Guam National Guard & Navy Go Through Joint Training

The Guam National Guard and the U.S. Navy conducted a joint training at sea, a few miles off the coast of Guam with a U.S. Army UH-72 Lakota Helicopter and a U.S. Navy Mark VI Patrol Boat. It was the first meeting between the Guam Army National Guard’s Detachment 2, Delta Company, 1-224th Aviation Regiment and the Navy’s Bravo Company, Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 4.

The training mission simulated a hoisted casualty evacuation from the boat to the helicopter. During the initial phase, crews from both vessels learned to communicate effectively, synchronize direction and speed, and identified team roles for hoist operations. Later phases will include live hoists and more advanced scenarios.

“One of the big things we learned is our visual cues while flying,” said 1st Lt. Hayden Hayner, Guam Guard Lakota pilot. “You can’t really use the water because it’s moving around, so we learned to use different points on the boat and how to coordinate with the boat.”

Joint training opportunities, increased interoperability, and strengthening relationships with regional partners are priorities for both the Guam National Guard and Joint Region Marianas and are enabled by Guam’s highly joint environment. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Guam National Guard and various reserve units, and U.S. Coast Guard are all represented on the approximately 200-square-mile island.