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Mar
17
2025
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Posted 10 days ago ago by Admin
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It’s a bright and sunny autumn morning at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey. While on the adjacent ramps it is still quiet, the ramp of HMLA-773 (-) is already packed with Bell UH-1Y Venom and Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters being prepared for the day’s flying by the busy maintenance crews. Although being a Marine Reserve Unit, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 plays a key role in the organization and operations of the United States Marine Corps.
Impressive achievements
The ‘Red Dogs’ were the first Marine Reserve Helicopter Squadron to be deployed for Operation Desert Shield and ‘Operation Desert Storm from December 1990 until March 1991. The unit was again mobilized during October 2003 in support of The Global War on Terror and Operation Enduring Freedom, where they operated out of Bagram Air Base in northern Afghanistan. Elements of HMLA-773 operated continuously from this base until their return to the United States in April 2005. From June until October 2005 elements of the unit were deployed in Support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and operated out of Al Asad Air Base, while at the same time, stateside elements participated in humanitarian relief efforts in Louisiana in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita during August and September that year. HMLA-773 was mobilized again in September 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and stayed in Iraq until March 2008. After demobilization in May 2008, the unit was reassigned to Marine Aircraft Group 49 / 4th Marine Aircraft Wing.
Reserve, but not on the sideline
Today, together with HMLA-775 at Camp Pendleton in California, HMLA-773 is one of only two Marines Forces Reserve (MARFORRES) Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadrons tasked, among other missions, with close air support, aerial reconnaissance, tactical troop transport and special operations. The unit consists of active-duty Marines, active reserves (serving full time) and selected Marine Corps reservists (SMCR) who serve at least one drill weekend a month. The mission of HMLA-773 is to train, augment and reinforce the active-duty helicopter units wherever necessary in times of war, national emergencies or during contingency operations. Although being a Reserve unit, HMLA-773 participates in the rotational schedule of the Marine units including Unit Deployment Programs (UDP), Combat Deployments and in support of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force operations (SP-MAGTF). “The Red Dogs of HMLA-773 possess an abnormal high percentage of Weapons & Tactics Instructor (WTI) graduates compared to active duty units – giving us a distinct, tactical advantage in terms of highly skilled aviators. Additionally, we accomplish a comparative number of flight hours and exercise support missions despite two thirds of the unit being part time. We’re able to achieve more with less due to the quality of our Marines’ relentless pursuit of improvement, and by maintaining a superior state of readiness through frequent and realistic training both on the ground and in the air,” explains Lieutenant Colonel William C. Woodward, commanding officer of HMLA-773.
Woodward started his flying career in the USMC on the TH-57 Sea Ranger and was selected in 2006 to fly the AH-1W Super Cobra with HMLA-267. In the year 2007, he deployed with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) to Al Qa’im, Al Asad and Camp Korean Village in Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and later in 2009 with the 31st MEU to Southeast Asia . After this deployment, he was selected to help stand up HMLA-469, at that time the youngest USMC Helicopter Light Attack Squadron. Woodward departed active duty in July 2014, joined HMLA-773 and eventually became a night systems instructor (NSI). He took over command of the unit in May 2022. Woodward accrued in his flying career over 2,100 flying hours with 240 of those hours during combat missions.
Good team
A major upgrade for the existing USMC H-1 fleet was initiated in 1996 to remanufacture 189 AH-1Ws into the AH-1Z and 160 UH-1Ns into the UH-1Y for the U.S. Marine Corps. The last UH-1Y under this program was delivered in 2018 and the last AH-1Z in 2022. HMLA-773 was one of the last units to receive the new AH-1Z and UH-1Y and operated the legacy Bell UH-1N Huey until April 2014 and the AH-1W Super Cobra until the beginning of 2020.
The new helicopters share roughly 85% commonality in parts and enhance the maintainability and employability of the fleet in the Marine’s HMLAs. The new helicopters received new engines, a four-bladed composite rotor system, a ‘glass cockpit’ and can carry a wide range of weapons. Besides its 20mm cannon, the AH-1Z Viper can be equipped with two AIM-9 Sidewinders (The AIM-9M version is now in use with HMLA-773.), the LAU-61 19-shot rocket pod, the LAU-68 seven-shot rocket pod, the AGM-114 Hellfire rocket, but also the new AGM-179 JAGM (Joint Air-to-Ground Missile) that is currently entering service with the Marne Corps. The AH-1Z also received a 3.5 micron-based FLIR system with CCD color TV and the Lockheed Martin AN/AAQ-30 Target Sight System (TSS).
