386th AEW flies first airdrop missions in Afghanistan

Published Dec. 15, 2010
By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- From providing humanitarian assistance in Pakistan to moving more than a half-million passengers throughout U.S. Central Command's Area of Responsibility this year, the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing can now add another accomplishment to the list - performing airdrop missions in support of coalition ground forces in Afghanistan.

For the first time since the wing stood up more than 10 years ago, aircrews from the wing's 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron flew over the mountains of Afghanistan and dropped more than 46,000 pounds of cargo from the back of C-130 Hercules aircraft Nov. 21 and 24, validating the unit's ability to perform airdrop missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Prior to these missions, the wing's airlift support to Afghanistan had been limited to airland sorties, in which cargo is offloaded after aircraft land at an airfield.

"We have never performed an airdrop mission in Afghanistan from this wing before, so there was definitely a lot of excitement," said Lt. Col. Ken Gjone, 737th EAS operations officer, who is deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. "By accomplishing this task, we validated a concept that increases the airdrop capability throughout the entire theater."

U.S. forces serving on the front lines often receive supplies via ground transport, but rough terrain and a high number of improvised explosive devices along supply routes make airdropping a safer option, he noted.

The wing's newly demonstrated airdrop capability will enhance the war-fighting effort while also providing aircrews with a heightened sense of accomplishment because of the difficult nature of the task, said Tech. Sgt. Mike Deeds, a 737th EAS loadmaster who also is deployed from Dyess Air Force Base

"At home station, airdrop is second nature," Sergeant Deeds explained. "We train day in and day out for airdrop missions. But we had to sort of reformat the brain to perform a different task here because of the focus on airland missions. I think once we received word about the airdrop mission, everyone was feeling the good stress of having to do this again."

But even airdrop exercises at home station are significantly different in nature, explained Colonel Gjone. Drop zones are larger during training, and there is a lot of room for error. In a combat zone, however, perfection is a necessity.

"There is so much more to consider, which makes it a lot harder to plan an airdrop mission than an airland mission," he said. "We don't want to drop on anything but the designated point."

With such complex factors as wind speed, velocity, time and angle of descent, the 737th crews delivered.

According to Capt. Susan Sedgwick, a 737th EAS aircraft commander deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, the most important feedback the crew received was from the drop zone controller, who told them by radio that they hit the point of impact, or PI.

"We set a pretty good standard," she said. "The navigator is in charge of making sure that we get to the right location at the right time, and he did a really good job. We hit the PI. This is what the crews were trained for, and it was flawless."

Colonel Gjone also credited several maintenance Airmen on the ground with providing essential support for the airdrop missions in Afghanistan.

"Master Sgt. Paul Schneider was the lead maintainer on our deployment," he said. "His team of 18 personnel worked continuous 12-hour shifts for the entire four-week deployment, often in temperatures as low as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. They worked extra hard to prepare the airplanes for these high-priority airdrop missions. Without them, this wouldn't have happened."