U.S. Army Choppers Land in Polish Fields to Seek Guidance

[Purveyor]

By Piotr Skolimowski and Dorota Bartyzel Sep 10, 2014 11:20 AM ET

Six U.S. army helicopters landed in a rapeseed field in northern Poland to ask for directions after veering off course on their way back from military exercises in Lithuania.

Five Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and one tandem-rotor Boeing Co. Chinook chopper touched down near the village of Gruta, 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of Warsaw at about noon yesterday, according to local eyewitnesses. Residents brought in leaflets in English about their village and handed them to soldiers, said Halina Kowalkowska, the village’s head.

“It was a heavy, thick fog and you could barely see anything, so the boys had to land,” Kowalkowska said by phone. “I’m still shaking after a sleepless night.”

NATO is intensifying military exercises on Russia’s doorstep in Poland and the Baltic states in response to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine. At a summit in Newport, Wales, last week, the alliance agreed to rotate more troops through eastern Europe and set up a rapid-reaction force.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-10/u-s-army-choppers-land-in-polish-fields-to-seek-guidance.html

[A Little Weird]

1. Wow, I bet that was a jarring experience for the locals

I'm surprised they would get so off course with modern GPS and satellite technology.

[Purveyor]

2. It does make one wonder now doesn't it.

[Ex Lurker]

4. Navigating without GPS could have been part of the exercise

You can't always count on technology working in combat, so you'd better know how to get along without it.

[A Little Weird]

6. Good point

I hadn't thought of that.

[bluesbassman]

3. Geez, nobody on board had an iPhone?

Siri never gets me lost.

[TwilightGardener]

5. Aww...

“Those Americans were really heaven sent,” Kowalkowska said. “Now, when I think about it we could have served them some food, but we were in shock and the boys had to go.”

[pinboy3niner]

7. Were they women pilots?

Male drivers do not stop to ask for directions!1!!