Editor’s Note: Shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the first Western forces sent into Afghanistan were not from the United States. Rather, it was a four-man British Special Air Service or SAS reconnaissance and intelligence team known as “Brick,” the members of which exchanged automatic gunfire with a group of Taliban in the foothills of Kabul. Entering Afghanistan from Tajikistan, the SAS soldiers set up a communications link with the British Intelligence and military headquarters in the UK. That task complete, they carried out reconnaissance on the Taliban forces protecting Osama bin Laden. Now, the SAS will work with Jamiat-I-Islam, the military wing of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan fighting against the Taliban. Accompanying British troops while undergoing jungle training in Belize recently, WND international correspondent Anthony LoBaido filed this report.
LADYVILLE, Belize – The former colony of British Honduras, known as Belize, may be independent in the political sense, but when disaster strikes, the nation knows it can depend on the “Angels in the Air” — the 25th Flight unit of the British Armed Forces.
As a part of the British Army Training Support Unit – Belize, or “BATSUB,” 25th Flight uses its Lynx and Gazelle helicopters to serve both the needs of British troops and casualty evacuation for the citizens of Belize.
 Lynx helicopter in flight at the BATSUB base in Ladyville, Belize |
“The Lynx is a dual-engine craft, which features two pilots and can be fitted with TOW anti-tank missiles and mounted machine guns,” Lt. Rob Armstrong told WorldNetDaily in a recent interview at the BATSUB in Ladyville.
“Its shell is very thin — you could poke a hole through it with a screwdriver — but it is the fastest non-racing helicopter in the world. It has set official speed records. It can taxi troops around, and holds eight men with full kit and weapons. It is used primarily as a reconnaissance helicopter.”
Class 2 Warrant Officer Angus Aylward is the QHI or Qualified Helicopter Instructor at the base. When the British Armed Forces send pilots to Belize for flight training, it is Aylward who is tasked with honing their neophyte skills.
“We provide a great service to the people of Belize in that we offer them our helicopters for use in an emergency. Let’s say there is a difficult pregnancy, or perhaps a diver has come up from under water too quickly and immediately requires transport to a decompression chamber. Recently an American tourist tried to commit suicide and needed help. In all cases, we will fly in and offer assistance,” Aylward told WND.
“Additionally, we can take out seats in the Gazelle to accommodate a stretcher and medical personnel to attend those in need,” he said.
“During a hurricane, the BATSUB is no longer merely a support unit for our troops doing jungle training. We go fully operational. But every month we offer 30 hours of helicopter service to the government and people of Belize,” said Maj. John Knopp, the second in command at the BATSUB.
Aylward told WorldNetDaily that the Lynx helicopter has been used in Northern Ireland and in Bosnia, noting that “it has anti-tank capabilities with the TOW missiles.”
However, Aylward and the other pilots at BATSUB are also required to ferry in soldiers who have been injured during the British Army’s jungle training exercise known as “Panther Cub.” Every six weeks, new troops rotate in and out of Belize for the training.
“We have had to evacuate, by air, soldiers from our various camps around the nation. Soldiers might be bitten by snakes. One lad went into anaphylactic shock after being bitten by the Africanized bees they have here. There have been bad burns from hexamine stoves,” he told WorldNetDaily. “There have been gunshot wounds. One soldier got tree sap in his eyes after doing some logging. Others have suffered heatstroke. It is our job to help our troops in need.”
Describing the unique characteristics and challenges posed by Belize and its jungles, Alyward spoke about the denseness of the jungle and the lack of unique topographical features. Alyward flew this reporter into camp in a Gazelle helicopter en route to an extended period of living and training with British soldiers on Panther Cub. We flew nap of the Earth along the Macal River, before climbing to 5,000 feet above the approaching Hurricane Chantal.
“As you can see,” he said during the flight, “The top of that jungle from up here at 5,000 feet looks just like broccoli. That’s what we call it. You need to find topographical reference points, such as a river junction.
“Another problem is that there is no cultural lighting. At night it would be helpful to have light from the moon. Then there is the problem of lightning. Lightning is so bright, even from 100 miles away, that it can shut down the night-vision goggles.”
Both pilots and crew always wear protective helmets, which have both clear and sun visors. All who ride in the helicopter are securely held in their seats with belts and all are plugged in to an audio communications system that allows one to speak to the pilot while in the air, despite the noise.
“When we fly at night, we of course wear our night-vision goggles,” Alyward continued. “Flying at night can be tricky. And dangerous.”
Alyward explained that while the British Army holds a spouse visitation day each year so the wives can see what their husband’s job function entails, “They would never allow my wife to fly with me. She had to fly with another pilot. This is done to protect the family and children in case of an accident.”
 Gazelle helicopter at Guac Bridge |
A few years ago, a Gazelle crashed in the Belizean jungle. This presented a unique challenge for the British Armed Forces in search and rescue. Belize has no national radar, and orbiting satellites have a hard time penetrating the canopy of the jungle.
“Air traffic control at Belize’s International Airport uses a secondary surveillance radar,” Alyward said. “VHF radio offers only line-of-sight performance. Therefore we have set up, on Baldy Beacon [a mountain in the jungle], a transmitter/receiver that can rebroadcast a signal on two frequencies.
“The signal from a downed helicopter would shoot straight up into the air, and perhaps, if one was lucky, a commercial airliner would pick it up at around 30,000 feet. As such, I carry a transponder on my person whenever I fly. Our routes are published beforehand. Every 15 minutes or so I will call into base and give my location. If we go down, investigators will be called in from the UK immediately to find out what went wrong.”
As for futuristic technological advances in the British helicopter force, Alyward pointed to the “BERP,” or British Experimental Rotor Program.
 Flags of the U.S., UK and Belize fly in Belize City. |
“The blades on the Lynx are made of pressed carbon and sheathed with titanium. The ends of the blades are curved downward slightly. This was the idea of the BERP program. This was done to help stabilize the aircraft from the imbalance of forces created between the advancing and retreating blades. The rotating blades on a helicopter, contrary to what people might think, do not move at a uniform speed.”
“So as you can see, technology is only a part of what we do at 25th Flight. You still need well-trained pilots and the fine supporting cast to carry out our various missions.”
