FRIDAY, MAY 7, 2010VOL. 6, NO. 32

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By Terese ToenniesFleet and Family Readiness

Sailors recently returning from Individual Augmentee (IA) tours in the Middle East shared sand stories of tackling tough drill sergeants as a petty officer, Christmas parties in Saddam Hussein’s for-mer palace, dealing with detain-ees’ Ramadan fasting and dining at the chow hall with “Chemical Ali” [Ba’athist Iraqi Defense Minister Ali Hassan al-Majid, who was executed for genocide and war crimes in January 2010].

In addition to listening to articu-late anecdotes, deploying IA’s asked questions of their boots-on-the-ground experienced shipmates.

“What kind of sleeping quarters did you have?” “Where were you working?” “How is it negotiating orders over there?”

These is just a sampling of the tales told and questions asked at NAS Whidbey Island’s bi-annual IA Appreciation Night, held April 28 at the Convergence Zone.

This discourse is exactly what hap-pens when people with shared expe-riences are put in the same room,

and according to Kelly Gilman, the Fleet and Family Support Center’s Individual Deployment Support

Specialist, generating discussion is a key goal of the evening.

“It’s a chance for servicemembers

to connect and ask the questions that I’m not going to know the

By Lt.j.g. Micah KolcunVAQ-139 reporter

A standard early morning flight April 26 for the Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 139 Cougars turned into a great learning experi-ence in a Search and Rescue (SAR) exercise.

As the crew of four walked out to their EA-6B Prowler for a standard preflight inspection, the squad-ron’s Safety Officer, Lt. Cmdr. Nick Vande Griend, informed the crew they would be participating in a SAR exercise.

Lt. Nick George, Lt. Nathan Clayville, Lt.j.g. Scott Dearden and Lt.j.g Micah Kolcun then entered a van to be transited to the Whidbey Island SAR helicopter, a MH-60S Knighthawk.

As the Prowler crew approached the SAR hangar, they were greet-ed by Chief Hospital Corpsman Richard Hubbard and Hospital

Corpsman 2nd Class Patrick Dexter, the Safety and Training instructors from the base Aviation Survival Training Center (ASTC). The crew was briefed on safety and egress from MH-60S and then walked to the helicopter for takeoff.

As the Knighthawk began to approach the foothills of the Cascade Mountains and the rugged terrain became apparent, the Prowler crew realized how difficult such terrain would be in a survival situation.

“I was surprised by how thick the

trees and brush were and just how isolated some of the areas are we routinely fly over,” said George, the pilot of the squadron crew.

After the helicopter reached the final destination, the Prowler crew and SAR coordinators were dropped off. The SAR crew then hoisted Clayville and George to another location to make the scenario more realistic. Following a quick debrief and watching the SAR helicopter disappear beyond the horizon, the crews inventoried their gear and took out their AN/PRQ-7 Combat Survivor/Evader Locator (CSEL) radios.

The radios enabled the crews to receive a GPS fix along with voice communications to rendezvous with each other. Once assembled, the group used the opportunity to cover survival training to include water procurement, building a shel-

Appreciation night allows IA’s to share their experiences

Terese Toennies

Clockwise, from left, AD3 Taylor Proctor, AT3 Chris Walsh, Captain Gerral David and Andrea Proctor discuss the Individual Augmentee experience at the IA Recognition Night held April 28 at the Convergence Zone.

VAQ-139 plays role in SAR exercise

HM2 Patrick Dexter

Lt. Nick George prepares to be short hauled by a NAS Whidbey Search and Rescue MH-60S Knighthawk.

See IAs NIGHT > Page 14

See VAQ-139 > Page 13