386th AEW members fly first airdrop missions in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Stefanie Torres
  • 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) --  From providing humanitarian assistance in Pakistan to moving more than a half-million passengers throughout U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility this year, 386th Air Expeditionary Wing members can now add another accomplishment to their list -- performing airdrop missions in support of coalition ground forces in Afghanistan.

For the first time since the wing was activated, more than 10 years ago, aircrews from the wing's 737th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron flew over the mountains of Afghanistan and dropped more than 46,000 pounds of cargo from C-130 Hercules Nov. 21 and 24, validating the unit's ability to perform airdrop missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Prior to these missions, the wing's airlift support to Afghanistan had been limited to air-land sorties, in which cargo is offloaded after aircraft land at an airfield.

"We have never performed an airdrop mission in Afghanistan from this wing before, so there was definitely a lot of excitement," said Lt. Col. Ken Gjone, a 737th EAS operations officer. "By accomplishing this task, we validated a concept that increases the airdrop capability throughout the entire theater."

U.S. forces serving on the front lines often receive supplies via ground transport, but rough terrain and a high number of roadside bombs along supply routes make airdropping a safer option, he said.

The wing's newly demonstrated airdrop capability will enhance the war-fighting effort while also providing aircrews with a heightened sense of accomplishment because of the difficult nature of the task, said Tech. Sgt. Mike Deeds, a 737th EAS loadmaster.

"At home station, airdrop is second nature," Sergeant Deeds said. "We train day in and day out for air-drop missions. But we had to sort of reformat the brain to perform a different task here because of the focus on airland missions. I think once we received word about the airdrop mission, everyone was feeling the good stress of having to do this again."