FRIDAY FOTO (November 1, 2019)

Threading a Needle.

(U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Zachary Anderson)

Two sailors help guide the pilot of an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter during a vertical replenishment (VERTREP) as part of a COMPTUEX training exercise in the Atlantic Ocean, on October 23, 2019.

We’ve seen plenty of photos and videos over the years showing Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard helos picking up or dropping off cargo as viewed from the ground or the deck of a ship. But this photo captures what it looks like inside the helicopter, with these sailors acting, in effect, like the backing-up camera on the rear of an SUV.

COMPTUEX is a large-scale rehearsal that U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Groups perform before departing for deployment. The exercise assesses a strike group’s ability to conduct military operations at sea and project power ashore through joint planning and execution of challenging, realistic training scenarios.