Marines jump into training

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Lynsie Nichols
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Marines with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit visited Yokota July 23-27 to conduct routine parachute insertion training, while providing the 374th Airlift Wing aircrews an opportunity to work with the modified KC-130J aircraft.

The MEU, which serves as the U.S.'s maritime contingency force in the Asia Pacific Region, is required to maintain its qualification training in order to forward deploy throughout the Pacific.

"[Yokota] is a great location," said the platoon officer in charge. "We had all the logistical support we needed as well as the drop zone all located in one central spot."

While the MEU worked together during the training, which occurs every 90 days, they spent a week practicing static line and high-altitude, low-opening jumps.

A HALO jump requires the paratrooper to free-fall for a period of time before opening their parachute at a lower altitude. In a static-line jump, the parachute is opened automatically upon departure from the plane and is usually performed at a lower elevation.

"We have half of our group in the sky working on jumps while the other half is located at the drop zone observing how the jumps are carried out," said a platoon member. "We also have a medic on scene with us as a precaution."

The on-scene medic usually deploys with the group and carries out the important task of taking care of injuries potentially incurred by Marine jumpers.

"I'm always on-scene in the event of an accident," said the medic. "Safety and the medical attention of the team comes first, and I need to be there to get them the immediate attention that they need."

Luckily for the 31 MEU, there were no accidents and training went smoothly.

"Everything went the way it was supposed to," said the platoon OIC. "There were no injuries, and we received outstanding support from Yokota."

One platoon member, who trained here before, was pleased to visit Yokota again.

"This is a safe place to jump. The runways and drop zone are very nicely maintained," he said. "I've never experienced any unforeseen obstacles during my training."
The Marines were training on the KC-130J, an aircraft offering increased utility and mission performance improvement. As a force multiplier, the J tanker is capable of refueling both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft as well as conducting rapid ground refueling.
Additionally, the training provided a great opportunity for Team Yokota members as well.

"These aircraft have advanced avionics as well as engines from our current models," said Capt. Matthew Sartori, C-130 weapons officer, who flew with the Marines for a day.

"I was able to provide safety support for the MEU on behalf of the wing, allowing them to be fully prepared for their deployment," he said. "It was great exposure to the crew flow and mindset of our joint partners. The KC-130J is an extremely capable and efficient upgrade to the existing systems."

The MEU was happy to work hand-in-hand with Yokota members, who expect to receive the C-130J model in the future.

"I think it's awesome to be able to do our training here," said the platoon OIC. "Yokota is helping us maintain a deployment requirement and that is very important."