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***image1***A 1,500-pound load of supplies drops from an aircraft flying over 1,200
feet above and hits the ground in less than 30 seconds – thump!
Fifteen other loads follow, forming a sprawling trail longer than three
football fields. Although it was only a training mission, it’s always a
sweet sight for riggers of the 5th Quartermaster Detachment, 191st
Ordnance Battalion because it means that the cargo they’ve meticulously
prepared has reached the intended target intact.
“Our job is to support the combat Soldier, and these guys take that
very seriously,” said Capt. Michael LaBrecque, 5th QM commander. “I
think it’s very rewarding to them, especially when they see the fruits
of their labor.”
And for the combat Soldiers who depend on airdropped supplies while
conducting real-world missions in remote locations, it’s like candy
falling from the sky.
“Imagine yourself out in that environment, needing food and water, and
maybe being down to your last bit of fuel for your vehicles,” explained
Staff Sgt. Eric Morris, a paratrooper and 5th QM platoon sergeant.
“When you see those aircraft coming in with everything you need
dropping out the sky, you feel like it’s Christmas.”
The heavy-cargo drop at the Alzey Drop Zone near Sembach was part of a
weeklong training exercise March 27 to 31. The detachment Soldiers
practiced their craft in what the Army refers to as, “current operating
environment,” which replicates the challenges troops currently face on
the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq. They packed up their gear,
equipment and rigging materials and deployed from their base on Rhine
Ordnance Barracks out to Miesau Army Depot where they established
“Forward Operating Base Rigger.”
There they not only constructed container delivery systems and built
the 8-foot mass supply loads for the airdrop, but they also
concentrated on conducting convoy security operations.
Captain LaBrecque, who returned from a deployment in Afghanistan last
year, said the detachment is injecting those lessons learned into its
training. That includes the basic everyday tasks like carrying a weapon
at all times.
“This is the type of environment they will face downrange,” said
Captain LaBrecque. “We will continue reinforcing our skills
because the high-velocity CDS airdrop is pretty much the
bread-and-butter for the rigger field, especially in Afghanistan now.
But as you know, convoys are now a part of every Army unit regardless
of your job.”
Cargo wasn’t the only thing plunging from the sky during the exercise:
41 paratroopers jumped, including several Soldiers from the 10th
Special Forces Group in Stuttgart, and a group from the 824th QM, a Ft.
Bragg, N.C., reserve unit.
