16th Sust. Bde. conducts airdrop, sling load training

BAMBERG, Germany — Sling load teams from the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion conducted an airdrop and sling load exercise May 27 at Bunker drop zone in Grafenwöhr, Germany.

This is the first airdrop and sling load exercise the 16th Sustainment Brigade has executed since it stood up three years ago.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ismael Ramos, the 16th Sust. Bde. senior airdrop systems technician, organized and coordinated the exercise with the 37th Airlift Squadron and sling load teams from the 391st CSSB and the 18th CSSB.

The purpose of the exercise was to establish and incorporate the ability to deliver and receive supplies from the air in remote locations, Officer Ramos said. The ability to drop in and take out supplies from the air reduces the footprint on the ground and the risks of traveling by convoy.

In Afghanistan, there are troops in remote locations that are very difficult to get supplies to because of the terrain and the infrastructure of the country, he said.

“We’ve got to be able to get things from the sky and get them back up,” said Lt. Col. Reed Hudgins, the 18th CSSB commander.

The exercise began with two days of train up with riggers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 5th Quartermaster Company on Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern.

After the two days of training, the teams went to Grafenwöhr to unhook airdropped cargo and rig it back up for airlift by helicopters.

The allotted time for this task was 30 minutes. The exercise took about 28 minutes from the time the cargo was dropped until the job was completed.

The Soldiers performed superbly for their first time, Officer Ramos said.

These Soldiers were handpicked from the best, Colonel Hudgins said. They all went to Air Assault School for two weeks in Schweinfurt last month to prepare.

The mission was a success and the next mission is already being planned, Officer Ramos said.