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Airmen rig 'chutes, travel the world

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chris Vadnais
  • Air Force News Agency
HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii (AFPN) --  Sometimes, Airman 1st Class Darrius Armstead, Jr. would say his job is tedious. 

Airman Armstead is an air transportation specialist for the 15th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Combat Mobility Element, or CME. Part of his job is rigging huge parachutes for C-17 Globemaster III airdrop exercises.

Rigging parachutes is the process of packing a parachute and securing its lines to prepare it for deployment.

The chute and its lines are secured with dozens of knots -- more than 70 of them on some chutes -- and Airman Armstead and his coworkers often rig chutes all day long.

"It gets monotonous sometimes," said Airman Armstead. "I mean it gets to the point where I'll sit there and start tying my shoes like that," he laughed.

But rigging parachutes is only part of the job. Hickam's CME provides ground support for C-17 tactical airlift operations. That means deploying to austere environments in the wake of natural disasters, providing help to allies and friends in the region and supporting the war on terrorism.

For example, in February 2006, a massive mudslide took out a village on the island of Leyte in the Southern Philippines. A C-17 from Hickam carried food, water, tents and heavy equipment to the area. A CME team that included Airman Armstead deployed to offload the vital supplies and gear for the relief mission.

Contingencies like that are the reason the CME exists, and according to Airman Armstead, they're the best part of the job.

"I've only been in for two years and I've already been four different places," he said. "My sister's been in for six and hasn't really gone anywhere yet, so that's pretty cool," he laughed.

Whether he's traveling around the world or sitting in a Hickam hangar rigging parachutes, A1C Armstead said he feels lucky to be a part of this team.

"I think CME is probably one of the best things that you could ever get into, so I'm glad I got to do it." 

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