K-2s humanitarian airlift gets goods to those who need it Published March 29, 2005 KARSHI-KHANABAD AIR BASE, Uzbekistan -- Loaded on average with more than 13,000 pounds of humanitarian Container Delivery System bundles built by Army aerial delivery technicians here, C-130 Hercules aircrews with the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron completed 13 vital airdrop missions to remote regions in Afghanistan in January and February.The CDS bundles used on the missions, packed with everything from blankets to bottled water, were put together by a seven-person team with the Armys 87th Quartermaster Detachment. Staff Sgt. Lloyd Johnson, 87th Quartermaster Detachment sergeant NCO in charge from Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, said the humanitarian airdrop process starts with them.Our job entails building CDS bundles for resupply and packing the parachutes that deliver the loads to the ground, Sergeant Johnson said. We coordinate for the movement of the loads and perform a joint airdrop inspection with our Air Force counterparts.Sergeant Johnson said the CDS bundles they build consist of one A-22 cargo bag and a G-12E cargo parachute that ensures the bundles descend to their drop zone at a low velocity.Getting the bundles to the C-130s is another task. Sergeant Johnson coordinates those moves with the 416th Expeditionary Mission Support Squadrons Air Terminal Operations Center, or ATOC the bases experts in aircraft cargo loading.In February alone, we loaded more than 127,000 pounds of humanitarian airdrop cargo on to C-130s in 85 CDS bundles, said Senior Master Sgt. John Rawls, ATOC superintendent deployed here from the 25th Aerial Port Squadron at Maxwell AFB, Ala. Our work, particularly on these humanitarian missions, is why we came here. The ATOC moves beans, bullets and personnel to fight the Global War on Terrorism, as well as moving hundreds of thousands of pounds of humanitarian aid.The actual delivery of the airdrop bundles is the responsibility of the C-130 aircrews, and 13 times in January and February they hit their mark, bringing the airdropped humanitarian supplies to areas in Afghanistan cut off from ground supply routes because of snow in the mountains.One of the 774th EAS' first airdrop missions in January airdropped CDS bundles filled with water to a snowbound base in the Afghan mountains.It was a challenging run through the mountains, but we had a successful airdrop, said Aircraft Commander Maj. Michael McFadden, whose entire crew was from the Delaware Air National Guard in New Castle. The mission was extremely rewarding for the entire crew. We successfully handled a door malfunction and ultimately delivered the goods.On Feb. 8, another Delaware ANG aircrew, piloted by Lt. Col. Carol Timmons, completed an airdrop mission to the Afghan mountains.There was a first mission in the morning that was not able to drop due to weather, but our mission made it through, said Colonel Timmons, the aircraft commander on the mission. A side note from that mission was that it was the first combat mission for the co-pilot 1st Lt. Shannon Ayres since arriving back in Delaware from undergraduate pilot training. Many C-130 crewmembers can go their whole career without a combat airdrop mission.Colonel Timmons added that her crew made the extra effort to include some donated snack cakes and toilet paper as part of the supplies they airdropped.Throughout the remainder of February, the month when most of the airdrop missions took place, aircrews seem to face a challenge with every mission. An aircrew from the Ohio ANG at Mansfield, which included Lt. Col. Brian Lake and Maj. John Bletner, completed five airdrop missions that month.The missions we did were a great example of how we can effectively use one of our militarys most unique capabilities the C-130 Adverse Weather Delivery System to deliver humanitarian relief supplies any place, any time, said Maj. John Bletner.Colonel Lake added, We were able to make our drops through the dangerous mountain passes and drop the goods right on target.On Feb. 24, a C-130 aircrew deployed from the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, completed a mission that included a tight drop zone in the middle of a small Afghan village. Pilot Capt. Craig Goldthwaite said accuracy was important for their mission.It was less than 24 hours from the time the request for supplies was made to the supplies hitting the drop zone, he said. We dropped more than 16,000 pounds of supplies on that mission, and all of it was recovered successfully by the people on the ground.Captain Goldthwaite said terrain was also a challenge during their mission. The terrain was significant with an 11,000-foot ridgeline to the south of where we flew and a 9,500-foot mountainous ridgeline to the north, he said. We only had four miles between the two ridgelines to make the drop and we had less than 30 seconds from the time we were stabilized to the time when we released the load.A 774th EAS aircrew from the West Virginia ANG at Charleston completed an airdrop mission on Feb. 25. According crew member Maj. Mike Oates, the weather was the most challenging aspect of their mission.We needed to stay clear of any clouds and have at least three miles of visibility to conduct this mission, he said. The high altitude of the region and the rugged mountainous terrain also made the airdrop unusually challenging, but we got our airdrop to its drop zone on schedule.For everyone involved in the airdrop process, a successful airdrop is one of the most rewarding aspects from doing their deployed duty.Its very rewarding to know you were helping people who were snowbound and cut off from normal supply routes, Major Oates said. Air Mobility Command News Service is a service of the Internal Division Office of Public Affairs 503 Ward Drive, Room 214 Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 62225-5335 618-229-7821