Posted on: Thursday, January 27, 2005

Hitting sandstorm likened to ambush

Advertiser Staff

A retired Marine pilot said flying into a sandstorm is like being ambushed.

"If one of these sandstorms comes up just all of a sudden, there's nothing you can do about it," retired Lt. Gen. Fred McCorkle.

"It's just like running into an ambush, except this ambush is from Mother Nature. And Mother Nature doesn't discriminate whether you're in Iraq or you're in Arizona."

McCorkle, who flew more than 1,500 helicopter missions in the Vietnam War, said that because bad weather is believed to have been a factor, "those guys could have been lost at Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton."

By The Associated Press' count, 16 U.S. helicopters have been shot down or crashed accidentally in Iraq since March 20, 2003.

"The operational tempo they've had over there, I've been surprised they haven't had more accidents than this," said a retired Marine Corps colonel who flew CH-53s, speaking on condition of anonymity.