XBradTC

Craig here.  From the official US Army photostream:

Caption:

Army Soldiers teach students sling load operations with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at the Army Pathfinder School on Fort Pickett, Va., Aug. 19, 2011. The mission of a Pathfinder is to provide technical assistance and advise the ground unit commander on combat assault operations, sling load operations, air movement, airborne operations, and aerial re-supply by fixed and rotary wing aircraft. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Andrew H. Owen

XBrad has mentioned the Chinook a number of times.  It’s an old design that seems to take well to upgrades and improvements.  The CH-47 was designed to carry Pershing missiles and a catalog of other equipment long since retired.  I spent most of my time in the heavy divisions, so we didn’t have much that was sling loaded on a regular basis.  Perhaps the most often “production” payloads that I saw were my communications shelters.  We found that rather useful in Korea, where the roads were often too narrow for HMMWVs. None of my equipment was sling loaded in Afghanistan.  But we often loaded the equipment in the cargo section on a 463L pallet.

I can feel the rotor wash now….