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At 12:47 p.m. on December 9, 1999, the CH-46 Sea Knight lifted off from the Bonhomme Richard as the lead of five helicopters on an exercise to train Marines how to "take down" a hostile ship at sea. While SEALs boarded the ship from rubber boats, the Marines would lower themselves hand over hand from a rope dangling from the hovering helicopter. As part of the exercise, the Marines lugged assorted weapons and breaching tools, including 16-pound hammers and 30-pound cutting torches. The Sea Knight proceeded uneventfully to a designated holding pattern 10 to 12 miles behind the rear...

At 12:47 p.m. on December 9, 1999, the CH-46 Sea Knight lifted off from the Bonhomme Richard as the lead of five helicopters on an exercise to train Marines how to "take down" a hostile ship at sea. While SEALs boarded the ship from rubber boats, the Marines would lower themselves hand over hand from a rope dangling from the hovering helicopter. As part of the exercise, the Marines lugged assorted weapons and breaching tools, including 16-pound hammers and 30-pound cutting torches. The Sea Knight proceeded uneventfully to a designated holding pattern 10 to 12 miles behind the rear...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was checking reports that a Chinook transport helicopter might have come down near Baghdad. Two witnesses in the area, just north of Baghdad, told Reuters they saw a Chinook helicopter come down amid gunfire from the ground. They said it was unclear if the helicopter had crashed or made an emergency landing. ~ snip ~

ACE prepares for next generationof terrain flightSubmitted by: 24th MEUStory Identification #: 200482355939Story by Lance Cpl. Sarah A. Beavers FORWARD OPERATING BASE AL TAQADDUM, Iraq (Aug. 17, 2004) -- A CH-46E Sea Knight with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit descends deep inside the Majarrah Canyon, cruising at an altitude far below the canyon’s ridge. This is one of many maneuvers essential to the terrain-flight certification pilots with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263, the MEU’s Aviation Combat Element, are undertaking in order to prepare future Marines for duty in Iraq. “It [allows us] to teach new pilots how to effectively...

 HMM-161 fights for lives in IraqSubmitted by: 3d Marine Aircraft WingStory Identification Number: 20044107552Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte AL TAQADDUM AIR BASE, Iraq (April 10, 2004) -- The two weary but light-hearted crew chiefs lounged around in the CH-46E Sea Knight helicopter that is referred to as a "Phrog." They were in "alert 30" status - meaning that if a call came, the helicopter would be in the air in under 30 minutes. One of the chiefs casually looked out the window to see their other pilot beating feet towards the chopper at breakneck speed. They just got...

The Antelope Valley-based Marine Corps Reserve aviation detachment based at Edwards will send both of its squadrons overseas, deploying giant CH-53 helicopters to Afghanistan and medium CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters to Iraq. "They will be joining with their active-duty counterparts of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Group based at Miramar Naval Air Station," said Lt. Col. Drew Crane, in the leadership team of Detachment Bravo at Edwards. Both squadrons were mobilized within the past week, with Marines reporting for duty prior to overseas deployment. The Marines were told to expect to be activated for about 12 months, with a six-month overseas...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Marine captain with a passion for flying and a lance corporal with dreams of becoming a Camp Pendleton instructor were among a group of Marines who died when a transport helicopter crashed in central Iraq.</p>

Family holds out some hope EUREKA -- A Eureka serviceman may have been one of at least four U.S. Marines killed Monday in a transport helicopter crash in Central Iraq near Karbala. If that is the case, it would be Humboldt County's first reported casualty of the war in Iraq. But family members here say they haven't given up hope that he may have survived. Marine Capt. Andrew La Mont, 32, a Eureka native who during the Iraq war flew wounded servicemen to hospitals in Kuwait, has been listed as missing by the Marines. He was aboard the Marine CH-46...

Wisconsin Marine Died in Iraq Rescuing Helicopter Crash Victims, Family SaysBy Todd Richmond Associated Press WriterPublished: May 20, 2003 BEAVER DAM, Wis. (AP) - A third-generation serviceman who promised to make his father proud by following in his footsteps died after he jumped into an Iraqi canal to rescue victims of a helicopter crash, his family said. Marine Infantry Sgt. Kirk Straseskie, 23, died Monday after he tried to rescue the crew of a Sea-Knight helicopter that went down into a canal shortly after takeoff in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Four Marines on the helicopter were killed....

Marine who drowned in helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam Associated Press Last Updated: May 20, 2003 A Marine who died Monday after he jumped into a canal trying to reach victims of a helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam, Wis. Kirk Straseskie, 23, died Monday after a Sea-Knight helicopter crashed into a canal shortly after takeoff in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Four Marines on the helicopter were killed, U.S. Central Command said in a statement. Two Marines on the canal's banks jumped into the water to help, and one died trying, the...

The 31 British soldiers killed in Iraq are to be honoured by their comrades at a special service in the Gulf. Hundreds of troops are expected to attend the memorial service at a British military base near Basra on Sunday. It will be the first time soldiers still serving in Iraq will have gathered to pay tribute to those killed in the war. The service was the idea of Staff Sergeant John Landy, who was moved when he read about the wife of a Royal Marine who gave birth to their second child 12 days after her husband was killed...