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***image4***“One minute … 30 seconds … go, go, go!” shouted Senior Master Sgt. John Storms, superintendent, 786th Security Forces Squadron, 86th Contingency Response Group, just before plunging into the open air over Alzey, Germany, followed by a static line of 12 other members of the 86th CRG, Sept. 24.
The 13 members of the 86th CRG, including the commander, Col. Tim Brown, conducted an airborne insertion exercise in preparation for an upcoming
exercise in Bitburg.
The day began early at Rhine Ordnance Barracks, as the team
rallied to rig and ops-check their gear. While on ROB, they also engaged in some final procedural briefings including landing techniques and safety. From there, they loaded on a bus and hustled back to Ramstein to catch their plane.
It was a dense, overcast morning on the flightline as they pulled up to the C-130 that would facilitate their mission and dropped their gear into the rear of the aircraft where they waited for the weather report. The morning got a little longer as the weather report returned from the drop-zone, with news of limited visibility.
***image3***“We were in contact with 86th CRG members at the drop-zone, who were updating us with current weather conditions,” said Maj. Jason Kuhns, 37th Airlift Squadron pilot and aircraft commander, “We routinely checked in with them until they gave us a thumbs-up, assuring us it was safe to execute.”
The entire team stood by, warming their hands against the brisk morning, conducting their concept briefing to assure everyone of their role and tugging at each other’s gear to ensure an error-free jump. Finally, the word came to load the plane and, like a well-oiled machine, the 86th CRG team pulled to their feet and filed into the aircraft.
After everyone was secure in their seats, the C-130’s tail gate clamped shut and light became scarce. The aircraft thundered down the flightline, lifted off the ground and the team was airborne. Through safely-plugged ears, the fierce roar of the aircraft sounded more like a placid, mechanical hum. Kevlar-covered heads bobbed back and forth, as if being rocked to sleep by the aircraft’s subtle sway and the warm air from the ventilation system.
***image2***After approximately 25 minutes, one of the aircraft loadmasters gave the signal and the exercise’s jumpmaster, Sergeant Storms, sprung to his feet to give the 10-minute-out call, motioning the team to rise and get into position. The 13-man team cohesively fell into position with obvious experience.
“We conduct two of these jumps per month,” said Staff Sgt. David Edwards, paratrooper with the 786th SFS. “This frequency allows us to remain proficient.”
The jumpmaster, positioned at the rear gate of the plane, continued the countdown from 10 minutes all the way to 30 seconds out, shouting back various last minute equipment checks and commands for the team to echo. The C-130’s rear gate opened, now soaring 1,000 feet in the air at a speed of 150 mph.
As the green German fields zipped past like race cars beneath the plane, the jumpmaster gave a final thumbs-up and thrust himself into the open air. Each member followed him out of the back of the aircraft a few seconds behind one another. In less than one minute, every member of the 86th CRG team had vacated the plane and were airborne, steering their parachutes toward the drop-zone.
“I love the fact that I regularly get to jump from a perfectly good aircraft as part of my job in the Air Force,” said Staff Sgt. Jason Shaffer, paratrooper with the 786th SFS.
“Being part of an airborne-capable unit is a unique opportunity,” said Sergeant Edwards, “It’s one of the best opportunities I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of in the Air Force.”
***image1***The team’s work continued at the landing zone as they gathered their chutes and conducted a ground assessment as part of the exercise.
“Airborne insertion exercises like this one are to conduct an assessment of a simulated airfield,” said Col. Tim Brown, 86th CRG commander. “As an important first step in the 86th CRG’s ‘open the airbase’ mission, the team surveys the airfield environment and determines its suitability for air operations. We have to
practice airborne insertion routinely, because it is probably the most difficult of 86th CRG’s many missions.”
Deemed a success, the airborne insertion exercise was another chance for the 86th CRG to fly, fight, and win – by jumping.
