By Vicky Falcón
NAVAIR Public Affairs Office

Gene Theriot, AW1(AW), smiles and holds out a single sheet of paper. "This is like gold to me," he says.

Theriot is a test and evaluation crewman for the MH60S in the Rotary Wing Test Squadron at NAVAIR's Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland.

The paper he is holding is a phone list for Rotary Wing.

"These are the 'answer' men and women," he says. "I guarantee you can get the answer to any question (about rotary wing aircraft) right here. Many of the civilians (federal employees) have been here a long time and know these systems inside and out."

In the fleet, Theriot never thought about using outside resources for help solving problems or answering questions. "When you are a junior person, you don't think about going outside your chain of command," he said. "I would go to my chief for help, and the NATOPS (Naval Aviation Training and Operating Procedures Standardization ) was my Bible."

Theriot says while in the fleet he followed the letter of the law - the flight clearances. "But here it's different," he says, explaining that "envelope expansion" is allowed in a test environment.

Theriot has spent the last 34 months learning to think "outside of the box." And he's heading back to the fleet next month.

"I now know who to talk to and where to go for assistance," Theriot says, patting the phone list. "And I'll be able to help other crewman, too."

Theriot grew up in Ponchatoula, La., and says he joined the Navy as an opportunity to "do something different." Fifteen years later he still says it's one of the best decisions he's ever made.

"I knew I wanted to fly, and becoming an air crewman guaranteed that I'd fly," he said.

Theriot came to NAVAIR excited about the test and evaluation experience he'd receive, and is leaving excited about using that experience in the fleet.

"My time here is going to help me and help the Navy in general," Theriot said. "I know who to call and ask about anything. And I'll be able to help other operators in the fleet. I can help pilots or crewmen find out how pushing a button or turning a knob affects the aircraft."

Theriot believes the fleet underutilizes the test squadron personnel at NAVAIR. "Our customer is the fleet," he said. "We are here to help - we can help!"

An example of that assistance began with a suggestion from the air boss of the carrier "Constellation" to the test squadron. Refueling a search-and-rescue helicopter during carrier flight operations was disruptive - forcing a halt to fixed-wing take-offs and landings while the helicopter landed on designated "spots" on deck. The air boss's idea to use a starboard elevator as a new landing area, "Spot 7," required extensive testing and new flight clearances.

Theriot was part of the team that performed the testing and helped write the flight clearances that are now approved for all "Kitty Hawk" class carriers, greatly enhancing those ship's capabilities.

"We were able to help him (the air boss), and help the fleet," Theriot said. "Now flight operations don't have to stop during refueling."

While at NAVAIR, Theriot says he has especially enjoyed seeing products prior to fleet use. "I get to have an imput before it goes to the fleet," he said. "I get asked if the fleet will like something or not."

Theriot says one of the highlights to his time at NAVAIR has been seeing the MH60S go to operations testing. "No other crewmen in the Navy have as many hours as we have in the MH60S," said Theriot, who estimates his total flight time at between 200 and 300 hours.

"I've been part of the chain the aircraft moves along, and soon it will be out in the fleet," he said. "This is my mark - it will keep a little bit of me in the Navy long after I'm gone."

Until then, Theriot will hold on to his phone list.

Photo by Vicky Falcón, NAVAIR Public Affairs. For a higher resolution, please call 301-757-5116.

Caption: Eugene Theriot, AW-1, measures the reach accessibility of the MH60-S hoist system as part of the test and evaluation procedures going on at NAVAIR's Rotary Wing Test Squadron.