Whether responding to natural disasters or flying into the heat of battle, the CH-47 Chinook continues to be one of the most versatile aircraft ever built.

One example of this is the aircraft’s new Cargo On/Off Loading System, or COOLS, which allows Chinook crews to quickly reconfigure the floor of the helicopter to accommodate passengers or carry cargo.

“You can take off on a cargo mission with the rollers installed,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joe Hoecherl, Product Manager, CH-47 Modernization. “If you have a change of mission in route, in 15 minutes or less you can flip over to a flat floor so it’s safe to take passengers.”

“COOLS really gives the Army the flexibility of performing a variety of troop missions and cargo missions without any restrictions,” said Boeing CH-47F Project Manager Greg Solakian.

The Army plans to retrofit its entire CH-47F fleet, as well as some D models, with COOLS. By 2015, COOLS will be standard during production.

To see COOLS in action, watch the video.