JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Although outnumbered by their sister services on the installation, Marine Aircraft Group 49 serves a critical role in supporting mission success at Joint Base MDL with their helicopter fleet.
While there aren’t a great deal of Marines on the joint base, the MAG-49’s helicopter fleet is essential to the U.S. military as a whole through their mobilization to support units around the globe. The maintenance performed by both the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 772 and the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 are critical to the aircraft readiness and overall success of MAG-49. HMH-772 is responsible for the CH-53E Super Stallion, a helicopter which has played in a critical role in delivering and extracting troops to and from combat environments across the globe.
“The maintenance on the CH-53E Super Stallion is pretty in-depth; it covers one end of the helicopter to the other including: the blades, engines, hydraulic systems, electric systems, fuselage, and flight controls,” said U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Mark Benz, HMH 772 CH-53E crew chief. “We go through the checklist over and over again to ensure these aircraft are capable and safe.”
The CH-53 E Super Stallion model is approaching 40 years of service, and certain parts for the aircraft are becoming more challenging to repair and more time consuming to replace. However, the age of the aircraft didn’t stop the Marines at HMH 772 from achieving 100 percent aircraft readiness during the Integrated Training Exercise in California last year.
“It is challenging, but it’s rewarding being able to keep the aircraft the way we do,” said U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Daniel Falcone, HMH 772 CH-53E crew chief. “There’s a lot of pride in the unit, knowing that even though these aircraft are old we have the best ones the Marine Corps’ got.”
MAG- 49 serves primarily as a reserve unit, but due to the amount of training and flying the unit performs, active duty Marines are assigned to the group.
“A lot of people think that because we’re a reserve squadron we don’t have an impact, but there are active duty Marines here,” said Falcone. “We’re working 10 hours or more a day and we’re coming in on the weekends to train the reservists, too.”
In addition to training Marine Corps reservists, the active duty crew chiefs at MAG-49 have the unique ability to participate with other military branches in exercises around the joint base.
“The joint base provides a unique opportunity for everyone,” said Falcone. “We really value the chance to work and train with the other branches and learn things we can do better.”
In the Marine Corps, every crew chief flies with their respective aircraft to ensure mission safety in the air and perform maintenance in a moment’s notice. Flying is the favorite part of the job for each crew chief, who all expressed a vested interest in ensuring the longevity of their aged aircraft.
“It’s great to see the end product and get a different perspective on all the work you put in,” said Benz. “If I could walk in every day at 6:30, get all my stuff ready, go out to the helicopter, fly around all day; land, do my post-flight and then turn all of my stuff in and go home - I would do it, absolutely.”