Photo By Staff Sgt. Cooper Cash | Soldiers of the 421st Quartermaster Company, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)...... read more read more
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CAMP SANTIAGO, Puerto Rico - V-shaped markers lay centered in the field as jumpmaster and parachute rigger Sgt. 1st Class Brian W. Steverson pressed the transmit button on a handheld radio and provided wind velocity information to soldiers aboard the C-130 Hercules aircraft circling overhead. Shortly after, parachute riggers and medics on the drop zone with Steverson watched attentively as the plane approached from the east, depositing soldiers into the warm Caribbean air here July 19.
Steverson and his fellow soldiers assigned to the 421st Quartermaster Company, 352nd Combat Service and Support Battalion, 642nd Regional Support Group, 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) are conducting parachute-rigging, and airdrop exercises across the island of Puerto Rico during their three-week annual training. Troops assigned to the 421st are operating from two primary locations; Muñiz Air National Guard Base and Camp Santiago, separated by nearly 50 miles of mountainous terrain. The unit’s parachute riggers at Muñiz configure supplies and pack parachutes for personnel, then deliver the troops and equipment to Camp Santiago via airdrops from C-130 Hercules aircraft.
Steverson, a native of Bonifay, Fla., is the drop zone safety officer for this airdrop.
“I am responsible for ensuring a medical plan is in place for any injured jumpers, staying in constant contact with the incoming aircraft during the operation, as well as determining if a drop can happen,” said Steverson.
Steverson noted the differences in airdrop markers for each type of drop. Personnel and CDS, or container delivery system, drops require a marker placed 250 yards from the beginning of the aircraft’s approach side of the drop zone, while heavy equipment drops require a unique marker placed 550 yards from the same side.
Medical personal were onsite and quick to check on soldiers as they parachuted on the sunbathed field.
“ We are here to provide first aid, and to transport injured personnel to medical facilities,” said Cadet Svetlana J. Taylor, a registered nurse from Calhoun, Ga., attached to the 421st. “Our priority is to get injured personnel off of the DZ (drop zone), and moved to an appropriate medical facility.”
After supplies were dropped and as the last paratroopers came in contact with the grass that was more than one thousand feet below them just seconds before, medical personnel were grateful that their skills were not required for this particular airdrop.
| Date Taken: | 07.19.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 07.29.2013 12:14 |
| Story ID: | 110993 |
| Location: | CAMP SANTIAGO, PR |
| Hometown: | BONIFAY, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | CALHOUN, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 268 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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