My Chinook Story

The Chinook helicopter, CH-47 I think, is in the news again by it being shot down again. I served from 84-87, and had some contact with the Chinook.


The Forward Area Alerting Radar was an old p.o.s. Korean war era, and as operator on the modern battlefield life expectance was only seconds. But the FAAR accompanied the AA guns of Airborne ADA, the Vulcan, Stinger and (in training), the Hawk.
The FAAR was far too sensitive and breakable to heavy-drop or LAPSE, so it was airlifted into the area, but too late for early operations. SSG Alford knew he could air-mobile the unit, little tricky at the center of the unit, it was mounted on a six-wheeled truck known as the gamma goat. With a huge retractable mast mounted on one side, the ungainly radar was big and heavy.
Three pairs of straps suspended the unit, with a wooden spreader bar across the top of the operators cabin in back. All that was left was to hook it up to the bird, and that was my job.
I stood on the roof of the unit with the straps in my hands, all gathered and held together with a large D-ring. But the D-ring was metal, and the static electricity of the hovering copter would knock me down. Trick was to hold the D-ring upright by squeezing the straps together, and then lifting it and hopefully hitting the belly-hook first try.
I stood on the roof and watched the big bird circle the meadow we were in. It turned and approached me with the nose high, exposing the belly and the hook in the center. I never saw the pilot, it saw only the hook. I held the ring high, and the pilot brought it in, center and right height...I slammed the D-ring through the spring-loaded gate on the choppers' hook, it hit home, and I turned and jumped off the roof.
I don't remember the tremendous noise it must've generated, I remember the rotor-wash hitting me.
The bird's engines cranked up, and the Chinook tilted upwards and climbed. The FAAR flew for the first time, and was set down again without damage to the radar unit, showing it could be done in combat.
FAAR Platoon, Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion(Airborne), 4th Air Defense Artillery
82d Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, NC
SSG Tommy Alford, SGT Darrell Jenkins, PFC Dennis Anderson, PVT Ian Carroll
1985

I also had a fun jump from a CH-47. Tailgate.