The UH-1Y Venom has become even more versatile than its predecessor, the UH-1N, and is now employable in both the transport and gunship role. Typical armament configuration of the UH-1Y is two LAU-68 seven-shot rocket pods or two LAU-61C/A 19-shot rocket pods with GAU-17 and GAU-21 guns. The cabin gives space for up to 10 passengers and a litter can be installed. For communications, the UH-1Y has an extensive suite of three AN/ARC-210 radios with KY-58 ecryption device, Wideband non-DAMA SATCOM, the AN/PRC-117 Multiband Manpack Radio and the ROVER kit (remotely operated video enhanced receiver). The Venom has also the AN/AAQ-22E BRITE Star Block II Sensor and Targeting System. Pilots on both the UH-1Y and AH-1Z can use the sophisticated TopOwl Helmet Mounted Sight and Display to enhance the pilot’s situational awareness and flight safety during night operations.
High-level maintenance
“The thing that you see when you really take these aircraft apart like our maintainers; most of the parts are interoperable or changeable between the two aircraft. For example, your rotor system, your engines, your transmissions. There is a major component and a lot of sub-components that are the same for our maintainers. We fly and fight these aircraft, but it is really important that we fix these aircraft. Hitting a bird or just breaking something, it is the Marines downstairs that must put the maintenance hours in to maintain the required state of readiness. I don’t think most people have an appreciation for how much work and expertise there is on that maintenance side of our units. Helicopter pilots will absolutely tell you they know. It is tough to fly helicopters. It is expensive! The Marine Corps gives us the best maintainers and gives us the opportunity to train them to a very high level. That is very important to any strategy for flying the HMLA’s Cobra and Hueys,” says Woodward.
Best helicopter for the job
“The strongpoints of our helicopters are the ability to bring a various and diverse array of ordnance. There are also just a lot of things we can carry on it other than ordnance. It flies really well, low and close to the ground. That increases our survivability.
“Making comparisons with other countries and their attack helicopters, you start seeing and understanding the robustness of the airframe and all the things it can do and how you can configure it, but also how we train with it and how we fight it allows us to be a lot more effective than other nations’ attack helicopters.,” explains Woodward.
Sidewinder
He continues, “A unique feature of our helicopter is the ability to fire an air-to-air missile. It is a thing that we train for. The concept of employing a missile from a rotary aircraft against a fixed-wing adversary is absolutely something we train to. So again, we built the helicopter and we laid out the expectations for it. This isn’t just about air-to-ground ammunition, this is also whether we can put an air-to-air capability on this and make it so that the fighters have to honor it.
“There is not a fighter jet pilot in the world that wants to get shot down by a helicopter,” Woodward laughed. “If they are briefed in their flight brief that there are Cobras on the battlefield with AIM-9s with an air-to-air capability and those Cobras pilots want to be the first helicopter pilot to shoot a jet down. You can bet that the jet pilots are going to change the way they fly and fight. Even if it never comes off my rail, I am already in their heads.”
International cooperation
“Training is key in our unit and we try to train with allied forces as much as we can. For example, we invite JTACs from partner nations to come here at JB MDL and we will work for them. The second way is joint (international) exercises like UNITAS. It is very important that we continue to do this because we simulate things. We have perfect simulators that can replicate almost any mission, but the one thing you don’t get is the relationship. You can’t simulate sitting here across the table, laughing, joking, just having a smile. It is very important to build those relationships when you have the opportunity. In my particular career, I have lived, worked or operated in 27 countries. Flying together is very important, as well as knowing each others’ operating procedures and sharing and innovating together,” explains Woodward.
No better friend; no worse enemy
Woodward concludes, “It is not the capabilities of the aircraft, it is the quality of the training and the level of maintenance and level of readiness that you keep the aircraft at. You can have fully capable aircraft. You can have a million of those capable aircraft. It is not completely effective if you don’t train to fly and fight that aircraft like you are going into combat and really exercise all the systems on a complex mission. We see these other countries bragging about how many (aircraft) they have, but no one flies and fights as the Marines or the U.S. forces I would say. We challenge the pilots all the time. We are absolutely preparing for the next fight. There is no better friend and no worse enemy than the U.S. Marines!”
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