HH-60 Pave Hawk 'Pedro' AfPak PJ SAR Helicopter

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Arkady

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Rob
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As the title says: The USAF 'Pedro' SAR helicopters based at Bastion dropping a wounded Afghan civilian off at Lashkar Gar today...

http://alwaysvigilant.blogspot.com/2009/09/usaf-pedro-no-nonsense-of-afpak-pj.html

OK let me tell you what's wrong with these photographically before anyone else starts: These were taken as a test to see if the Shutter-Priority mode could deliver as predictable results as I usually get on Manual - it does with a few caveats...however I got a bit closer than usual and the downdraft was so severe that I was being buffeted like mad, so the composition's way off and the sharpness isn't as good as it should have been - bringing down the shutter speed to try and blur the rotors has resulted in camera shake from the downdraft...
H&S dictates that I now have to wear safety goggles (not ballistic sunglasses) and helmet, so I couldn't frame them exactly as the viewfinder is partially obscured...all technical difficulties i'll be experimenting with in order to overcome...

But...nice cabs!

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Got a bit worried there with the first image and the phrase "droppping off" :)
 
3 great photos and a very interesting read in the link!

2nd is the favourite for me. I really hope the 3rd pic is a photo of take off, not a landing :LOL:

Whats the boom ont he front of them for? never known this
 
Whats the boom ont he front of them for? never known this
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I believe that is the in flight refueling rig.
 
Photo on Wiki of a Pave Hawk doing a bit of air to air refuelling Clicky

Some pretty good phots as well, I'm loving the rotor blur (especially in number 1)
 
Viper said:
just watched that. i wonder why it dipped in the first place :wacky:
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It's a Pilot-thing...it's why they're supposed to have sergeants sitting behind them telling them what to do...:D

Update: two P1 two P2 and this one more or less P3 - flash-burns, shock and peppered with bits of shrapnel...
The two P1 were kids under 10 years old, one of which we think tripped the device, but we're not sure here of the exact details - both died in mid-flight and diverted to Bastion...
All victims of a VOIED intended for us... (Victim-Operated Improvised Explosive Device - or booby-trap).
 
All victims of a VOIED intended for us... (Victim-Operated Improvised Explosive Device - or booby-trap).
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This differs from an IED which is what the media here like to call them in any way?

Presumably some are command wire intitiated and thus not victim operated?
 
PsiFox said:
This differs from an IED which is what the media here like to call them in any way?

Presumably some are command wire intitiated and thus not victim operated?
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Without giving too much away for obvious reasons...yes.

Any 'home-made' explosive device is an IED.

You can have CWIED - Command-Wire; VBIED Vehicle-Borne; SVBIED - Suicide, Vehicle-Borne; VOIED - Victim-Operated etc etc etc...

Unfortunately the 'passive' sort also take-out civilians...wholly indiscriminatory, which is why things aren't going the way of Terry Taleban - they're getting desperate if they're prepared to kill innocent civilians - thier grass-roots supporters - to get to us.
 
Arkady said:
Without giving too much away for obvious reasons...yes.

Any 'home-made' explosive device is an IED.

You can have CWIED - Command-Wire; VBIED Vehicle-Borne; SVBIED - Suicide, Vehicle-Borne; VOIED - Victim-Operated etc etc etc...

Unfortunately the 'passive' sort also take-out civilians...wholly indiscriminatory, which is why things aren't going the way of Terry Taleban - they're getting desperate if they're prepared to kill innocent civilians - thier grass-roots supporters - to get to us.
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Thanks for the clarification.

stay safe:)
 
As always, more great shots.
 
thanks for posting these awesome documentary photos. its good to get a small flavour of what goes on out there.
 
Like the detail of the forward section in number 2.

And i love gimping out at these type of pics, so here's my gimp question of the month:

Seems that the US air-crew are wearing 'old-style' desert camo, not the newer digital design that US Armay and Marines wear...any reason for that?
 
darrenb said:
Seems that the US air-crew are wearing 'old-style' desert camo, not the newer digital design that US Armay and Marines wear...any reason for that?
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The guys carrying the wounded look like Brits .......

...... standing by to be proved wrong!

Cheesy
 
Despite the technical difficulties caused by H&S these arent bad at all Rob, can see why you arent 100% happy, but im sure you will overcome :) id be chuffed to bits with any of them ;)

And yes they do look like Brits carrying the patients, as Lashkar Gar is a British base as far as i remember :)
 
Great shots Rob. It's a real treat seeing stuff like that.
 
Great pics from Lash, was in Camp Bastion on Herrick 9 this time last year. I'll have to post some of my pics form there.
 
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