Edwards AFB Marines activated

For the rest of the month the 75 Marine Corps reservists, who hail primarily from California, will put their family and professional lives in order in case they are deployed in support of the war on terrorism, said Sgt. Maj. Victor Escobedo, command noncommissioned officer with Marine Aircraft Group 46, Detachment Bravo out of Edwards Air Force Base.

This past weekend was a regular drill weekend for the squadron, he said, so it was within normal scheduling to be on the base running through its training exercises.

What was unusual was a briefing meeting at which squad members were informed they would be activated Jan. 27. Once the squadron is activated, it will be required to stay at Edwards Air Force Base in case of deployment.

The squad consists of helicopter maintenance technicians and pilots.

The HMH-769 is in charge of the operation and maintenance of the CH-53 Echo Helicopter, he said. The Super Stallion is "the free world's largest heavy helicopter," according to Marine Corps aviators.

The big choppers carry Marine Corps infantry, most of whom are trained as "special operations capable."

Lt. Col. Nicholas J. Marshall, commanding officer of Detachment Bravo, said in earlier interviews, "Carrying infantry is what Marine Corps helicopter pilots want to do. We want to bring them in and bring them home."

The commander of HMH-769 is Lt. Col. James D. McGinley. He will be in charge of getting the unit ready to go wherever and whenever it might be called.

"When America needs help, they call the Marines. When the Marines need help, they call the Road Hogs," McGinley said, referring to the squadron's nickname.

"With all the training that we do during the weeks, months and years, that is scrimmage. Getting called up means it's game day," he said.

Even as reservists, perhaps especially as reservists, the squadron members are "truly ready, willing, able and full of eagerness to be a part of the solution following the events of Sept. 11," McGinley said.

Being activated is just one step below getting deployed, Escobedo said.

If and when the squadron is deployed, its mission will be to transport heavy equipment, weapons and supplies during ship-to-shore movements and amphibious assaults.

It has not yet been determined if the squadron will be deployed to Afghanistan or to another area where the United States has an ongoing military operation.

"They will be the air command element of a Marine expeditionary unit," Escobedo said.

The helicopter squadron could be used to transport heavy equipment or troops. The type of helicopters flown by HMH-769 have been among the aircraft ferrying Marines to locations in the forward operating areas of Afghanistan such as Camp Rhino and Kandahar.

In November 1990, HMH-769 was activated for Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Marine ground air combat operations in Kuwait. During the return from the Persian Gulf aboard the USS Taraway, HMH-769 participated in Operation Sea Angel, involving humanitarian relief in Bangladesh after a hurricane killed more than 100,000 people.

One weekend a month, Marine reservists swell the ranks at Edwards, and they spend two weeks a year on maneuvers.

And this bunch flies. Boy, howdy, do they fly. Norway. Honduras. The Balkans.

They define the "anywhere, anytime" ethos that keeps the necessity for the Marine Corps urgent.

In addition to the military mission, the Marines sponsor Toys for Tots in the Valley and fly missions to Navajo reservations to bring in food and construction material that otherwise would have to be carried in overland by mule.

Pilots in the Marine Reserve unit come from locations as scattered as Chicago and Guam. They are airline pilots, financiers, police and firefighters.

In a twist on the "High Desert Hollywood" theme, the big choppers from the Edwards contingent were featured in "Rules of Engagement," the current hit film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones.

Valley Press Editor Dennis Anderson contributed to this story.

Uploaded January 7, 2002