A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Spc. Tammy Bradley, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 supply specialist, uses a handsaw to cut through layers of honeycomb cardboard Dec. 4. The honeycomb is cut to exact measurements and placed at the base of the load, which will be airdropped to support ground troops in Afghanistan. Honeycomb acts as a buffer to absorb the impact after the load is falling between 28 and 49 feet per second when it hits the ground. Bradley, a native of Valdosta, Ga., is deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Spc. Victor Waters, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 airdrop specialist, uses a power saw to cut through layers of plywood to make the base of the load Dec. 4. The plywood is used as a stabilizer to distribute the weight of the load evenly upon impact. Each load weighs between 1,200 and 1,800 pounds, so proper distribution of the weight upon impact is vital to preserving the contents of the load. Waters, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., is deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Sgt. Barry MacDonald (middle), Spc. Neilon Burton (left) and Sgt. Jack Arnold prepare an airdrop load Dec. 4. They are assigned to the 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4, whose mission is to create and build airdrop loads to resupply ground troops in Afghanistan. MacDonald, a native of Nashville, Tenn., Burton, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Arnold, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., are all deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Spc. Neilon Burton, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 Airdrop specialist, tosses Sgt. Jack Arnold, 421st QM Det. 4 shop foreman, a case of bottled water to stack on top of a bundle Dec. 4. The team essentially plays a game of Tetris with items being bundled to ensure they meet specific weight and size requirements before they can be loaded onto an aircraft and dropped to ground troops in Afghanistan. The detachment has airdropped more than 7,400 bundles, weighing more than 12 million pounds since the beginning of 2012. Burton, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Arnold, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., are both deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Spc. Neilon Burton, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 airdrop specialist, wraps the stacked bundle in plastic before securing the low-cost, low-altitude airdrop cargo assembly Dec. 4. The detachment has airdropped more than 7,400 bundles, weighing more than 12 million pounds to ground troops in Afghanistan since the beginning of 2012. Burton, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, is deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Sgt. Jack Arnold, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 shop foreman, secures the low-cost, low-altitude airdrop cargo sling Dec. 4. The detachment’s mission is to create and build airdrop loads to resupply ground troops in Afghanistan. The 24-man team rigs and drops bundles mainly containing food, water, fuel, building materials and wood. On average, the detachment constructs approximately 670 bundles a month. Arnold, a native of Warner Robins, Ga., is deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - (Left to right)Army Spc. Vacito Gumbs, Spc. Chimdi Ogbeka and Spc. Frank Bebbs, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 airdrop specialists, lift the 200-pound parachute to place on top of a bundle Dec. 4. The 24-man team rigs, drops and constructs approximately 670 bundles a month, which primarily containing food, water, fuel, building materials and wood. Gumbs, a native of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Ogbeka, a native of Powder Springs, Ga., and Bebbs, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., are deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

SOUTHWEST ASIA - Army Spc. Adrian Thomas, 421st Quartermaster Company Detachment 4 airdrop specialist, works a forklift Dec. 4, to move airdrop loads to the staging area so they can be arranged properly according to the load plan. Many factors play into the development of the load plan based on the weight and size of the loads. The overall goal is to drop all the loads within seconds out of the back of the C-17 Globemaster III and have them land as close as possible together for the ground troops in Afghanistan. Thomas, a native of Columbus, Ga., is deployed from Fort Valley, Ga. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Bryan Swink)

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A day on the job with the 421st Quartermaster Company riggers

Published Dec. 6, 2012