Photo By Staff Sgt. Matthew Cooley | 1st Lt. Richelle Gibson (left), 15th Sustainment Brigade's transportation officer in...... read more read more
By Sgt. Matthew C. Cooley
15th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs
FORT HOOD, Texas – Lately, a person looking at the sky may have noticed something unusual to Fort Hood floating through the air – parachutes.
The 15th Sustainment Brigade "Wagonmasters," 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) organized and conducted the largest airborne jump to occur on Fort Hood in 10 years as well as three Low Cost Low Altitude supply drops, July 15 – 17.
These missions were part of the new airborne capabilities to the Great Place, proudly made possible by the Wagonmasters.
On July 17, the 15th conducted a jump mission in which 86 Soldiers of the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, B Troop, made their initial jump as the first airborne unit on Fort Hood in 10 years.
"[504th is] going to be a great asset to Fort Hood in every aspect," Warrant Officer Werner Menchu, 15th's airdrop system technician said.
"[They're] going to open up the eyes of the Fort Hood communities. [Airborne operations are] not just something that the Special Forces or Delta Force does.
On July 16, the Wagonmasters dropped needed supplies to 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in the field using the new LCLA system as part of a series of training missions to maintain proficiency in the system.
"This was great training for the pilot, for the unit receiving the supplies, and for the 15th, as the coordinating unit," said Sgt. Enrique Alvarado Jr., a transportation movement non-commissioned officer with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Special Troops Battalion, 15th SB.
The Wagonmasters completed 25 LCLA drops, certified nearly 200 Soldiers and Airmen on the LCLA system, certified nearly 100 Soldiers on helicopter sling load operations, and facilitated the airborne jumps of more than 100 service members from various units in multiple training missions since restarting airborne operations on Fort Hood in February.
And they've only just begun.
"15th Sustainment Brigade and Fort Hood units will probably have more air delivery missions stateside for training than the 18th Airborne Corps," Menchu predicted.
According to Menchu, the current aerial re-supply efforts of the Wagonmasters and the standing up of the 504th makes the future of airborne operations on Fort Hood look bright.
"It's a big step up. Fort Hood has seen the transformation of what the Army is going to," Menchu said.
Due to the training areas currently available and the new airdrop systems coming into use, units wanting fast, easy, precise aerial re-supply need only give a call to the 15th.
"All they have to do is request [LCLA] and we'll do all of the planning and coordination for them, so that they can continue their training and we re-supply them," Menchu explained.
In the near future, those needing aerial re-supply from the Wagonmasters' may have another option available – the Jump Precision Air Delivery system.
The LCLA system currently in use by the 15th is accurate enough to place bundles on an area the size of an intersection with an Army aircraft flying at 120 mph only 150 feet off the ground. The JPAD will be just as accurate, but will fly at 30,000 feet, Menchu said.
"They don't have to worry about RPG fire or any kind of fire. It works like a High Altitude-Low Opening jumper."
The system, which is guided by GPS, will include a remote control allowing Soldiers on the ground to change a bundle's course while falling if necessary, he stated.
In addition to bringing new aerial re-supply capabilities to Fort Hood, the 15th plans on conducting monthly LCLA proficiency missions and continuing to train service members on LCLA and sling load operations. The next combined LCLA and sling load operation certification class is scheduled for October 6-10.
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2008 15:43 |
| Story ID: | 21759 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 160 |
| Downloads: | 94 |
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