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Ordies arm Cobras at ITX

  • Published
  • By Sgt. Russell Midori
  • Marin Air Craft Group 49
TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. --  Cobra pilots have the pleasure of watching their rockets and hellfire missiles cruise through the sky and impact targets in the desert mountains.

For that, they can thank the ordnance Marines participating in the Integrated Training Exercise, who have spent their days loading and arming weapons on aircrafts.

"Ordnance guys pretty much are specifically for missiles, rockets, rounds, anything that has to do with that," said Cpl. Chris Webb, ordnance technician, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773.

"We are the ones who test it, load it, and for the mission we just honestly make [it] happen so that those guys can go out and have fun shooting. And when we're in combat, you know, take care of business," said Webb, a Gainsville, Georgia native.

The AH-1 Super Cobras here have M-197 gatling guns on the front, laser-guided hellfire missiles on one side and high-explosive rockets on the other. Dealing with these types of weapons is a dangerous job, and the "ordies" of HMLA 773 follow rigid safety procedures.

"Our ordnance bible - they say it's written in blood," said Lance Cpl. Laurence Williams, ordnance technician, HMLA 773. "Our safety regulations come from past Marines' mistakes, so if we're loading the weapons, or arming the cobras, or de-arming them when they land, we take every precaution," said Williams, of Pass Christian, Miss.

After the ordies load rounds, rockets and missiles into the cobras, the pilots fly to a runway where an ordnance team meets them to arm the weapons - meaning make them functional for firing. Because of the engine and rotor noise, the team leader uses hand-and-arm signals to direct a team member who swiftly connects wires to firing apparatuses.

In today's exercise, Williams ran to the outboard side of the bird and used a small handheld device to check for stray voltage. He armed the hellfire missiles, then dove under the aircraft to arm the gatling gun. He finished on the inboard side arming the rockets in the rocket pad, and then his team cleared the runway and watched the cobra take off.

Despite how quickly the procedure seems to go, every maneuver is precisely calculated and safely executed. Even in training, mission accomplishment for the pilots depends on the speed and effectiveness of the ordnance Marines.

"The ordnance men are essential to our mission because the ground troops need us to actually go out there and employ the ordnance," said Capt. Brian Riva, pilot, HMLA 773.

"The ordnance Marines have done an outstanding job out here at ITX," Riva said. "Right now we are 100 percent in direct hits with our hellfire missiles which directly correlates to what the ordnance Marines have been doing out here. We've shot so far eight hellfire missiles - we have 4 left to go but 100 percent is pretty good."