Wolfpack and Screaming Indians Helicopter Squadrons Return Home

Two deployed helicopter squadrons based in Coronado are scheduled to return to Naval Air Station North Island Wednesday following a deployment.

Heavy Sea Combat Squadron 6, the "Screaming Indians," and Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 75, the "WolfPack," have been in the Western Pacific and Indian oceans and Mediterranean Sea.

The Navy said HSC-6 has been deployed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and the USNS Ranier, a combat supply ship. HSM-75 has been split among the Nimitz, guided-missile cruiser USS Princeton, and guided-missile destroyers USS Shoup, USS Stockdale and USS William P. Lawrence.

Two HSC-6 crew members died in September when their helicopter crashed during an attempted landing aboard the William P. Lawrence.  Lt. Cmdr. Landon Jones, 35, of Lompoc, and Chief Warrant Officer Jonathon Gibson, 32, of Aurora, Ore., died in the accident.

Three others aboard were rescued.

The crash came while the Navy was building forces in the Middle East as President Barack Obama considered his response to Syria's use of chemical weapons in its civil war.

According to the Navy, HSC-6's primary mission areas are logistics, fleet support operations, mobility, combat search and rescue, anti-surface warfare, support of special operations forces and command, control and communication.

HSM-75's mission capabilities include search and rescue, mobility, electronic warfare, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and command, control and communications.

Helicopter squadrons who call Naval Air Station North Island home conduct exercises at multiple Naval Base Coronado installations, including Naval Outlying Landing Field Imperial Beach.

-City News Service contributed to this report.