Photo By Munnaf Joarder | The 294th Quartermaster Company, 36th Sustainment Brigade, Texas National Guard...... read more read more
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This year’s Northern Strike exercise featured something not done in years past: Humvees dropping from the sky.
The 36th Sustainment Brigade, Texas Army National Guard, successfully executed a heavy airdrop at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, in Grayling, Michigan, during Northern Strike 21-2. The exercise provided the brigade with excellent training opportunities to validate their specialized skills preparing them for their upcoming deployment. For parachute riggers, that meant dropping things like Humvees safely from the sky.
The operation necessitated 2 C-130 Hercules aircraft from the 182nd Air Wing, Illinois Air National Guard, providing simulated intra-theater airlift for Northern Strike. The two cargo aircraft took off from Peoria, Illinois, and landed at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan. From there, the 294th Quartermaster Company from the Texas Army National Guard conducted rigging of two M1097 Humvees. The quartermasters also loaded two large pallets per aircraft to be airdropped over Northern Michigan.
“This is what we live for,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Vic Valdez, the senior airdrop systems technician for the 294th Quartermaster Company. “It’s something we don’t get to do a lot and to get to do it for this exercise was amazing.”
This was the first time the unit has been able to airdrop a Humvee. To determine if the Humvees were still viable after the flight, they had to be driven from the drop zone.
“I’ve never seen anything like that, and I was really shocked by the entire execution, it was really impressive,” said Army Sgt. Fabian Elizondo, a mechanic with the 1836th Transportation Company, based in El Paso, Texas.
Valdez said they have experience rigging drops for Soldiers, food and supplies, but a Humvee drop was a new experience for the Texas Soldiers.
“It’s a definite plus in our book,” said Valdez. “We’ve always been able to do it, but finally had the opportunity to execute this operation and everything worked out better than planned.”
Having enlisted and served for 15 years as a rigger, Valdez knows exactly what goes into the rigging of a parachute for a Humvee. He said that prior to the air drop, he would quiz his Soldiers to make sure they knew what they were doing and putting their knowledge together to successfully execute the drop.
“I can’t think of anything to be prouder of than knowing I was one of those parachute riggers,” said Valdez. “I was proud when those parachutes opened, and everything landed safely.”
Valdez said the unit will be deploying next year and they are completing many of their pre-deployment qualifications by participating in Northern Strike. The exercise fuses Michigan’s unique training facilities and capabilities to maximize unit readiness. The 36th Sustainment Brigade is addressing training now so they are prepared for their deployment.
“Re-sustainment operations such as an airdrop are very important when we have Soldiers in an area that’s difficult to reach,” said Valdez. “It’s important to be able to get supplies to the warfighter on the ground and we need to keep the mission going.”
The experience of dropping the diesel-powered four-wheel drive tactical vehicles, which supports combat and combat service support units, left a favorable impression on the training received during Northern Strike.
Elizondo said he didn’t know he would be helping out when he was told about the airdrop but was happy to be helping. Although he has been in the unit for the last decade, this is the first time his unit has worked so closely with the 36th Sustainment Brigade.
“Northern Strike has been an amazing experience for all of us,” said Elizondo. “Getting to work in a joint operational environment is something that many of us have never done before.”
“Getting to go out with all these other people from different parts of Texas and the nation, and coming together to complete the mission was truly exciting,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2021 10:38 |
| Story ID: | 402914 |
| Location: | GRAYLING, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 439 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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