Helicopter base takes shape in Iraqi desert

[thedrifter]

April 01, 2003

Helicopter base takes shape in Iraqi desert

By Gordon Lubold
Times staff writer



AT AN AIRBASE IN SOUTHERN IRAQ ? It?s the beginning of a war here, or at least it feels like it, as Marines arrive from ships in the Persian Gulf to build a new forward operating base on this remote piece of desert.
There was nothing here less than two weeks ago when Cobra pilots touched down to get a night?s sleep during the hectic first days of operations against Iraq. It?s now a bustling base, as Marines arrive on helicopters that ferried them from various ships in the Gulf. Tents are going up, electricians are wiring the base, showers were added and hot chow is expected within a few days.

?This isn?t the boat,? said one Marine officer, welcoming his young Marine charges April 1.

The base is already serving as a forward area refueling point, but will also be home to CH-46 Sea Knight and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter maintainers, who will be better positioned to fix the birds now under a constant barrage of dust. Being closer in will also allow pilots to be closer to the fight and cut down on fuel consumption.

?If you?re working that far away from the fight, you?d basically have to get gas right away,? said Lt. Col. David Coffman, operations officer for Marine Aircraft Group 16, based at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, Calif., in an interview on the amphibious ship the Boxer days before his unit moved ashore.

?I just can?t support from here,? he said. ?At some point, we just have to move ashore.?

Helicopter squadrons had been based on ships in the Gulf, including the amphibious assault ship Boxer, but it was taking too long for some helicopters, especially the Sea Knights, to get to the fight to deliver troops and supplies ? more than an hour in some cases.

Marine commanders decided to move their base of operations into Iraq, where the refueling point was already established. Dozens of other forward refueling points are in the area, and Corps officials haven?t ruled out moving some of the operations located here further northward if necessary.

Meanwhile, an AH1W Cobra unit, Marine Light Helicopter Attack Squadron 269, based at New River Marine Corps Air Station, N.C., is also operating out of this base, targeting the ?pockets of resistance? remaining in southern Iraq and monitoring the roads that lead north to ensure no Iraqis return to the area to ambush supply lines.

?You never know when those guys will pop up,? said one Cobra pilot.


Sempers,

Roger