Staff Sgt. Hugo Paniagua, an Aerial Observer with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 and Brooklyn, N.Y., native, helps Marines from Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, get seated as they board a CH-53D Sea Stallion at Forward Operating Base Delhi, Afghanistan.(By Cpl. Isaac Lamberth)
As the sun rises over Afghanistan, two CH-53D Sea Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362, the “Ugly Angels,” roll down the runway at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, to await their turn for takeoff.
Their mission will require them to fly to the southernmost end of Helmand province to assist Marines while they search for narcotics and weapons.
Upon arrival at FOB Delhi, the two helicopters pick up more than 20 Marines and members of the National Interdiction Unit (NIU), a specialized Afghan counter-narcotics team. The personnel board the Sea Stallions through a cloud of dust with grim determination on their faces, ready for the day’s events.
In the distance, potential narcotics and weapons smugglers have no idea that Marines and the NIU are about to descend upon them.
“We’re able to get Marines on the ground quickly and potentially catch narcotics in Helmand province,” said Capt. Christopher Lapps, a Helicopter Aircraft Commander for HMH-362.
Lapps says Marines and NIU to destinations that are suspected narcotics supply routes allows them to surprise smugglers and cut off the supply of narcotics and weapons flow at the source, rather than seize them after they have been sold.
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