[Scan-DC] Coast Guard Blackjack Helos

[Alan Henney]

This is a press release about the Coast Guard "Blackjack" helos that
fly out of National Airport.  It came out on Friday, although this has
been in operation since September.

I hear the Blackjack helos often on 157.05 and 139.7 with Huntress.
Anybody discover other Blackjack freqs?

Check the link for the pictures:

http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/145886/

----- Original Message ----- 
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 2:30 PM
Subject: TAKING A COAST GUARD MISSION TO NEW HEIGHTS


DATE: February 23, 2007 14:27:31 EST
Document Number: 1172
      Office of External Affairs
      U.S. Coast Guard

      Feature Story
      Release Date: Feb. 23, 2007

      Contact: PA1 John Edwards
      (609) 677-2204

      Taking a Coast Guard Mission To New Heights

      Story By PA1 John Edwards


           A helicopter, flying low and fast over the nation's
capital, changes its direction with surgical precision. The crew
aboard scan's the skies for their target. They are in pursuit of an
aircraft that has entered the restricted airspace over Washington,
D.C. Their mission: interception.

           Although it may sound like a scene from a movie, it is in
fact just another day on the job for crewmembers from Coast Guard Air
Station Atlantic City, N.J., who have recently been tasked with
conducting the Coast Guard's National Capital Region (NCR) air defense
mission. The bright orange colored helicopters that are so common to
coastal community residents and beachgoers across the nation are now
becoming a familiar sight in the skies over D.C.

            In a small ceremony held on Sept. 25, 2006, the Coast
Guard officially assumed responsibility for the Rotary Wing Air
Intercept (RWAI) mission from Customs and Border Protection.

            "The Coast Guard's unique authorities and competencies as
both a military service and a federal law enforcement agency enable us
to assume permanent responsibility for executing the vital mission of
protecting the National Capital Region airspace for the Department of
Homeland Security in support of NORAD's multi-layered air defense
mission," said Admiral Thad W. Allen, commandant, U.S. Coast Guard.

           Part of that multi-layered air defense mission has the
Coast Guard working directly under the direction of the North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and partnering with other federal,
state and local agencies to protect critical infrastructure and
personnel. "We work alongside countless Department of Defense and
Department of Homeland Security assets to provide safety and security
to not only the federal government and entities within Washington
D.C., but its citizens as well," said Lt. Zach Mathews, pilot at Air
Station Atlantic City.  "This mission also protects the pilots of
general aviation aircraft who may have inadvertently flown into the
ADIZ whether due to mechanical or electronic malfunction or by simple
confusion," he said.

           In order for the pilots and crew of the air station to
accommodate this full time mission into their already busy schedules
of search and rescue and law enforcement, the unit has been outfitted
with four additional HH65-C Dolphin helicopters on top of its previous
total of six and has increased its permanent party staff from 80
billets to160. Although the increase is critical to mission success,
the personnel at the air station face challenges resulting from an
increased mission load.

           "The strain from going from 80 to160 people in the hangar
requires that additional training flights must be scheduled in order
to keep these folks current with there semi-annual minimums," said
Mathews. Crews must perform a set number of flight maneuvers,
approaches to the water, rescue hoists and swimmer deployments to
maintain their flight ready status. The RWAI training is now a part of
that mandatory semi-annual minimum.

           RWAI training is held weekly at the air station with the
help of the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Members of the Auxiliary help Coast
Guard air and boat crews all across the country train every day for
optimal mission readiness, and this is no exception. Auxiliary pilots'
volunteer their time and their aircraft for these air intercept drills
in order to help improve the pilot's response times and to give them a
moving target on which to hone their flight interception techniques.
The techniques used in interception are taught to the pilots by
instructors from the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center (ATC) in
Mobile, Ala.

           For the last three years, ATC Mobile has conducted
intercept training at its facility for Coast Guard pilots. Training
consists of learning how to intercept targets-of-interest at night
using night vision goggles and classes on intercept terminology and
missions. Additionally, pilots must learn and practice techniques that
place them extraordinarily close to other aircraft.

            "The mission is so unique that we actually operate under a
Federal Aviation Administration waiver because we get so close to the
other aircraft," said Lt. Jeff Graham, RWAI instructor at ATC Mobile.

           The focus of this intensive training is to get to the
target as quickly as possible. "RWAI flights focus on how to get the
aircraft off the ground, up to altitude and to the target as
expeditiously as possible," said Graham. "It focuses specifically on
launch procedures, vectors and how to execute the appropriate
intercept maneuver depending on the target's position and speed," he
said.

