From: Bryan Walker Newsgroups: alt.government.abuse,alt.conspiracy,alt.fan.rush-limbaugh,rec.aviation.military Subject: !!-----> BLACK HELICOPTER FAQ <------!! Date: Fri, 04 Oct 1996 10:07:49 -0500 Organization: Domark Software Lines: 148 Message-ID: <32552844.4D02@domark.com> As a former soldier and helicopter pilot, I felt compelled to respond to this paranoid and ignorant rambling about "black" helicopters from "Dr." Thompson. Having served at Fort Campbell, as well as having friends currently serving in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, let me clarify some of the "points" that "Dr." Thompson brought up: The 160th SOAR's primary mission is clandestine insertion and extraction of Special Forces personnel. Their mix of aircraft includes different models of the UH-60 Blackhawk, OH-6 Cayuse, and CH-47 Chinook. Though some of these aircraft are lightly armed, they could hardly be called attack helicopters. Simply put, these aircraft are not the high-tech wonders that people think of when they hear the word "Special Ops." (Few things in the military are.) The overwhelming majority of the aircraft the 160th fields at Fort Campbell and Fort Stewart are painted the same dark green as regular Army helicopters. I've only seen one MH-6 "Little Bird" that was actually painted black, as opposed to dozens of civilian helicopters sporting that paint scheme. (Obviously flown by sinister enemy agents trying to undermine our national security...) > The color is significant because Special Operations Command gets this > particular type of paint, called "CARC" because it avoids infra-red > detection. Some of the black paint is also radar absorbant.< The color of this IR and radar absorbent paint is makes no difference as to its performance. In fact, black is one of the worst colors to use for IR absorbency, as it increases the surface temperature of the object considerably. > The Special Operations units are often involved in clandestine (and > usually illegal) operations< Clandestine, yes. Illegal, no. >Their aircraft never have any markings on them for this reason (unless they are temporarily handpainted on in a homedone job when they are posing for TV). Any civilian can view these aircraft on the ramps at Fort Campbell and Fort Stewart. Yes, they have markings. > The 160th is a unit specially trained to do nothing but kill. Their > own video, which shows their training, can be seen at the Pratt > Museum. Every combat unit in the US military is trained to do nothing but kill. Should that be a surprise? > They are trained to do "urban insertion" -- parachuting from a > helicopter while a DOOR GUNNER fires into the URBAN TARGET below as a > "DIVERSION." We filmed the 160th actually doing this training.< Urban warfare is commonly taught to regular Army units, as well. Given the increasing degree of lunacy that "Dr." Thompson launches into after thse points, I see little need on debunking a diatribe that invalidates itself so well. One of the more obvious questions is why any group intent on world domination would paint their helicopters flat black and ensure they stick out like a sore thumb, particularly now that "patriots" such as Thompson have surmised their nefarios plans? Why not paint their aircraft like the average traffic helicopter and blend in? (I can hear the nut-cases now: "I was followed by the Channel 3 helicopter as I drove to work this morning! Now that I think of it, isn't the pilot one of them there Or-Rye-Entals??") On that note, I might be on to something: Ever notice how there's a news helicopter at EVERY major disaster? I'm beginning to see a pattern!! -BW