HAL-5 Squadron Patch – With hook and loop

A 4″ squadron patch of the HAL-5 with hook and loop.

In 1966, United States Naval Special Warfare Command rotary support was originated as part of the response to the ongoing Vietnam War. Starting with Helicopter Combat Support Squadron ONE (HC-1), detachments of helicopter gunships supported the Mobile Riverine Force (also known as the Brown-water navy) effort in the Mekong Delta region of South Vietnam.[1] HC-1 “Fleet Angels” operated two-aircraft detachments of UH-1B gunships, staged from amphibious vessels. Providing a quick reaction force and performing a close air-support (CAS) role for units of the Navy’s Special Warfare Groups and the Mobile Riverine Force, the effectiveness of the helicopter attack mission was quickly realized and in response, the Navy began to widen the mission,[2] creating the need for a specific Squadron to provide that support. In April 1967, HC-1 was divided into four separate units, Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) THREE (Navy Gunships), Helicopter Combat Support Squadron THREE (Navy Vertical Replenishment), Helicopter Combat Support Squadron FIVE (LAMPS), and Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (Navy Combat Search and Rescue).

HH-1Ks over South Vietnam
Nicknamed the “Sea Wolves”, HA(L)-3 was established in South Vietnam with its headquarters originally in Vung Tau and later in Binh Thuy, originally flying in support of Operation Game Warden, earned over 20,000 unit and personnel awards. In 1972 HA(L)-3 was disestablished and in 1997, the US Navy recognized the service of the squadrons aircrew, retroactively awarding the Combat Aircrew Insignia to Combat Aircrewmen who served in Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) Three.

The Birth of the Blue Hawks
Four years after the disestablishment of HA(L)-3, the Navy determined that it still had a need for the Navy Gunship, establishing two new Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadrons in the Naval Reserves as part of the newly formed Commander, Helicopter Wing Reserve (COMHELWINGRES) in 1976. Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) FIVE (HA(L)-5), nicknamed the “Blue Hawks”, was established at Naval Air Station Point Mugu, California on the March 1, 1977 and its sister squadron, Helicopter Attack Squadron (Light) FOUR (HA(L)-4), known as the Red Wolves, was formed at Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia on July 1, 1976.[2]Given the mission of providing support to the Naval Special Warfare Command in support of Navy SEALs, EOD, and Navy Special Boat Units, flying the HH-1K Iroquois, the Navy once again had Gunships to support its special warfare operations. The HH-1K, possessing the same firepower as the UH-1B aircraft used by the HA(L)-3 Sea Wolves, had greater lift capability and allowed the aircraft to carry a higher payload. Outfitted with the M-21 weapons subsystem, it included two co-pilot controlled GAU-2B/A miniguns, two pilot-controlled rocket launchers, with a total of twenty-eight 2.75 inch Folding Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR), and two crew operated M60 light machineguns. The aircraft was also equipped with a crew-controlled rescue hoist, although its primary mission did not include Combat Search and Rescue and the crews did include Rescue Swimmers.

M-21 Weapon System
With the proliferation and modernization of weapons technology in the four years since Vietnam, HA(L)-5 aircraft and crews deployed new countermeasures and tactics to defeat the changing combat threat environment,introducing Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and a flight profile called Nap-of-the-Earth (NOE), the aircrews learned to avoid detection by enemy forces and minimize the threat of hand-held infra-red seeking missile systems.
The squadron, consisting of eight HH-1K Iroquois helicopters, 40 flight crewmen, and 150 maintenance and support personnel, operated from a home base at NAS Point Mugu, California in support of the Commander of the Naval Special Warfare Group at the Naval Amphibiou