"Marine One" Crew Chief

Headnote

Being the President's Crew Chief is a Big Responsibility. . . Only the Best Need Apply

Helicopter crew chief: The Marine responsible for giving the final "thumbs up" that the aircraft is safe and ready to fly.

When that helicopter is "Marine One," the crew chief is certifying the aircraft safe to fly the President of the United States.

Being the President's crew chief is a big responsibility, and only the best need apply.

"Marine One" crew chiefs are a rare breed-by virtue of their small number (there are only four of them) and because of the unique nature of their job as part of the Presidential helicopter crew. These enlisted men must be top-notch Marines and exceptional crew chiefs.

How does one get to be a "Marine One" crew chief? First, he must be assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), the Presidential helicopter squadron, at Quantico, Va.

HMX-1 was first established in 1947 as an experimental unit to test and evaluate military helicopters. Exactly a decade later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower needed immediate transportation back to the Capital from his vacation in Newport, R.I., and was flown part of the way in a UH-34 helicopter from HMX-1. (In doing so, he became the first American President to fly in a Marine helicopter.) Realizing the usefulness of the helicopter, Eisenhower continued to fly with the squadron, and HMX assumed the additional duty of providing Presidential helicopter support.

Today, HMX-1 still carries out both missions-test and evaluation, and helo transportation for the President-and the squadron is literally divided in half to accomplish this. Testing is done on what is called the "green side," and Presidential missions are performed on the "white side" (the official name is Executive Flight Detachment).

The green side employs the CH-46 Sea Knight and CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters, which are used throughout the Fleet Marine Force. However, unlike the FMF, the '46s and '53s at HMX are a glossy olive green and have an American flag painted on both sides of the aircraft.

The white side employs two types of aircraft that are not used anywhere else in the Corps-the Sikorsky VH-3D, the primary Presidential helicopter, and the VH-60, which is the executive version of the UH-60 "Blackhawk." The...