JBER troops join forces for 6th Eng. airborne mission

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  • By PAO Staff Report
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Sgt. Samantha Owens, 6th Engineer Battalion, surveyed the expansive Alaska landscape covered with a fresh blanket of crystalline snow, resplendent under a cloudless blue sky.

She might have had time to enjoy the stunning view if she wasn't suspended from a T-10 Delta parachute, hurtling toward solid ground at 22 feet every second.

Owens dropped her ruck sack, which hung from her single-point harness. She pulled on her risers, angling the canopy, helping the parachute to act as an air brake.
As she intersected the drop zone, she quickly executed a parachute landing fall - rolling her body to disperse the shock of landing.

Though an airborne operation looks simple enough, it is actually the culmination of weeks, if not months, of planning by the Soldiers who wish to jump and the Airmen who coordinate for and operate the Air Mobility Command cargo aircraft that eventually fly 1,000 feet over a designated drop zone.

During a Feb. 7 airborne operation when 517th Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft dropped 6th Eng. personnel and equipment on Malemute Drop Zone, Arctic Warrior reporters documented the process necessary to make for a successful airborne operation at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

In the conference rooms
Though every paratrooper stationed at JBER has a requirement to jump, not every 517th AS air crew has the requirement to support airdrop operations.

"Airdrop qualified crews, 25 percent of the squadron complement, have a semiannual requirement for equipment and personnel drops," said Joseph Buli, 3rd Wing joint airdrop/air transportability training (JA/ATT) coordinator.

Planning complex airborne operations is a joint effort and stresses the need for a joint atmosphere.

"We were doing JBER before joint basing was even implemented," Buli said.
First, Army battalions submit airdrop requests to their respective brigade and then the brigade reviews the request and forwards them to the U.S. Army Alaska G-3 Air Office. The G-3 Air Office then posts the request to the Pacific Air Force's JA/ATT website.
C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules planners from either the 3rd Wing or the 176th Wing can go on that website and select missions that match available dates and are deemed valuable for their training. Then the PACAF JA/ATT manager validates the mission and assigns it a mission number.

The 3rd OSS then creates the mission in the Global Decision Support System and conducts a joint coordination conference one week prior to the mission and finalizes specifics of the mission - for example, the point of contact, the unit being dropped, parachutes utilized, equipment being dropped, drop zone control and the timeline for the mission.

These missions do not happen quickly.

"The latest a drop can really be scheduled is about six weeks from the requested date," said Army Capt. Jeffery Swanson, 6th Eng. air operations and training officer.

"There has only been one mission that was scheduled within a week and that was last year because weather decisions caused about a 70 percent scratch rate and almost our entire battalion of paratroopers would have lost our currency in jump training," he said.
However, USARAK Air Operations and the Air Force worked together to make an alternate date and they were able to conduct the airborne mission.

"There is no better rapport than between an air drop wing and an Army component," Buli said.

Once all the planning pieces are in place and resources secured, the only thing that will stand in the way of a jump is weather.

"There may be a few problems with transportation requests or personnel mistakes, but nothing that would compromise the safety or training value of the mission," Swanson said.

Airmen of the 3rd OSS distribute the completed JCC to all parties who have any contact with the airdrop. The day prior to the mission, the airdrop aircrew mission plans the mission.

"The key to a successful airborne mission is planning," Swanson said.

On the flight deck
For the men and women of the 517th Airlift Squadron, flight planning can be the difference between mission success and failure; even life or death.

It all begins when they receive a tasking from the 3rd Operations Group.

Planning for something with so many moving parts can take time. It takes almost two full days to plan a complex airborne mission.

"Mission planning is the most important aspect of flying a mission, be it a training sortie or an operational tasking," said Air Force Capt. Jessica Regni, C-17A evaluator aircraft commander. "For local training sorties like this one, mission planning is two-fold: to prepare for the sortie objective and to prepare for a simulated combat mission objective, mirroring a mission we're likely to fly operationally."

The mission is to drop 80 Soldiers along with heavy equipment from low altitudes on Malemute Drop Zone mirroring that of a combat airdrop in Afghanistan.

"To prepare to fly to the objective, crews will mission plan the objective area, route, applicable tactical considerations, intelligence, contingencies and administration. Extensive mission planning is the only way we can safely and successfully execute a given mission or objective," Regni said.

To get the most out of the day, the mission needs to meet the training needs of the Army while maximizing the training for the crew. It is planned from park to landing.

To start, the heavy equipment bundles are loaded and the planes take off. The crew does a dry run before the actual drop.

As they approach the drop zone the rear door of the C-17 opens. A few minutes later a drogue chute pulls the pallet out of the aircraft and the main chute opens. The crew turns back to JBER to pick up the jumpers.

Regni said during the flight, the crew trained to execute "combat" two-ship airdrops in mountainous terrain. They also trained to fly in formation during low levels, arrivals, departures, threat maneuvers and airdrops.

As the jumpers load the plane, some look happy and some serious - however, everyone seems nervous. The airborne unit will jump from 1,000 feet with approximately 135 pounds of equipment. There is no room for error.

The word comes down from the flight deck, "Five minutes until the jump."

Everyone stands and hooks up to the static line. The yellow light comes on and as they wait at the door, all they can do is hope everything works out. The green light comes on and the first jumper exits the aircraft. Everyone else just follows the Soldier in front.

