Helo plan would create spec-ops support units - Navy News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Navy Times

Helo plan would create spec-ops support units

The Navy is considering an overhaul of the way it provides helicopter support for special operations units, Navy officials say.

One proposal would create two dedicated H-60 Seahawk squadrons for special ops, adding more aircraft and sailors to the two units already involved in supporting SEAL missions.

Meanwhile, a separate but related plan may reduce the SEAL-support training undergone by other helicopter units, shifting most of the rotary-wing fleet toward more traditional, ship-based missions.

Together, the proposals could transform today’s helicopter fleet to a two-tiered system, with most support for Naval Special Warfare Command provided by a pair of elite units.

“You would very much devolve into an ‘A-team, B-team’ mentality. The guys with all the sexy missions would be in the two [special operations] squadrons and the guys who do the day-to-day, humdrum, that would be the ‘B-team’ jobs,” said one senior officer and helicopter pilot who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the changes.

Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Brown, spokesman for Naval Air Forces, said it was premature to talk about future mission plans because a decision has not been made on the two squadrons.

Under the proposal, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 84 in Norfolk, Va., and HSC-85 in San Diego would become the Navy’s primary helicopter units for supporting SEALs and other special operations units, said Lt. Sean Robertson, a Navy spokesman.

HSC-84 has been providing support for special operations, but the proposal would make both units larger and more exclusively focused on special ops.

The squadrons could grow from eight to 10 aircraft each — their current level — to 12 to 15 aircraft, Robertson said.

The plan calls for adding roughly 120 officer and enlisted billets to HSC-84 and about 150 billets to HSC-85, raising the manning levels of each squadron to more than 400 sailors, Robertson said.

Key details, including whether the units will be under the operational and financial control of the Navy or of U.S. Special Operations Command, remain unresolved, Robertson said.

The plan calls for both squadrons to receive hospital corpsmen who have been to aircrew school and are trained in search and rescue, Robertson said.

Both HSC-84 and HSC-85 are Reserve units, but the transition to special operations likely would involve active-duty sailors.

The move toward dedicated special-ops squadrons could clear the way for less focus on SEAL support — particularly overland missions — in the helicopter fleet at large, the senior officer said.

Senior leaders are reviewing the mission sets for many helicopter squadrons and may eliminate the overland support requirement for many of today’s HSC squadrons, the senior officer said.

Skepticism of the overland mission was fueled by two costly mishaps in recent months. In February, an MH-60S crashed at Naval Air Station Fallon, Nev. The cause remains under investigation. In October, two HH-60Hs collided during a night landing in Iraq. Both mishaps caused more than $1 million in damage, according to the Naval Safety Center.

In the helicopter community, there is resistance to reducing the capabilities of the HSC squadrons.

“What we are pushing for is: ‘OK, stand up the [special operations] squadrons, but don’t take away the capability of having these other guys trained. ... I think there is enough SEAL demand to go around, and there is good sense in having an organic capability on the carrier,” the officer said.

“But the helo community may well lose that fight.”