Photo By Cpl. Ryan Rholes | A CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466 touches down outside...... read more read more
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DROP ZONE JAKE, Afghanistan – Marines concluded a small-scale, rapid-response aerial delivery test July 1, validating a new way to get mission-critical supplies to Afghan National Security and NATO Forces on the ground here.
Third Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) and 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) spent two weeks planning and evaluating the most effective way to get the supplies to the ground safely when landing the aircraft is not practical. They hope to employ the solution within the next week.
“We are exploiting a niche in aerial delivery tactics in order to resupply Marines under all conditions,” said Maj. Sam Schoolfield, the action officer for the project with 3rd MAW(FWD). “I went to [1st] MLG with this idea because we recognized a need for it to support our war fighters. The unique thing about being part of a Marine Air Ground Task Force is that we always work together to make sure our guys on the ground never walk alone. We are not going to let any situation stand in the way of supporting them.”
The Marines pushed more than 1,300 bottles of water bundled in various weights at different altitudes from the back of an MV-22B Osprey, CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion over three separate days.
“Some have more in the load and some are at a bare minimum so we can see which loads are better,” said Lance Cpl. Jordan Shemanski, an aerial delivery specialist with 1st MLG (FWD). “I’m here to watch them come out of the birds and watch how the whole extraction process works with the new parachute.”
The new parachute is called the Single Cross parachute and is part of a fairly new air drop method called the low-cost, low-altitude aerial delivery service, or LCLA. The Army introduced the concept a couple of years ago to create an inexpensive, “disposable” system to deliver supplies into those hard-to-get-to areas. The Marines are adopting the Single Cross parachute because it’s designed to support 80-125 pounds of cargo and meets the specific needs they have for delivering the loads they want to get to the battlefield here. It’s a small black chute made of a material similar to sandbags. It’s cheap, it’s easy and it’s effective.
“Usually we drop anywhere from 800-1,000 feet,” Shemanski explained referring to the Corps’ high-velocity and low-velocity chutes designed for bigger drops. “This one is ranging from 150-2,000 feet. It’s for smaller loads so they can come in really quick, and without having to touch the bird on the deck, they can just fly right over and drop what they need to and it will safely hit the ground.”
“What it’s really doing for us is allowing us to provide continued resupply support on short notice to any area no matter what the situation,” Schoolfield said. “We can drop supplies right on top of them. We don’t want them to have to fight their way out of a tough situation just to get to supplies.”
The tests were so effective, the United Kingdom’s Joint Aviation Group is taking a look at using it to resupply its troops as well. The JAG leadership plans on testing the concept from the back of a CH-47 Chinook in the near future.
The Marines have made up their minds.
“Our ground guys will never walk alone,” said Schoolfield. “We will be on target, on time, every time. Wherever the Marines go, Marine Corps aviation will be there.”
It sounds like something you would hear in a commercial, but the conviction is real. By this time next week, ground forces in southern Afghanistan could quite likely be looking to the sky for critical support when they need it most.
| Date Taken: | 07.01.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 07.04.2010 06:24 |
| Story ID: | 52354 |
| Location: | DROP ZONE JAKE, AF |
| Web Views: | 495 |
| Downloads: | 398 |
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