BLACK HAWK BOARDS A BURKE: A U.S. Army UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter lands on the flight deck aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain. The helicopter crew was conducting deck landing qualification tests. Photo taken January 30 somewhere in the Philippine Sea. This “Dirty Little Secrets” report from 2014 discusses Army helicopter operations from Navy ships. That article expanded on a Naval Air update from 2006 that mentioned “U.S. Navy protests and attempts to keep the soldiers on land.” That attitude conflicts with operational requirements — Pentagon speak for you gotta do what you gotta do and you gotta use what you got. I’d add that operations in the western Pacific’s island chains and in the Indian Ocean demand joint operations.
SOMEWHAT RELATED: A handy guide to soldier slang and Pentagonese.