           The training provided by ATC Mobile has been utilized prior
to the full time duty of the NCR air defense mission. Coast Guard
pilots have participated in intercept ready missions such as the 2006
Superbowl, the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the G-8
Summit and in support of space shuttle launches.

           "The primary objective of any interception is to determine
intent," said Cmdr. Jacob Brown, NCR operations officer. "If they will
listen to us and are compliant, we can turn them away from the D.C.
area and they would no longer be a threat. If they are going out of
their way to not listen to us, they may have ill intent and it's our
job to determine that," he said.

           To determine the intent of the targeted aircraft, air crews
use various methods of communication. "The primary means of
communication is going to be the lighted sign board that gives
specific directions to the pilots of the aircraft," Brown said. "We
will try and raise them on the radio at 121.5 MHZ and we also use
International Civil Aviation Organization signals like rocking the
wings or flashing our navigation lights," he said. "Using these
communication tools is going to be a big part of determining if they
are compliant."

           By incorporating intensive training and the Coast Guard's
core mission to protect the citizens of the United States, the NCR air
defense mission is a natural fit. As the face of the world changes, so
too must the Coast Guard change in order to meet today's challenges.
Known mostly as guardians of the sea, the public recognizes the images
of the bright orange helicopters saving the lives of helpless
mariners, but now as the citizens of D.C. look to the sky, they will
see those same guardians taking their mission to new heights.

      Click the below photos for high-resolution versions


             ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (March, 30, 2006) A Coast Guard
helicopter signals the pilots of a Coast Guard Auxiliary air unit
during a National Capital Region air defense training mission over
Atlantic City. The Coast Guard Auxiliary acts as a target of interest
during the NCR training evolution. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards





             WASHINGTON (Feb. 9, 2007) A Coast Guard helicopter passes
over Washington during a National Captial Region air defense training
mission. The Coast Guard has been tasked with intercepting low flying,
slow speed aircraft in restricted air space over Washington, D.C. USCG
photo by PA1 John Edwards  ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (April 11, 2006) A
light board sign illuminates the word "Warning" through the window of
a Coast Guard helicopter. Light boards and International Civil
Aviation Organization signals are used to communicate with aircraft
being intercepted by the Coast Guard as part of the National Capital
Region air defense mission. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards

             WASHINGTON (Feb. 9, 2007) A flight mechanic prepares to
board a Coast Guard helicopter during a training exercise at Ronald
Regan International Airport. The Coast Guard stages helicopters at the
airport to support the National Capital Region air defense mission.
USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards  WASHINGTON (Feb. 9, 2007) Petty
Officer 2nd Class Adam Prater, stationed with MSST 91108 in King's
Bay, Ga., walks back to the hanger following a launch drill for the
National Capital Region air defense mission. The Coast Guard took over
the rotary wing air intercept mission from Customs and Border Patrol
in September 2006. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards

             WASHINGTON (Feb. 9, 2007) Lt.j.g. Matthew Keeney prepares
to stand down from a National Capital Region air defense mission
drill. Pilots from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J. rotate
in two week intervals to staff the mission, which is responsible for
intercepting aircraft flying into restricted air space over
Washington, D.C. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards  WASHINGTON (Feb. 9,
2007) A Coast Guard helicopter passes over Washington, D.C. with the
Captial Building in the background. The Coast Guard operates under the
direction of the North American Aerospace Defense Command while
protecting restricted air space over Washington, D.C.'s National
Capital Region. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards

             ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Pilots Cmdr. Robert Makowsky and
Lt. Kevin D'Eustachio wait with Petty Officer Third Class John
Sickerott for the station alarm to sound alerting them to their next
"target" during a RWAI drill. RWAI training takes place once a week at
Air Station Atlantic City. USCG photo by PA1 Kim Smith  ATLANTIC CITY,
N.J.-- The air station On-Duty-Officer takes down the target
information during a phone call from the Eastern Air Defense before
relaying it to the awaiting air crew over a loud speaker. The Eastern
Air Defense notifys the Coast Guard if there is an aircraft in
restricted air space prior to a launch. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards

             ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.-- Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Dutton and Lt.
John Nims burst out the air station door in their run to the HH-65C
helicopter waiting on the tarmac during an air intercept drill. Coast
Guard pilots receive intercept training at the Coast Guard Aviation
Training Center in Mobile, Al. USCG photo by PA1 Kim Smith  WASHINGTON
(Feb. 9, 2007) An HH65 Coast Guard helicopter passes by the Washington
Monument during a National Capital Region air defense training
mission. Coast Guard air crews have participated in air intercept
missions for the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, the
G-8 Summit and the Superbowl. USCG photo by PA1 John Edwards
      ###