That’s a Black Hawk helicopter looking broken in half, but it’s standard operating procedure for shipping a bird home from Afghanistan.
As the U.S. military prepares to end combat operations in Afghanistan, material needs to be disassembled and sent back to the States — or abandoned. Black Hawk helicopters have been the aerial taxis of this war and might be needed to fly new routes in the next one. So they are being drawn down, one by one.
Lt. Mike Van Oteghem, a pilot and platoon leader of about 44 maintenance mechanics, described for me how to neatly ship a chopper:
The avionics, weaponry and self-defense equipment are taken out. Then “they scrub every nook and cranny to make sure all of the dirt gets out of there because U.S. customs won’t allow it in the country if it is dirty,” he said. Most of the fuel is drained.
The blades, rotor and tail are folded and secured; bubble wrap — that marvelous invention — plays a role. The operation can be done in five or six hours “if there is a hurry,” Van Oteghem said.
“The Army is the only job I have ever had,” said the 25-year-old West Point graduate, “and it seems like it changes every day.” He has been in Afghanistan only a month, but already he has flown all around the country as fewer troops and aircraft are available for the same number of missions.
To see more of Richard Johnson’s illustrated report from Afghanistan, “Drawing Up the Drawdown,” visit wapo.st/drawing and follow his daily blog, Drawing the World Together.
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