Four Little Rock aircrews take part in largest ever JFEX formation

Published July 9, 2010
By Capt. Joe Knable
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- Four Little Rock Air Force Base aircrews took part in the largest formation ever assembled for a Joint Forcible Entry Exercise June 22 and 23 at Pope Air Force Base and Fort Bragg, N.C.

The herculean formation of 18 Air Force cargo airplanes featuring 10 C-130s and eight C-17s from various Air Force bases showcased the Army's 82nd Airborne Division's ability to gain operational access to denied terrain through massive airdrop.

JFEX is the primary tool for the XVIII Airborne Corps (the Army's largest warfighting organization) and the 82nd Airborne Division's brigades to transfer real-world contingency operations and become a worldwide response force, according to Air Force officials.

"Within 18 hours of notification, the 82nd Airborne Division strategically deploys, conducts forcible entry parachute assault and secures key objectives for follow-on military operations in support of U.S. national interests," according to the 82nd Airborne Division mission statement.

Crews trickled in Monday in time for the opening mass joint Army-Air Force briefing. Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, commanding general of the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, opened the exercise by highlighting its importance to participants. In the two days of massive formation airdrops, the aircrews would be dropping the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the Global Response Team--the team that was dropped into Haiti. The impact of having a mass airdrop over the drop zone in a short amount of time can't be overemphasized, General Helmick said. "When the enemy sees this, it has a tremendous effect ... When you put U.S. boots on the ground dropped by U.S. Air Force personnel, you send one heck of a signal."

Combat Airlift is integral to Army paratroopers, said General Helmick.

"One of the things we've tried to do since our last exercise is to really try to market this (joint) capability (between the Army and Air Force) ... Every time we do one of these things I learn something from you guys, the Air Force ... You would not believe how important a loadmaster is to a paratrooper. Loadmasters are critical for us (who jump)."

The coordination for this massive production started long before the exercise kicked off, however.

The Army and Air Force begin planning and discussing requirements for the exercise about two months before the exercise begins, said Capt. Michael Kissinger, a pilot from Little Rock AFB's 50th Airlift Squadron and a planner for this JFEX. Then, one week prior to the exercise, more planners (like Captain Kissinger) arrive. The elaborate planning involves airspace requirements, load plans, maintenance schedules, timing of launching jets and even airplane parking planning according to which chalks of paratroopers will come out where.

Planning such a massive formation with two different types of aircraft is quite complex, said Captain Kissinger. "You have to balance procedures and performance capabilities of two different aircraft to complete one cohesive airdrop." This planning is different for C-130s and C-17s. Differences between the airframes include different airspeeds, slow down profiles, escapes from the drop zone and what comprises a standard element. The standard element for C-17s is three ships, while the standard for C-130s is only two. Yet this was all worked out carefully and the formation flew both days without incident, the captain said.

For every crewmember of one 1962-model C-130E crew from Little Rock AFB's 53rd Airlift Squadron, this was either their first or second JFEX and a chance to do something they've never done before.

"It was pretty exciting," said Capt. Jason Robinson, the crew's copilot. "It takes all the training we do and puts it to the test. It's great to see all these little pieces fit together."
The first night, the crew, led by aircraft commander Maj. Lars Johnsen, led a flight of four C-130s to drop many of the 1,117 paratroopers the formation would drop. Major Johnsen's crew dropped 60 members of the 82nd Airborne Division.

As General Helmick said, the loadmasters have a key role with getting the paratroopers out the door safely and accurately.

"It's awesome," said Airman 1st Class Gregory Izzi, one of the crew's two loadmasters. "It's one of my favorite things I do as a loadmaster."

On the second night of the massive formation, Major Johnsen's crew led a two-ship flight carrying two 9,700-pound armor plated HUMVEE. The loadmasters made the split-second decision not to drop the load when they saw something drop behind the HUMVEEs.

In a training environment, said Staff Sgt. Grant Lane, the crew's senior loadmaster, it's not worth risking damage to the plane or the cargo. This would have been the first time these armor-plated HUMVEEs were airdropped.

The fact the load wasn't dropped doesn't mean that the training wasn't worthwhile, said Capt. Brian Shea, the crew's instructor-navigator. The aircrews still planned and flew the formation, the ground crew loaded the vehicles, and the Soldiers prepared the drop zone, all of which was valuable experience.

This JFEX was also a showcase and proving ground for cutting-edge airlift technology, such as ITV, or In-Transit Visibility, which enables the forces to "Know exactly where the cargo is so the Army doesn't have to come looking for it," said Col. Dean Bridger, 818th Contingency Response Group commander.

Crews during the exercise also made use of dropsondes, devices that are dropped on a first pass and relay information back to a box on top of the bundle, which steers the load to the dropsondes when the load is dropped on a subsequent pass.

Forcible entry has been a key tool for decades now and will continue to be for future operations, officials said.

"Every U.S. combat operation since 1981, except Kosovo, included a forcible entry mission. Recent relief operations in Haiti reaffirmed the need for a rapidly deployable Contingency Response Corps even though the parachute option was not utilized. We remain trained and ready to deploy on short notice when required," according to the XVIII Airborne Corps Web site.