Fort Drum soldiers train to jump from chopper into St. Lawrence River

WELLESLEY ISLAND, New York (WWNY) - Helocasting - jumping out of a moving helicopter 10 feet above the water moving at 10 knots an hour. For members of Fort Drum’s 10th Aviation Combat Brigade, it’s simply another day at the office.

“The mental toughness, being able to take that first jump into the water, especially knowing it’s going to be a little bit chilly, but having some patience and confidence in yourself,” said Captain Roderick Gacuma, Alpha Company 41, 10th Aviation Combat Brigade.

Confidence that engineers from Fort Drum’s 10th Aviation Combat Brigade gained Monday morning as nearly 100 soldiers took the leap from the back of a Chinook helicopter into the water of the St. Lawrence River.

“It’s all about engineers supporting light infantry. A lot of this is just showing our capabilities, showing that engineers can insert themselves into different scenarios in support of light infantry units,” said Gacuma.

The all-day training exercise was part of a joint operation between Fort Drum, the U.S. Coast Guard, and several other organizations.

“There was a lot of different agencies that had a part in this. The local environmental considerations, police departments, Coast Guard, Army. Making sure the air space is clear, the shipping lanes are free when we are actually doing the helocast. There’s a lot of coordination that went into this, and I believe this was in the works for at least 90 days,” said 1Lt. Ryan Greaney, Bravo Company 310, 10th Aviation Combat Brigade.

Alongside the swim back to shore, the engineers were tasked with turning their gear into floating rafts.

“It just enables us to do more with our aviation assets as well as insert us in different situations that benefit our engineers,” said 1Lt. John T. Darden Jr., Bravo Company 310, 10th Aviation Combat Brigade.

Darden says Monday’s mission was a success. He hopes to be able to add more elements to the exercise in the future.

“I would like to try and do it with Zodiacs, which is small man boats that we can also launch out of the helicopters. Just give us more of that tactical readiness,” he said.

The engineers say these exercises not only help teach real-world tactics but also how to coordinate with other units to execute a mission plan.

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