Aviation Continues to Remember and Honor MOJO 69
By: Command Chief Warrant Officer Kevin Dares
One year to the day since the Louisiana National Guard suffered one of its greatest tragedies, the crash of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with 11 people aboard, National Guardsmen were once again proving why they train so hard to accomplish dangerous and demanding missions.
On March 10, 2015, four Louisiana Guardsmen and seven Marines died while conducting night insertion training in Navarre Beach, Fl. Affected greatly by the loss of their fellow Soldiers, Marines and friends the Guard aviators and crewmembers could have ended their careers and moved on to safer occupations.
The men and women of the Louisiana National Guard refused to do that. Col. Patrick Bossetta, the state aviation officer said, “We have one of the finest aviation forces in the world. We must mourn, we must pay respect to these great Soldiers and Marines, but we must continue to move forward and train to do what we do.”
That is exactly what happened.
“Our mission places crewmembers in some of the most dangerous situations as well as dangerous conditions,” said Maj. Tim Cleighton, commander 204th Theater Airfield Operation Group. So aviators and crewmembers continued to train and train to proficiency.
On March 10, 2016, one year to the day of the accident, that training-to-proficiency has once again paid off. As torrential rain storms pounded Louisiana, rescue attempts were being conducted by ground forces and first responders. One of those rescue attempts went awry when several first responders found themselves dumped into roaring flood waters.
Despite a low cloud ceiling and low visibility, a UH-60L Black Hawk from F Company 2nd 135th General Support Aviation Battalion was launched to attempt an external hoist rescue. As the aircraft approached the rescue area, heavy rains pounded the area and high winds buffeted the aircraft.
“This is why we train to standards, train hard and train often,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Charles Ott, State Aviation Mission Survivability Officer. “Few people need to be rescued when the sun is shining and winds are calm. The call for help comes under the most demanding physical, emotional and environmental conditions.”
The pilots, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jack Mucha and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Corey Sayer, held the aircraft in position as Staff Sgt. Chad McCann, the crew chief, lowered the medic, Sgt. Aaron Adam, through blowing trees and across raging waters to rescue the trapped first responders. One after another, they hoisted citizen after citizen to the safety of the Black Hawk. After flying the citizens to safety, the aircraft returned to continue search and rescue operations.
“I am always proud of the women and men of the Louisiana National Guard. Over the past two decades there is no other group that have been tested during domestic hazards operations to the extent of these young Soldiers and Airmen,” said Col. Pete Schneider, LANG public affairs officer. “We have a federal and state mission, be it combat operations or domestic emergencies where we are expected to be on time and on target. Today [March 10] you were able to see the heroism of these great Soldiers in action and understand the reason we train the way we do.”