In the photo at right, a helicopter from the Washington National Guard lands on the flight deck of the USS John C. Stennis in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on Monday at the start of exercises involving Army and National Guard copters practicing overwater landings.
Army UH-60M Black Hawk, AH-64E Apache and CH-47 Chinook helicopters flew from Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma to William R. Fairchild International Airport and the Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office, both in Port Angeles, where staged for the joint training exercise with Navy units aboard the Stennis.
As they flew to Port Angeles, the Stennis left Bremerton for the at-sea exercises.
The aircraft will train with the carrier as it leaves the Strait and travels down the Pacific coast, a statement by the Lewis-McChord command said.
Upon completion of their training, the helicopters will return to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Current missions require Army aviators to perform overwater operations with joint forces from Navy ships, the command said.
Army units have conducted overwater operations with the Navy in Haiti, the Persian Gulf, Korea, and in Joint Exercises around the Pacific.
Click on the arrows at the upper right of the photo to see more activity from Monday’s exercise.
