YAKIMA Training Center, Wash. - The swirling blades of a flying CH-47 Chinook helicopter registered 120 decibels. That's enough to cause permanent hearing damage in four minutes. It can be especially loud if you're standing directly underneath one while it's roaring overhead, even with hearing protection. For air assault Soldiers, a blaring helicopter is all part of the life.

Soldiers with A Battery, 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade, in the traditions of their history and lineage of an Air Assault battalion conducted sling load operations training during Operation Rising Thunder at Yakima Training Center, Sept. 17 and 18.

It was the first time 1-377 FA Soldiers engaged in air assault exercises since the unit restationed to Joint Base Lewis-McChord in 2007, A Battery commander, Capt. Brant L. Green, said.

It was also the first time most Soldiers with the battery have engaged in any distinctive air assault activity at all. The operation was specific: Soldiers were to rig M-777 155 mm howitzers, cannons that each weigh 9,700 pounds, to a hovering CH-47 Chinook helicopter that would lift the weapons from the ground and transport them to their next artillery firing positions.

For the unit, the exercise allowed A Battery to train in the tradition of their battalion's call sign and motto, the "Gunslingers."

For Soldiers executing the operation, it provided invaluable training and a thrilling experience, Pfc. Joseph M.C. Cooper, A Battery cannon crewmember, said.

Cooper acted as a supporter during his team's iterations. His job was to physically hold fellow crewmember Pfc. Douglas H. Newlon and 1st Lt. Domonique Hittner, fire direction officer, in place and keep them safe as the wind from the helicopter threw them around.

Newlon and Hittner rotated as "hookup" team members, stood on top of the cannon and hooked it to the helicopter.

During the first iteration, Cooper twisted his feet into the ground and held Hittner by her belt and right leg. She stood at the front of the cannon, fully extended with a "Q tip" sling in her arms that weighed approximately 60 pounds, Newlon said.

Their heads swiveled, following the helicopter as it circled around. Once it approached their position, dirt and dry grass sprung at them like a roaring tidal wave, driven by the force of the helicopter's spinning blades.

"Once we pull overhead, dust will spin around you making it difficult to see and breathe," the Chinook pilot said before the training.

A blinding dust storm enveloped the cannon as the Chinook hovered above it, shooting dust, dirt and debris all about. It plastered their clothes with a dry brown coating and pasted their mouths shut with dirt.

Cooper said his adrenaline skyrocketed as the air was polluted and his vision was masked. Still, he kept Hittner steady as she was rocked back and forth by the force of the wind.

Hittner stood as tall as she could and shot her arms into the air, trying to get the giant hook onto the load carrier of the helicopter.

"Being on top of the gun, you have to rely a lot on your support on the ground because you can't really see what's happening," Newlon said.

As support on the ground, Cooper made sure that both Newlon and Hittner would be able to perform certain tasks by communicating through taps on the leg.

"You've got to have a plan beforehand so you guys are both on the same page," Cooper said.

"You don't want to be lost in the sauce out there," Newlon said.

Hittner held the sling as the helicopter bobbed around. Since the pilot had no direct sight on the cannon team underneath him, he had to work carefully. He relied on a crewmember looking through a hatch under the Chinook and a ground guide standing in front of the cockpit to line up with the sling load team.

During this phase of the operation, it's easy to tap against part of the helicopter other than the hookup point, which can release a strong charge of static electricity through the team members, Newlon said.

The "Q tip" sling leg helps reduce static electricity as a safety measure, but a Soldier can nudge their protective helmet against part of the Chinook and catch a static shock.

This happened with both Newlon and Hittner, and since Cooper gripped them tightly for support, the shock traveled through him too.

"It'll shock you so hard it feels like somebody hit you in the head," Cooper said. "You won't see anything for a couple seconds. Everything goes black."

Newlon said the charge sticks even after breaking contact with the chopper.

"Every little piece of metal you've got on you, even in your pockets, you can feel it still zapping you after," Newlon said.

But the electric charge didn't deter the team. Hittner pushed until her line was hooked to the Chinook.

"I knew that, just like anything in life, your team is relying on you," Hittner said. "We needed to get (the cannon) rigged."

"I got shocked a little bit, then I went back up. I got shocked again," she said, "then tried it again. And after a minute I was all hooked and ready to go."

Once she got the cannon connected, Cooper carried her down and they sprinted with the rear-hook team members safely away from the Chinook. They all fell to a knee, facing the helicopter and watching as it lifted the massive cannon into the air.

Green was pleased with the operation as both the battery commander and as a Soldier performing hookup on a team during one of the iterations.

"Everything turned out exactly how I wanted it," he said. "The guys were doing everything according to (Sling Load Inspectors Certification Course) standards. They were motivated and I think they got some fantastic training out of this."

The sling load team watched the helicopter fly their howitzer into the air and patted each other on the back.

"Redlegs, always," Newlon said, quoting the motto of the U.S. Army field artillery as the helicopter flew away from them.