Marine Corps Air Station New River, North Carolina. (May 8, 2025): In this photo by Lance Corporal Mya Seymour, Marines suspend from a UH-1Y Venom helicopter during special patrol insertion and extraction (SPIE) training. The SPIE system was developed as a means to rapidly insert and/or extract a reconnaissance patrol from an area that does not permit a helicopter to land due to vegetation or other obstacles. The technique dates to the Vietnam War where helicopters were used to insert or rescue teams of troops from triple canopy jungles.

The practice was developed extensively by Recon Marines in conjunction with parachute riggers from the 1st Marine Air Wing in the 1970s. According to legend, the device was originally called a STABO (STAbilized BOdy) harness that was credited to Sergeant First Class Clifford L. Roberts with Army Special Forces. SFC Roberts came up with the idea after witnessing a wounded Special Forces Soldier fall out of the existing harnesses during a combat extraction mission. Using nylon straps, Roberts made the first prototype with sewing machines used to service and repair parachutes. Once approved, the Army ordered five hundred such rigs and awarded Roberts with a Bronze Star for the design.

The SPIE rig allows up to twelve Marines to clip their body harnesses to a rope while leaving their hands free to fire their rifles. Once the team has been secured, the helicopter slowly moves vertically to clear the rope and its occupants of any high obstructions.

Once above the jungle canopy, the Marines glide through the air up to two hundred feet above the ground to safety. Because troops cannot be hoisted into the helicopter, they are treated like external underslung cargo, so movements of the rope, speed, and maneuvering have to be carefully monitored. Marines also employ the technique to fast rope onto and off rooftops in urban environments.

Today, special forces troops rely on the SPIE system when getting into and out of dangerous situations.