By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Robyn B. Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) from Special Boat Team (SBT) 12, stationed at Naval Base Coronado, Calif., conducted a Maritime External Air Transportation System (MEATS) training evolution, Dec. 12, with the help of a Marine Corps CH-53 helicopter. Typically MEATS is a way to move an 11-meter rigid inflatable boat (RIB) or a special operations craft-riverine (SOC-R) from a point on land or in the water to somewhere else in the water. SWCCs rig the boat to the helicopter as it hovers 10 to 15 feet above their heads and then climb a rope ladder to board the helicopter before transiting to the drop zone, where they will rappel down a line to the boat and prepare to get underway.
