Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Special Warfare Boat Operators add to tool kit



As reported here:
Special Warfare Boat Operators (SB) from Special Boat Team 20 (SBT-20) reached a milestone on March 28 when they successfully completed the 100th and 101st insertion of the Maritime Craft Aerial Deployment System (MCADS) off the coast of North Carolina. Serving as a true force multiplier, the MCADS capability enables Naval Special Warfare Sailors to rapidly deploy anywhere in the world in a maritime environment. The system deploys an 11-meter RIB (rigid inflatable boat) rigged with four large parachutes from the back of a C-130 or C-17 at approximately 3,500-feet.

Approximately four Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) immediately follow the boat out of the plane and parachute to the immediate proximity of where the boat lands. Within 20 minutes the SWCCs have the boat unpacked and rigged to get underway to deliver an element of SOF (special operation force) operators to any potential target of interest, or to conduct their own mission. SBT-20 Command Master Chief Richard Evans pointed out that this capability didn’t just miraculously evolve.

“This capability is a direct result of countless hours of hard work and commitment from several Sailors in the command’s Air Operations department over the past decade," Evans said. "In particular, the Air Department head, (Chief Parachute Rigger) Steve Perry, the MCADS Program Manager for SBT-20, Shane Hollar, and all the members of the Air Department, have been the backbone for the success of the program for the past several years.”

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