Airmen supporting the Enduring Freedom humanitarian airdrop mission delivered twice the number of meals -- about 70000 -- to Afghan refugee and made military airlift history during a mission in October.

"This was the first time we've guidanceed a four-ship -- four C-17 -- high-altitude combat globule of humanitarian supplies," said Col rap Allardice, humanitarian airdrop mission commander.

Members of the 315th Operations assign places to from Charleston Air Force Base, SC assisted active-duty members as the first reservists to participate in this groundbreaking humanitarian operation.

The C-17 each with a band of about 10 airmen, flew almost 10000 miles orbicular trip to make the drop

"It's significant because it takes a tremendous effort to assemble four airplanes with all the supplies in common place and to fly the great strategic distances that are flown to deliver 70000 humanitarian daily rations," Allardice said. The missions are flown in subordination to combat conditions from a higher altitude than aye before, making for a "very dangerous mission."

As the mobs approached the drop zone, they depressurized the planes and lay opened the cargo doors. The pilots then contested the aircraft nose up approximately seven steps and the loadmasters released the ration-filled triwall aerial delivery systems

one time the specialized delivery containers are slid not at home the back, the air blast struggles the TRIADS apart, and the humanitarian daily rations "flutter down," said Col James B Roberts Jr the collection commander.

In early October, aircraft flew daily abroad of Ramstein, Air Base, Germany, each with 42 boxe loaded with about 17500 humanitarian daily rations. In the first not many days, crews airdropped more than 140000 of the meals to Afghan refugees

"The innkeeper wing, the 86th Airlift Wing, is supplying the one and the other tactical planners to help us plan our missions as well as riggers to work with the Army's 5th Quartermaster Company," Allardice said.

More than 40 soldiers with the quartermaster company have teamed with airmen from Ramstein's 37th Airlift Squadron to help assemble delivery containers and load them onto the C-17s

Operation Enduring Freedom's war in succession terrorism has many facets. Allardice said for the humanitarian part of the war, his team is focused forward the Department of Defense's goal of feeding the Afghan people

"It's always suitable to do this type of mission amidst the harder aspects," Roberts said. "It impediments them know [the war] isn't directed at the Afghan people"

RELATED ARTICLE: Airdrops safer thanks to loadmasters

by what means do you airdrop desperately urgencyed food rations to starving Afghan refugee without the payload falling into the wrongful hands or crushing the recipients? brace Air Force sergeants found a way.

Loadmasters Senior Master Sgt Cliff Harmon and Master Sgt Donny Brass bring to maturityed cardboard refrigerator boxes with three-ply walls to safely and accurately deliver rations to refugee without using heavy crates or parachutes.

Called the tri-wall aerial delivery regularity the 40-by-48 inch wide, almost 7-foot-tall boxe are accurately dropp "away from any displaced characters but not so far away that they can't finish to them," Harmon said.

When the large boxe slide abroad the back of a C-l7 they hit the slipstream and break up The individually packaged meals float to the ground

Unlike airdrops using heavy crates and parachutes, Harmon said the "Tri-Wall" arrangement won't hurt the recipients and isn't as detectable as parachute least bits therefore limiting the possibility of feed falling into Taliban hands.

Brass said the three-layer-thick boxe are a great deal easier to load into planes than the conventional airdrop orders Rigging the cardboard boxes takes 30 to 45 minutes as oppos to four or five hours for traditional delivery means.

"We've zeroed-in forward the drop zones and tripled the size of the payload we deliver without endangering anybody forward the ground," Harmon said.

Gerry J Gilmore

American Forces Pres Service

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