Email   Print   Share By Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson, 4th Sust. Bde. Public Affairs

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Soldiers from the 664th Ord. Co., 553rd CSSB, 4th Sust. Bde., hook up a load of ammunition to the underbelly of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Aug. 29 during sling-load training at Fort Hood. Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson, 4th Sust. Bde. Public Affairs

Soldiers from the 664th Ord. Co., 553rd CSSB, 4th Sust. Bde., hook up a load of ammunition to the underbelly of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter Aug. 29 during sling-load training at Fort Hood. Sling-load training is an annual requirement for the ordnance Soldiers to refresh their skills in attaching a load of supplies to the underside of a helicopter. Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson, 4th Sust. Bde. Public Affairs

Soldiers with the 664th Ordnance Company, 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, hooked up Aug. 29 for sling-load training at Fort Hood.

Sling-load training is an annual requirement for the ordnance Soldiers to refresh their skills in attaching a load of supplies to the underside of a helicopter, to airlift into areas that would otherwise be inaccessible.

The training is a critical task for the Soldiers to get ammunition to certain remote locations, and can be the difference in life or death for fellow Soldiers as maneuvering in and around the battlefields is not always a task that can be completed on the ground.

“It’s important to us. It’s part of our job,” Spc. Eddie Barnes, ammunition specialist, 664th Ord. Co., said. “If we don’t know how to accomplish this task, then we will be unable to get ammo out to Soldiers in the field.”

This job is especially important to ensure that all Soldiers have access to adequate supplies when they deploy.

“This is important, if we can’t get the ammunition to the warfighter, they won’t have what they need to do their job,” said Staff Sgt. Michael Williams, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the training, 664th Ord. Co. “When we go into a theater of operations, not everyone has access to ammunition and the only way they can get it is to take it in aerial.”

The sling-load operation is a dangerous task on the ground, requiring three separate ground personnel to work in harmony to ensure all appropriate safety measures are being taken.

One Soldier is required to be the eyes of the pilot from the ground to help guide the helicopter into place, while the other two people are underneath to safely connect the load to the underside of the helicopter before it can take off again.

“If one guy doesn’t do his job, then the other guys can’t, and shouldn’t,” Williams said. “It’s important.”