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As
the sun sets across an open expanse of the Pacific Ocean,
somewhere south of the Equator and east of the International
Date Line, a fleet of gray-hulled ships cruise against a
horizon brought into sharp relief by the setting sun. The
day’s end marks only the beginning for some of the Marines
embarked on those ships, Soldiers of the Sea at the forward
edge of the nation’s defense. Within the Corps, a few sit
high on a pedestal amongst the U.S. military’s elite –
Marine Reconnaissance.
 They walk and talk as no
others walk and talk. Their uniforms alone set them apart,
an embodied symbol of the years of experience and training
that give them a hard edge – fire retardant outer layers,
with assorted gear attached to the webbing of tactical
ballistic plate-carriers. Though they dress the part of
elite warriors, a man is not defined by his outward
appearance alone. The Marines of the 31st Marine
Expeditionary Unit’s Maritime Raid Force distinguish
themselves in ways ordinary men may consider foolhardy,
dangerous, or even mad. It’s just another day at sea for
these Marines, a chance to sharpen the skills that place
them at the tip of the spear of American military might.
The tip of that spear is sharp and the whetting stone is
repetition. Repetition builds muscle memory. Muscle memory
allows fluid action. And action is repetition, until each
muscle fiber is primed to react without conscious prompt. In
a sense, each member of Marine Reconnaissance is a vital
limb of a physically fit beast with a dive bubble and jump
wings on its chest – pinned emblems of shared sacrifice
during reconnaissance training at the Combatant Diver Course
and Airborne School. They live to train, train to fight, and
fight like hell when called. But before the fight comes
reconnaissance, of which they are the experts.
The
setting sun greets several dozen of the armed and helmeted
warriors - many just a few years out of high school, others
veterans of America’s recent battles - standing along the
hull of the Bonhomme Richard’s main tower. At 844 feet, the
BHR hosts a variety of Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, deck
hands and vehicles. The heat and exhaust fumes of several of
those aircraft wash against the reconnaissance Marines,
chasing away the humidity of the balmy South Pacific, whose
waves fall silent beneath the pulsing roar of helicopters
idling only yards away. The Marines stand in queue, waiting
for the Navy deck handler’s signal to file-off toward a
waiting MH-60S Seahawk helicopter. Tonight’s mission:
low-light fast rope with full kit, aided by night vision
goggles.
In other words, a green tinted rush out the door of a hovering
aircraft, down a rope to the bobbing ship below. A green chemical
light marks the end of a deceptively long ride from aircraft to
deck-plate.
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A Marine with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit’s Force
Reconnaissance Platoon rappels from a Navy MH-60S Seahawk helicopter
toward the flight deck during low-light fast rope training aboard
the USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), underway in the Pacific Ocean,
June 25, 2017. The FRP Marines train regularly for quick, tactical
raids of targets on both land and sea. Fast roping allows Marines to
enter inaccessible locations via rope from a hovering aircraft. The
31st MEU partners with the Navy’s Amphibious Squadron 11 to form the
amphibious component of the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike
Group. The 31st MEU and PHIBRON 11 combine to provide a cohesive
blue-green team capable of accomplishing a variety of missions
across the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by
Staff Sgt. T. T. Parish)
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The rotor wash of the Seahawk pushes down and away from
the hovering aircraft, some 30 feet above the flight deck.
The fast rope’s path dangles from the troop compartment of
the helicopter, coiling as it sits on the flight deck below.
For the uninitiated, fast roping, as it is colloquially
known within the Marine Corps, is a “tactical insertion” of
troops, weapons and gear. It gives Marines a capability
unknown before rotary-wing aircraft broadened the reach of
America’s Marines. Tough-trained, callous-handed warriors
ride in the dark. At their designated target, the Marines
hurl a heavy three inch rope from the cabin, intent to
strike quickly from the sky, with no time gifted to
unsuspecting enemies to mount a defense. “Fast rope”
describes form meeting function - fast and by rope. Fast
rope. Two words don’t do justice to the complexity of the
maneuver.
Take an average
man, say 185 pounds, and add 1) a tactical plate-carrier, with two
15 pound woven Kevlar plates; 2) a tactical helmet, streamlined to
avoid neck and head fatigue, but still several pounds of hard
plastic and soft lining; 3) an M4A1 carbine, the fully automatic
variant of the 5.56mm M4 issued to most Marine infantrymen; and 4)
night vision goggles, affixed to a helmet. Plus whatever specialized
gear each man chooses to carry – saws designed to cut through steel,
machine guns, flash-bang grenades – tools designed to assault an
underway ship.
Take eight to 12 men clad as such and pile
them inside the cabin of a fully-fueled helicopter. The pilot and
crew ascend to circle in a wide arc across an inky black sea. What
is left of the day’s light is flaming out over the western horizon,
giving way to a star filled night on an open sea. At the end of the
arc, the ship is again below, with Sailors waiving glowing batons,
passing precise hand signals between themselves and the bird in the
sky.
The approach made and the aircraft only a few meters
aloft, the Marines take their cue. Goggles? Check. Helmet? Check.
Weapon, gloves? Check and check.
The only thing left is a
long, dark drop.
By U.S. Marine Corps Staff Sgt. T. T. Parish
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
The U.S. Marines
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