McGuire Rigging

[ForceOne]

What exactly is McGuire rigging? Is it similar to SPIES or something else?

[ForceOne]

SPIES is an acronym for Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction System. SPIE rigging had SOF men hanging vertically on the rope out the helo. FRIES is a totally different concept.

[Spotlight_Ranger]

The mcGuire extraction system was a large single loop. The shortfalls are obvious. Later they put a small hand loop within the big loop. The McGuire was the probably first helicopter extraction system. I was familiar with it, without having to be familiarized with it.

[OldSFer]

McGuire System! What system?? Just a piece of rope. It was like riding in a big lasso.
Rode those strings out of Laos a few times.
Talk about rope burn. Ouch!

[Sharky]

And unless somebody re-wrote the book, the "P" stood for purpose, not patrol. I also have never seen a SPIES used on an infil. Good to hear they have a better system now. We just roped in and SPIED out.

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F.I.D.O.

[Razor]

W8,
I may very well be totally upgefuchted, but I believe SPIES and FRIES are two different systems, not just a name difference. The FRIES is a dual-purpose system--you can use it as a fast rope for insertion, then later reconfigure it for a four-man extraction similar to SPIES, or join two ropes with a coupler to allow an 8 man extract. SPIES, OTOH, is only used for extraction, and can hold...13 or maybe 12 (?) men at one time (any of you Devil Dogs out there wanna help a guy out?). Actual construction of the two systems (composition of the rope and attachment loops) is different as well.

[Sharky]

Thats kinda what I was thinking about the SPIES but I've been out for a while.

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F.I.D.O.

[LRSC Grunt]

Razor,
We are scheduled next month for SPIES training. Ill post my info and hopefully some pics afterwards, keeping in mind of OPSEC of course.

[realpolypro]

It's the same animal.The terms are used interchange uhhh blee (Couldn't spell it). Such as: "Who do we have doing the SPIES & FRIES for the O4 Demo on Friday?" Remember when Fast Roping was supposedly OPSEC? It was called SPIES, Now that everyone and their brother knows it, it's FRIES. A big, thick-ass rope with loops. ABTARL http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif

Poly

[Sharky]

Well, when I was doing it, the fast rope and SPIES were two seperate things. Our SPIES ropes had metal D rings interwoven into the rope at intervals and the rope was secured to the bird much the same way as a rappelling setup. We put on modified T-10 harnesses with a strap in the back that had a locking carabiner which snapped into the D-ring on the rope. Our fast ropes were much larger in diameter (about 3" if I remember right) were rigged to hook up to an A-frame where the eye of the rope was placed between two steel plates and a pin was passed through the plates and the eye of the rope with a lynch pin that insured the large pin did not slide out. The fast ropes did not have any D-rings sewn into them for obvious reasons. Neither of these were close to being like the STABO. With the SPIES systems the extracting personnel were stacked on the rope vertically. The STABO system had the personnel stacked together horizontally and was a different system altogether. Summer of 89 during Mod X in Florida we lost a guy who kicked out the rope. Instead of kicking the rope from the outside of the coils he apparently placed his foot inside the coils and slid the rope out. The coils caught on top of his boot and threw him off balance and he fell out of the bird. I don't remember for sure how high they were but I think it was around 80 feet. I was on a different bird but that was the story that we were told. He was either in Bravo or Charlie Co. Poly may remember who it was. I didn't know him personally.

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F.I.D.O.

[Sharky]

No apology necessary bro, Like I said, I've been out of the game for a while now and I'm sure that much has changed. Just relating the different systems as I remember them in my day. Doing any skydiving?

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F.I.D.O.

[realpolypro]

You may be right, although I don't remember D-rings on the rope itself. Screw it, I'll get the final word-I'll go over to LRS and ask http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif It MAY have been St. John. Was it at Blanding? But maybe not, he was to smart to do that. And Yes, Fast Roping WAS considered OPSEC (What we were told) Back in 88' Then the DEA came in and did it 10 seconds later http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif THEN, SOF ran a how to article http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif


Poly

[Sharky]

I honestly don't know where we were Poly. I only know we were in Florida. It was the full scale rehearsal for Just Cause. We even medevaced "casualties" back to the 141's for a notional flight to San Antonio. Whoever the guy was they did fly him to San Antonio but I think he died. Do you remember hearing about Jordy? He fell asleep on a 141 in some little dark corner and when the rest of us got off and got back on the helos Jordy was fast asleep and when he woke up the bird was touching down in San Antonio. We were in formation back at Benning and trying to figure out the last place we had seen him when the CQ comes out and tells 1sg Mattison that there is a phone call for him at the CQ desk. We heard every word he said to Jordy he was screaming so loud. The last thing he told Jordy was that he had 30 bleepity-bleepin minutes to have his ass in formation or there would be hell to pay. I guess Jordy reminded him that he was about 1,500 miles away cause the 1sg started screaming that he didn't care if he was in alaska. Just to get in formation. Needless to say the company formation outside was a circus by this time. Everybody there including the CO was laughing so hard they couldn't breathe. From that point on, every time we went somewhere we had to have a Jordy-check to make sure he was still with us.

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F.I.D.O.

[Sharky]

Just moving this back up for poly to find.

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F.I.D.O.

[realpolypro]

Yup, Camp Blanding, but it wasn't St. John. Man, I remember rehearsing for JC-down at Lawson and at Blanding...If I only knew then... http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif

Poly