to basically ensure that all Americans get evacuated.”
SSgt Damian Salaman said Marines are sent in to help with evacuations overseas for a variety of reasons: including civil unrest, military uprisings, environmental concerns, and natural disasters. The evacuations are recommended (or ordered) by the Department of State, and the Defense Department sends in the Marines. The NEO training was part of Weapons and Tactics Instructors course at the Combat Center in Twenty