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ROTC displays military hardware at UD
The event, hosted by UD's Army ROTC program, featured a wide variety of military equipment, including PVS-7B waterproof and fog-proof night vision goggles, an AN/PSN-11 precision lightweight GPS receiver that provides precise geopositioning and timing, and a pair of M998 Humvees similar to those being used in Iraq. The biggest and costliest piece of hardware on display was a UH-60A Black Hawk tactical transport helicopter. Capt. Mychajlo Eliaszewskyj, an instructor in the Army ROTC Program at UD, said that more than 20 ROTC cadets participated in Monday's activities, including three officers and an enlisted man from the ROTC program who acted as supervisors. Also providing support for the day's activities were six enlisted men and two warrant officers, as well as three officers from Delaware National Guard. “About 130 students visited the static display, with most attending the M16 beam hit,” Eliaszewskyj said. “Next in popularity were the rappelling exercises and the helicopter.” In the front gym of Carpenter Sports Building, participants in the M16 laser-beam targeting exercises aimed weapons at targets about 25 meters away. The weapons, provided by the Delaware Army National Guard, which conducts simultaneous training programs for its members and ROTC cadets at UD, were M16-A3s, similar in appearance to the M16 M-4 version currently being used in Iraq, Eliaszewskyj said.
While participants zeroed in weapons indoors, several hardy volunteers braved a brisk wind and freezing temperatures to participate in rappelling exercises off the southeast wall of the Carpenter Sports Building. Under the watchful eye of Master Sgt. Robert Brown, participants donned leather gloves and Kevlar-lined helmets as they hooked half-inch thick rope through a harness before pushing off from edge of the roof some 30 feet above the ground. On the ground, but capable of lifting up to 11 combat equipped troops, as well as ammunition, weapons and supplies, was the 20,000-pound UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter. The UH-60A, used to provide air assault, general support, medical evacuation, command, control and special operations support, was flown onto Frazer Field by three members of Company B, First Battalion, 150th Aviation, based in New Castle. "This is a pretty friendly craft, but it takes a lot of man-hours to keep it in the air," Sgt. Matt Booz, a crew chief who has been flying in the Black Hawks for about four years, said. "For every hour in the air, there are two hours of work on the ground."
“It definitely was an experience,” Booz said. “We did a lot of troop movement, flying 5,000 hours in a year.” One of the biggest surprises awaiting the crew in Iraq was the fact the weather was seasonal, and in some respects similar to that found in the Mid-Atlantic states, where their unit is based. “The winter is very short,” McGinnis said. “The summer is brutal. When the wind is blowing the summer heat, at temperatures nearing 140 degrees, it feels like a hair dryer is blowing directly into your face.” Article by Jerry Rhodes |
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