1975 Thailand. Mayaguez Incident. Marines were flown in from Okinawa. The only helicopters were Air Force. When the attack came the Marine Captain told the Air Force Sargent where to land using Marine tactics.The AF Sargent told the marine to go F himself.
That is bovine secretions...AF NCO's do not make decisions, the pilot does...and no AF NCO would dare tell a Marine Captain to F himself...just don't happen. Go tell your nonsense to someone who would believe it!
The USAF CH-53D helos were used because the USMC versions had neither drop tanks nor air-to-air refueling, due too budget constraints. The only way to get the range would have been internal 500 gal. ferry tanks which left no room for cargo or pax.
Another problem was that the Air Force pilots were not allowed to practice tactical approaches and landings. They came into the hot LZ like they were landing at LaGuardia and two aircraft were promptly blown out of the sky.
USMC CH-53s use a technique called a "Buttonhook", coming in low, over the treetops at 150kts. When abeam the LZ, drop the collective, roll into 90 degree bank and do a horizontal autorotation. This bleeds off forward airspeed and allows you to drop into the LZ quickly and with lessened exposure to ground fire, while at the same time, not advertizing your intended LZ.
Another service, looking to gain fame & glory by having a presence on the mission, sent a senior NCO. When the aircraft landed, he refused to leave and wrapped both arms around the seat stanchions. The Marines tried to throw him off bodily. I don't remember if they succeeded.
My last billet in HMH-461, a USMC CH-53 squadron, was as the S-2. My Intel sergeant had been on that mission and related the above story to me. We had a framed photo of those two downed USAF CH-53s in shallow water just off the beach LZ.