By Dan Elliott

The Midcoast Campus has been abuzz lately, and not in the way you would imagine. Recently, visitors to Brunswick Landing were treated to an orchestra of deafening sounds coming from rather large helicopters that took up roost at the Executive Airport. While this isn’t exactly a novelty for a town that was once home to a naval air station, the region hasn’t seen this sort of aircraft convergence since the Blue Angels were in town for last August’s air show. This leaves the locals puzzled, with a single question rattling about in their heads: What is going on?

Speculation ran wild with human imagination. An invasion by communist forces like in the movie “Red Dawn?” Doubtful. Our government on the verge of declaring martial law? Unlikely, though the answer might vary depending on whom you ask.

However, the reality of the situation is far less provocative. Hailing from North Carolina, the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, Marine Aircraft Group 29 and 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing have come to Brunswick Executive Airport to conduct their annual aerial exercises during a weeklong drill the Marines refer to as cold-weather training. The event plucks the squadron from the comfortable climate of the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina, and migrates them up the Atlantic coastline to participate in activities that they describe on their official Facebook page as designed to “ensure squadron readiness.”

The bulk of the aircraft brought north consists of CH-53E Super Stallions, currently the heaviest helicopter in the United States military. First deployed to Lebanon on a peacekeeping mission, the Super Stallions later played a crucial role in 2003’s Operation Iraqi Freedom, where they transported supplies to frontline Marine divisions. Stallions have also seen action in such countries as Kuwait, Somalia and Afghanistan. The choppers have specialized in a myriad of duties, ranging from mine detection to heavy lifting of cargo. The aircraft is streamlined, with such features as 55-passenger capacity, a seventh rotor blade and a third engine to allow for such versatility.

The Brunswick Police Department received a heavy volume of phone calls from concerned residents in late January regarding the presence (and noise) of the aircraft, prompting them to take to social media to address the presence of the Marines in the area. The flights were not exclusively a Midcoast phenomenon; the airmen’s journey took them over vast tracts of the state. Members of the Lewiston community reported spotting the Stallions in mid-flight as Squadron 464 braved the recent extremes of Maine weather.

Returning home on Jan. 31, the Marine Helicopter Squadron took home not only their Stallion Choppers, but a brief taste of life as it was during the days of the now-decommissioned Brunswick Naval Air Station, which offers a nostalgic piece of culture for those who grew up in the area that had become accustomed to the sounds of low-flying aircraft speckling their everyday lives. With the state of the world as it is, and the threat of war looming on the horizon, it begs the question — will these sounds once again become a part of our everyday lives? Time will tell.