First JPADS airdrop over Iraq a success
Warrant Officer David Bird tightens skid boards of six 1,200-pound bundles of water and Meals, Ready to Eat onto a C-130 Hercules Feb. 16 at Balad Air Base, Iraq, in preparation to employ the Joint Precision Airdrop System in combination with the Improved Container Delivery System for the first time in Operation Iraqi Freedom Feb. 16. Pairing the JPADS mission planning software with the I-CDS bundles increases airdrop accuracy by 60 percent. Warrant Officer Bird is assigned to the 368th Cargo Transportation Company, 1034 Battalion. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Cecilio M. Ricardo Jr.)