RED HORSE Airmen receive sling load certification

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Charles
  • 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. --  The 820th RED HORSE has come to be known as one of the leads in construction operations in contingency areas. They provide the military with a highly mobile civil engineering capability in support of contingency and special operations worldwide.

RED HORSE stands for Rapid Engineers Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer. These individuals are trained to create the infrastructure that will allow U.S. military and allied nations to conduct operations in the most remote parts of the desert. In these empty areas they create runways, living facilities, storage areas and operational buildings, which will become essential forward operating locations.

Because of the remote locations these enablers are sent to, select RED HORSE members are instructed in sling load operations to transport cargo for construction and resupply purposes.

"In the AOR it is hard to get materials from one location to the other," said Capt. Kenneth Cooper, 820th RED HORSE Airborne Flight commander. "We are trying to train more people so our RED HORSE Airmen are well equipped with what they need to accomplish the mission."

Sling load operations were a critical resupply method used by the 820th during their deployment to Afghanistan last year. By certifying more Airmen before the squadron's next deployment, they hope to lighten the operating workload.

Instructors from Fort Lee, Va., certified members of the 820th RED HORSE Squadron during a Sling Load Inspection and Certification Course Apr. 15, here.

The U.S. Army Quartermaster School instructors visited for the first-ever SLIC course conducted here. They certified 23 squadron Airmen and one Marine from the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command upon completion of the course.

The Sling Load Inspector Certification Course was a five-day course to train servicemembers of every service in basic sling load operations and to certify them as sling load inspectors.

"These instructors were gracious enough to come here and give our Airmen all the tools they need to excel on their deployment," Captain Cooper said.

The course consisted of three major parts. The first part of the course deals heavily with learning characteristics of every helicopter used for sling load purposes in the military arsenal. The second part involves learning the strengths and weaknesses of every piece of equipment used for loading cargo.

"The information in the course was great and the instructors were very knowledgeable," said Senior Airman Kyle St. Vincent, an 820th RHS journeyman and student of the SLIC course.

The third and final part of the course was an exercise demonstrating proper sling load procedures. During this exercise the students conducted jump exercises from a CH-47 Chinook supported by the Nevada Air National Guard from Reno and conducted a low-cost low-altitude aerial resupply load. An LCLA resupply load is an airdrop resupplying members conducting operations on the ground. Students were inspected for rigging technique, proper use of hand signals for communication to the helicopter and overall execution.

"The Sling Load Inspector Certification Course was very upbeat with tons of information thrown at you in a short amount of time," Airman Vincent said. "I am looking forward to my next jump opportunity and applying what I learned here to real life scenarios."

Thanks to the training in slingload operations, RED HORSE Airmen will be better prepared and equipped to accomplish contingency operations during their next deployment in the fall.