Dark helicopters fly at night near Sisters

When the dark helicopters burst over the ridge behind their home and flew low over the roof before descending without lights through the night toward the valley below, a local Sisters-area family wondered if an invasion was in process.

Bosnia, Chechneya, even Montana maybe, but Sisters?

According to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Straup of the 939th Rescue Wing of the U.S. Air Force Reserve in Portland, the two helicopters observed by some residents and heard by others about seven miles north of Sisters were on a training mission.

Straup is Chief of Training for the 304th Rescue Squadron, a special combat rescue unit in the U.S. Air Force Reserve based in Portland. The job of the 304th is to rescue fighter pilots shot down in a war zone.

The 304th is part of the 939th Rescue Wing of the Air Force Reserve. The 939th has two other rescue squadrons, one based in Florida and another in Arizona. The Florida wing has auxiliary duties and can rescue astronauts if they plunge into the ocean near Cape Kennedy.

The 304th has several training sites in Oregon and Washington, one of them near of Sisters, with a landing zone in Stevens Canyon.

Straup said they try not to disturb the neighbors and usually fly in and out of Stevens Canyon from the north and west, but sometimes maneuvers take them a little closer to isolated residences.

The pararescue jumpers these helicopters carry to a downed pilot are an elite group, Straup said. Trained in disciplines that include mountain climbing and scuba diving, they are what Straup called "the link between the helicopter and the rescued."

They are trained to treat injured pilots and prepare them for helicopter evacuation, or, if necessary, how to escape and evade capture while carrying an injured pilot to safety.

Because the jumpers' safety and the safety of helicopters in a war zone is enhanced by darkness, they train at night, without lights, often near Sisters.

Are they training for Bosnia, where one U.S. fighter pilot was rescued last year after being shot down and successfully retrieved by a team not unlike the ones training here?

"We train to be prepared to go if called upon," Straup said. "Bosnia is a possibility."

Straup said that near Sisters, most of the missions have been two-ship sorties by HH60-G Pavehawk helicopters. Sometimes three helicopters would be involved, occasionally only one.

The Pavehawks are modified Army Blackhawks with increased range, air-refuelable and sophisticated navigation equipment.

At night, they are allowed to fly 100 feet above the highest obstacle, which Straup estimated would put them 200-300 feet above the ground.

Sometimes a C-130 used for in-flight refueling is part of the training if one happens to be in the area. Refueling is done 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the ground.

The night-vision goggles worn by pilots are remarkably sensitive, Straup said. They can spot a small campfire from four or five miles.

Flights have been more frequent in the last several months, according to Straup, since the 304 started "in-unit upgrade training" instead of sending pilots elsewhere for training and just maintaining proficiency in this area.

Straup estimated that they have been flying two to three nights a week for the last several months. In fact, the flights over the house in Fremont Canyon last week was actually a test of three aviators who have been working on their skills and flying "scenarios" in the area for the last two weeks.

Straup believed the number of flights near Sisters would decrease in coming weeks.