NORHTERN OKINAWA, Japan — Marines with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion practiced their fast-roping skills during a training exercise in northern Okinawa last week.
A crew with the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 provided the fast-rope platform: a hovering CH-53 Super Stallion.
Fast roping is a special troop insertion technique typically used when a helicopter cannot touch down, such as boarding a ship at sea. Unlike rappelling, troops slide down a thick rope without the use of a harness, just the friction of their gloves, legs and feet.
The 3rd Recon Marines practiced several variations of fast-roping, starting with simple drops without extra gear, then moving on to progressively heavier and more complicated drops.