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Alaska Airmen airdrop critical supplies

  • Published
  • By Capt. Vince King Jr.
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Airmen from Alaska airdropped critical supplies to an Army unit near Forward Operating Base Orgun-E Christmas Eve.

The Alaskan Air National Guard Airmen deployed to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, were previously on standby for another air-land mission when the weather continued to worsen near their original mission destination.

However, according to Maj. Tony Sims, C-130 Hercules instructor pilot, while waiting on the original flight details to be finalized, they received notification that they were most likely going to have to do an airdrop mission to about 50 soldiers northeast of the FOB.

The soldiers, members from both the downed aircraft recovery team and the quick reaction force, were guarding and working to fix an AH-64 helicopter that made an emergency landing near the base Dec. 23.

"The (Soldiers) did not have enough food, water or supplies and (most likely) were not betting on getting weathered in (at the time)," said Major Sims.

Because the C-130 can drop supplies from the air to support ground troops, this was the only viable option to get the much needed supplies to the soldiers on the ground safely.

Knowing the mission must go on despite the weather at Bagram Airfield, Major Sims and his crew began their transition from the operations center to their aircraft. Once on board, all members of the crew began running their checklists and some even twice ensuring they were able to accomplish the mission safely.

"It was Christmas Eve, and we've got to get these soldiers their supplies," he said knowing that this mission in particular had high visibility theater-wide.

"By the time we started the engines, the navigator had to load the flight plan by hand," said Major Sims. "While (Lt. Col. Scott Lubin) was doing that, we had to shut down the aircraft and de-ice the plane again," previously having them already de-iced twice.

"By the time we took off, we had about a mile visibility in front of us and a 40-minute flight to the destination," said Major Sims.

Training for missions like this is critical, but having actually done this before in a combat zone and weather was unique for the Alaskan crew.

"We train for this at home, but this was the first time I've flown and dropped in the weather," said Major Sims. "It was cool and the training worked ... everyone had their duties and was getting the mission done."

Arriving at the drop zone the aircrew made contact with the ground troops, informing them of their arrival and that their supplies were on its way.

"First we had to measure the wind all the way to the drop zone," he said. "The goal was to make sure the bundles landed in the zone as close as possible to the soldiers on the ground."

After they received their target drop point, the loadmasters placed chemical lights in several locations on each of the four bundles to help the soldiers see them as they were falling from the sky.

Because the aircrew was flying in the weather, they could not see the ground or the bundles once they left the aircraft.

"(When the bundles landed) we knew the soldiers had received them, because they were ecstatic and we can hear them in the background," said Major Sims.

"I couldn't imagine what they were going through," he said. "But you could hear the joy in their voices."

Lt. Col. Mark Hedlund, 774th EAS commander was proud of the accomplishment of his aircrew.

"They were phenomenal," said Colonel Hedlund. "They overcame so many obstacles to get the mission completed and to come back after a 13-hour day and land safely (in bad conditions) was remarkable."

Reminiscing on the drop, Major Sims said, "It was nice getting a mission off on Christmas Eve," he continued, "It makes you feel like Santa Clause, getting supplies to those who need it most (at a moments notice)."

This year alone, the aircrews assigned to the 774th EAS have assisted the 10th Mountain Division by air dropping more than four million pounds of supplies to forward operating bases in and around Afghanistan.