The mission is over and they head back to JBER to park and go over the day's mission.
"These are valuable lessons learned on techniques and procedures to successfully execute a two-ship formation airdrop through various phases of flight," Regni said. "It was very successful. The crew, especially the new co-pilots and new aircraft commander, learned what areas of planning they did well on, and which areas they need to focus more on next time to better aid mission success."

At the drop zone
On a brisk clear day with deep snow blanketing JBER's Malemute Drop Zone, a team of specialized military professionals set up a patch of land for a special purpose.

They are a collection of medics, engineers, mechanics and infantry Soldiers from several different units based at JBER, but they all had one goal - to ensure the success of an airborne mission.

Regardless of a Soldier's military occupational specialty, being a paratrooper requires the same set of safety standards and drop zone precautions.

The person in charge of everything on the ground is called the drop zone safety officer. It's his job to ensure the area is secure and ready to receive jumpers no later than one hour before the first plane flies over.

Sgt. 1st Class Donshay Morning, a member of the 84th Engineer Support Company and a seasoned jumpmaster for his unit, closely observed the actions of his DZSO in training, Staff Sgt. Tony Kellogg, a paratrooper from the 3rd Battalion (Airborne), 509th Infantry Regiment.

Being shadowed by a current and qualified jumpmaster with regular experience as a DZSO is a requirement for all jumpmasters before they can assume DZSO duties on their own.

While Morning was in charge overall, Kellogg went through all the motions of responsibility with Morning making only suggestions and minor on-the-spot corrections based on his professional experience.

"I just recently got my star," Kellogg said, in reference to his current level of proficiency as a jumpmaster. "My battalion wants me to learn how to pull duties as a DZSO on my own now, so here I am."

The first drop of the day was heavy equipment. Two 517th AS C-17s came streaking across the DZ and the lead aircraft released its cargo directly over the impact area. With a dynamic exit and descent, the bundle of gear safely struck no more than 50 meters from its intended area of impact, well within the required standard.

With the heavy cargo on the ground, the C-17s turned and began their 10-minute circular motion to re-approach the DZ for the following passes that dropped troops.

The DZSO team sprang into action. Loading up into a mix of Humvees and small unit support vehicles, medics and jumpmasters moved onto the DZ for the personnel drop.
Morning and Kellogg quickly moved to the impact area for the equipment and removed the raised angle marker, so they could set it up at the new location for the jumpers to land.

The RAM is a brightly colored fabric panel used during computer-authorized release-point airborne missions. It allows the pilots to visually confirm their intended DZ from the air as well as their flight heading, based on the direction the triangular RAM is pointing.
With the RAM in its new location and medical personnel staged across the DZ, members of the DZSO team began constant checks with all other drop zone personnel and carefully monitored the wind conditions.

Winds higher than 13 knots will cause them to order a no-drop for that pass of aircraft, the DZSO team could choose to wait for lower winds through additional passes of the aircraft called "race tracks."

According to Army airborne standards, any winds higher than 21 knots will demand the jump is canceled for the day.

Kellogg watched closely as the weak winds on the ground strained to register on his sensitive hand-held monitor device.

"One knot," Kellogg radioed to the pilot.

In moments a voice over the radio responded.

"Roger, we are two minutes out," the pilot answered.

With that reply, Kellogg ordered road guard teams to close the roads leading to the drop zone to ensure that no stray vehicles came onto the DZ during the jump.

The two C-17s soon came into view, flying in a staggered trail formation to maximize their ability to exit all of the jumpers in as few passes as possible.

The pilots and DZSO exchanged wind readings once more at the 30-second mark and shortly thereafter, the jumpers began to leap from the aircraft.

The jumpers exited in a staggered series from both troop doors behind the wings and before the tail section of the C-17s. The series of staggered exits is called the mass-exit technique and allows for a small gap between jumpers to help prevent mid-air collisions.

The DZSO team carefully watched and counted each jumper as their T-10 Delta parachutes opened and carried the jumpers to the ground.

They watched for both the accurate count of jumpers exiting and landing and looked for any signs of parachute malfunctions or hazardous situations on the ground and in the air.

Any mid-air collisions, entanglements or failures of the parachute equipment would have caused an immediate response from the DZSO team, medics and the attending malfunctions NCO - a qualified jumpmaster and parachute rigger who can respond quickly to a mishap.

The malfunctions NCO saw little action on this day.

After two successful passes, the C-17s had unloaded all of their jumpers and moved away from the drop zone. With the last of the jumpers landing safely in the deep snow of Malamute Drop Zone, the DZSO team began to break down the marking equipment and moved back to the assembly area.

Once all personnel and equipment were thoroughly accounted for, units headed back to their headquarters on JBER. Later, they conducted detailed after-action reviews to identify any needed improvements and make any changes on future jumps.

"This was just a great day to jump," Morning said. "Easy money, soft landing. Just a lousy walk back in all this snow."

(With reporting by Tech. Sgt. Brian Ferguson and Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf, both of JBER Public Affairs; and Army Staff Sgt. Matthew E. Winstead, USARAK Public Affairs. Winstead is a qualified jumpmaster and possesses expert knowledge of airborne operations. For more photos, view the slideshow)