Aerial resupply in Afghanistan

Because the trigger pullers in Afghanistan are in remote locations, the riggers of the 3rd Sustainment Command are fully employed. Those folks send us this article about the folks who get the merchandise to the ground in one piece;

KAF riggers inspect air drop bundles
3d Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Public Affairs

Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. (August 1, 2012) –

Work starts at 1 a.m. for a group of Soldiers with the 647th Quartermaster Detachment. As one of the Soldiers, Spc. Manuel A. Perez, a parachute rigger with the 647th Quartermaster Detachment inspects a cargo load, the pitch black morning sky causes him to use a mini flashlight as he climbs on top of the 5-foot stack.

Sifting and shivering, Perez continues to inspect and tie knots on the load trying to ensure that it will pass flight inspection. If the load is rejected, the fuel will not reach the Soldiers out in the field and these days fuel is more precious to them than gold.

After an hour of making sure the loads are ready for inspection, Perez rubs his hands together and yells, “Alright, let’s move out”, signaling the riggers to move the cargo to the flight line.

“Other than working long hours I would say getting last minute missions are a big challenge, but hey it is what it is,” Perez said. “Passing inspection is really important because you don’t want the load to burn in.”

When cargo that is air dropped crashes to a landing site, it is considered a burn in, which could result in wasted supplies and government dollars.

Warrant Officer Roger Bradford, an air drop systems technician with the 647th Quartermaster Detachment, said some of the things important to the riggers before getting the cargo ready are the weight and quantity of the commodities a unit in the field requests.

“We have to calculate how many bundles it will take to rig the commodities and depending on how many bundles we calculate we may require multiple aircraft,” Bradford said.

In order to make sure the detachment books the right amount of aircraft and cargo doesn’t burn in, the riggers work with the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron to make sure each bundle gets to the drop zone securely.

As the two services work together to get cargo from the skies to the field, the riggers know that air drop missions are crucial to the Soldiers in the field .

“Some of the smaller outstations that we support can only be supplied by air drop,” Bradford said. “Not only does utilization of air drop give us the ability to ensure the war fighter receives the commodities they need, it also reduces the requirement for items to be convoyed.”

The work loads may vary and the hours may be long, but sometimes the riggers get to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

“Sometimes we get to go out in a Chinook helicopter on an air drop mission to push out our own loads so that’s always cool to do,” Perez said.

Whether the cargo is dropped out of a hovering Chinook or out of a C-130 aircraft flying thousands of feet in the air, the riggers don’t care how the cargo gets there; it just has to get there in one piece.

I was excited to see Caribou still in service, but it reminded me that I’d rather jump out of a Caribou than land in one again.

Spc. Tiffany D. Major, a parachute rigger with the 647th Quartermaster Detachment, ties a knot on a cargo load on August 1, 2012 at Kandahar Airfield. Parachute riggers must make sure all knots and straps are correctly tied down on each cargo load. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gregory Williams)

David R. Thompson, a loadmaster with Flightworks Inc., and 2nd Lt. David
McDevitt, the officer in charge of air movement for the 622nd Movement
Control Detachment, rig cargo loads on August 8, 2012 inside of a Caribou
aircraft. The 622nd MCT helps coordinate air drop missions for Joint
Sustainment Command-Afghanistan units who need supplies in the southern
Afghanistan. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gregory Williams)

A loadmaster with the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron signals for a cargo load to be released out of a C-130 aircraft August 1, 2012 over Southern Afghanistan. Air drop operations are conducted by the squadron in order to sustain troops in the field. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Gregory Williams)

The window of a Caribou aircraft shows an aerial view of an Afghanistan air
drop on August 8, 2012. The 10th Sustainment Brigade helps coordinate air
drop missions to support Joint Sustainment Command – Afghanistan Soldiers
who’re spread throughout various forward operating bases. (U.S. Army photo
by Sgt. Gregory Williams)

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