Guardsmen make combat airdrop in Afghanistan

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carlos Diaz
  • 386th Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  Six Airmen from the North Carolina Air National Guard’s 156th Airlift Squadron traveled more than 7,000 miles recently to perform an airdrop mission over Afghanistan.

The guardsmen, who are currently assigned to the 738th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at a forward-deployed location, airdropped more than 8,600 pounds of food, water and supplies over a combat environment.

“It’s safe to say that this was a once-in-a-lifetime and career opportunity,” said Maj. Jaye Stepp, a C-130 Hercules aircraft commander. “Few C-130 aircrews ever get the opportunity to perform a combat airdrop.”

The guardsman said his crew was extremely fortunate that it was in the right place at the right time to perform this mission.

“The crew that I’m a part of has a remarkable amount of experience,” said 1st Lieutenant Joseph McCormick, a co-pilot on the mission. “With my own training and their experience, I felt very ready for the mission.”

They quickly performed their preflight inspections and prepared for their combat airdrop meeting in the aircraft’s cargo compartment.

Major Stepp told his crew that that coordination and backing one another would be key to mission success.

“I stressed that despite the high visibility and importance of the mission, safety and adherence to procedures is the most important thing,” Major Stepp said. “Completing the airdrop is important, but getting the plane and crew back safe from the mission is critical.”

Knowing and reviewing the details was also paramount for Lieutenant McCormick and Tech. Sgt. Tom Cunningham, a flight engineer for the mission.

“My main responsibilities included drop zone acquisition, scanning for potential threats, backing up the navigator by map reading, backing up the pilot on terrain clearance, airspeed, altitude and running the radios,” Lieutenant McCormick said.

Sergeant Cunningham’s flight engineer duties put him in the position of systems specialist. It would fall to him to ensure all systems stay operational, as well as backing the pilots on airspeed, drop altitude and terrain clearance.”

Lt. Col. Bob Kotula’s responsibilities as a navigator entailed determining the exact computed air release point by using parachute ballistic data and wind effects. He was ready for the challenge.

“I’ve been training for 20 years to do an actual combat airdrop, and this was my first one,” said Colonel Kotula. “It was a great feeling knowing we put the load in the right spot for our troops on the ground.”

That great feeling was shared by Tech. Sgt. Jermaine Parker and Staff Sgt. Chad Wells, loadmasters who had front-row seats to the Afghan landscape.

“They can be a rush sometimes,” Sergeant Parker said. “It’s something that you know other guys are biting at the bit to be a part of, so for me as guard guy to get to do it is something special.

“However, my main concern was seeing the bundles leave the airplane safely,” he said. “Once that was out of the way, seeing the load hit the target was icing on the cake.”

Their result showed they had all the right ingredients, Major Stepp said.

“Crew chemistry means the difference between a great crew and mission and a mediocre one,” he said. “The fact that we did the combat airdrop and that it was a success is a great feeling for all the aircrew members.”