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SOUTWEST ASIA – The 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron dropped approximately 40,000 lbs of JP-8 fuel, food, water, ammunition and building materials into an austere location in Regional Command South.
“The big picture is we supply them with food, water, bullets and blood needed to operate and we can get it to them in a timely fashion that doesn’t put ground forces at risk with unnecessary convoys,” said Capt. Ryan Fandell, 816th EAS C-17 Aircraft Commander.
Airdrops have been a reliable method for shipping necessary items into locations that are devoid of navigable terrain.
“Due to the type of war we find ourselves in, the environment and remoteness of the [combat outposts] are difficult to get supplies to using conventional methods,” said the captain. “The only way to get supplies into these areas is via air. The roads, if any, are unsafe; it’s important to keep our guys out of harm’s way as much as possible and that means keeping them off the roads.”
While airdrops are the safer way to get supplies into remote military locations throughout Afghanistan, they are not without their challenges. Airdrops require a lot of preliminary checks before the aircraft even takes flight.
“One of the challenges of getting the supplies out of the cargo hold lies in the loading and rigging of the pallets,” said Staff Sgt. Jenna Kramer, C-130 loadmaster and joint airdrop inspector.
For loadmasters, preparing for and executing air drops is all about preparation.
“You have to plan out all your airdrops,” said Canadian Air Force Warrant Officer Dave Daly, C-17 loadmaster. “The precision involved in conducting an airdrop mission is immense. Everything [from how pallets are loaded to the type of parachutes that are used] needs to be factored in to the equation so that the supplies get to the people on the ground.”
Another little-known aspect of getting military outposts aerially resupplied is making a schedule and staying true to it.
“There are always hidden challenges when you are preparing for an airdrop,” the sergeant said. “Getting everything done on time is a big factor to having a successful drop. If we don’t get off the ground in time, then the people on the ground are affected and can become vulnerable while waiting for the cargo to drop.”
Airdrops are an integral aspect to aiding ground forces who are successfully countering the effects of terrorism in Afghanistan. As long as the environment remains a formidable risk to the ground forces, aircraft will continue to run aerial resupply missions.
“As long as there are people on the ground [that] needs supplies, we’ll fly missions to make sure they have what they need,” Fandell said.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2011 02:29 |
| Story ID: | 67570 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 140 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Aerial resupply gives military outposts fighting chance, by SMSgt Stacia Zachary, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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