Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
By Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson
| Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan | September 16, 2016
Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 361, unload a CH-53E Super Stallion from the Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 16, 2016. The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported six aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. The aircraft are scheduled to fly to their units after concluding preparations at MCAS Iwakuni. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson)
Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
The Green Cove docks at the harbor at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 16, 2016. The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported six aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. Delivering aircraft by boat is more cost effective than flying from the U.S. to Japan, and MCAS Iwakuni has both airport and seaport capabilities, which no other Marine Corps installation has. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson)
Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
U.S. Marines with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265, unload an MV-22C Osprey at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 16, 2016. Three UH-1Y Venoms, two MV-22C Ospreys and one CH-53E Super Stallion, and are scheduled to fly to their destination in Okinawa after concluding preparations at MCAS Iwakuni. The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported the aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. Delivering aircraft by boat is more cost effective than flying from the U.S. to Japan, and MCAS Iwakuni has both airport and seaport capabilities, which no other Marine Corps installation has. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson)
Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
U.S. Marines with Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 469, unload a UH-1Y Venom at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 16, 2016. Three UH-1Y Venoms, two MV-22C Ospreys and one CH-53E Super Stallion, and are scheduled to fly to their destination in Okinawa after concluding preparations at MCAS Iwakuni. The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported the aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. Delivering aircraft by boat is more cost effective than flying from the U.S. to Japan, and MCAS Iwakuni has both airport and seaport capabilities, which no other Marine Corps installation has. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson)
Airport, seaport provides advantage for aircraft transportation
The Green Cove approaches the harbor at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Sept. 16, 2016. The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported six aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, Calif. Three UH-1Y Venoms, two MV-22C Ospreys and one CH-53E Super Stallion, and are scheduled to fly to their destination in Okinawa after concluding preparations at MCAS Iwakuni. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron Henson)
MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Three UH-1Y Venoms, two MV-22B Ospreys and one CH-53E Super Stallion, and are scheduled to fly to their destination in Okinawa after concluding preparations at MCAS Iwakuni.
“These aircraft are going to Marine Aircraft Group 36, which will be their custodial unit,” said Capt. Douglas Murray, a pilot with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361. “The CH-53E was the first of the aircraft to go through the reset program for the super stallion. We are taking all of our aircraft and putting them through the intermediate level maintenance to revitalize the airframe and extend its service life. Upon completion, the aircraft were loaded onto a boat to be brought over to MCAS Iwakuni. From here, we can conduct all the necessary maintenance to sign over the aircraft and get it ready to fly to Okinawa to continue with our operations.”
The CH-53E Super Stallion will go to HMH-361, the MV-22B’s are slated to fly to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 and the UH-1Y Venoms will attach to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 469.
The Green Cove, a vehicle carrier, transported the aircraft approximately 6,000 miles from Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California
Delivering aircraft by boat is more cost effective than flying from the U.S. to Japan, and MCAS Iwakuni has both airport and seaport capabilities, which no other Marine Corps installation has.
“MCAS Iwakuni is beneficial to the Department of Defense,” said Robert Meno, an employee with the surface deployment and distribution command, 836th Transportation Battalion from Yokohama, Japan. “You can bring aircraft into the seaport, take them to the airport and not transport them from different military installations. The Green Cove . . . is one of the few boats with a ramp at the rear of the vessel to properly transport aircraft like the CH-53E. It’s definitely advantageous to be able to do this job because we are not able to do this anywhere else.”