Air drops at Fort Riley, Kansas, part of joint training for Air National Guard, Danger Focus II

By Patti Geistfeld, Fort Riley Public AffairsFebruary 16, 2017

Elements of the Missouri Air National Guard participate in a Fort Riley airdrop as part of a joint training exercise during Danger Focus II Feb. 8
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Elements of the Missouri Air National Guard, including C-130 aircraft from the 180th Airlift Squadron, 139th Airlift Wing, St. Joseph, Missouri, participated in a Fort Riley airdrop as part of a joint training exercise between the Missouri Air Nation... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Elements of the Missouri Air National Guard participate in a Fort Riley airdrop as part of a joint training exercise during Danger Focus II Feb. 8
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RILEY, Kan. -- Two Missouri Air National Guard C-130 aircraft from the 180th Airlift Squadron, 139th Airlift Wing, St. Joseph, Missouri, approached a Fort Riley airdrop zone on a cold, windy Kansas day. The Joint Air Transportability Training airdrop was a low-cost low-altitude, or LCLA, bundle dropped on a targeted area Feb. 8.

It was part of a joint training exercise between the Missouri Air National Guard and 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, during Danger Focus II.

"These low altitude equipment drops are very important to Fort Riley," said Steve Crusinberry, director of the Directorate Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. "We actually brought … Air National Guard units out here to Fort Riley to support active component units, 1st Infantry Division units conducting Operation Danger Focus."

Soldiers participating in Danger Focus II were on hand to retrieve the bundles once the C-130s were clear of the drop zone. This simulated the actions they would take in the event of an airdrop retrieval downrange. Due to deployed parachutes and Kansas wind, some of the bundles had to be chased down, but the retrieval was completed.

"Those Air Force units … come and actually drop supplies onto our drop zones that 1ID was able to pick up and employ into the fight -- just like they do downrange -- just like they do in theater," Crusinberry said. "It was invaluable training for the 1st Infantry Division and it was invaluable for Fort Riley because it demonstrates our capability to support our joint partners."

Air Force Capt. Matthew Zahler, the Air Force air mobility liaison officer at Fort Riley said it required coordination between the Air Force and various Army units to ensure the drop could happen including Soldiers from the 1st Inf. Div. Sustainment Brigade who provided the rigging for the bundles.

"Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeremy Larson, airdrop systems technician with 1st Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade is the only rigger in the division, so we couldn't do it without him and his team," Zahler said.

He said the original material, from the parachute to the pallet, used for airdrops needed to be retrieved and returned so it could be used again. This was not always practical in real-world situations. The 139th Airlift Wing picked up the LCLA bundles containing concertina wire and other supplies at Marshall Army Airfield Feb. 3 for the drop Feb 8.

"The Air Force and Army started using LCLA bundles because of the difficulty they had getting the chutes and the rigging equipment back to reuse, when out in Afghanistan and Iraq," Zahler said. "The LCLA is a one-time use chute that does not need to be recovered back to the USAF. The Army units in the middle of Afghanistan were unable to get the chutes and rigging equipment back to the USAF hubs in other countries. It also made for more logistics hassle on their part, as they then had to keep that equipment wherever they went, until they could get it back to a larger airfield with an Air Force presence, to return the equipment for reuse. The Air Force had a limited supply of that airdrop equipment and had issues with not getting it back in time to reuse for additional resupply via airdrops."

The LCLA bundles provide a convenient as well as inexpensive solution for airdrops.

"Another advantage is that LCLA comes already packed, from the factory, and only needs to be rigged onto the bundles to be dropped," he said. "That also makes it easier to put together for emergency resupplies via airdrop. It is also the cheapest option for airdrop resupply."

Zahler explained the airdrop materials can be burnt on the spot when recovered creating an easier flow of supplies between Army and Air Force units.

Joint training exercises benefit different branches of the armed services because when they train together they become more efficient. One program that provides for this training coordination is JA/ATT.

"The JA/ATT program is run by the USAF out of Scott AFB," Zahler said. "It is set up to link Army, Navy and Marine (Corps) with Air Force units for Joint Training opportunities. It deals primarily with Airdrop training. The way it works is that sister service ground units can put together training plans for airdrop that also meet Air Force unit training requirements. The Air Force units can then shop the training opportunities and negotiate the training between the two."

Funding for training is a concern for all branches of the Defense Department and this tool enhances cost efficiency.

"The benefit for Air Force and sister service partners is that it utilizes a pool of money that has already been set aside, in order to fund the flying hours and maintenance costs of the aircraft," he said. "Many Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Units with limited training budgets can get additional training through this program that they might otherwise not have been able to afford to do. It is also available to active-duty U.S. AF (Air Force) flying units. But the main idea is to have a place and program for all the services to get together and get mutually beneficial training."

Although the 139th Airlift Wing, St Joseph, Missouri, has participated in airdrops before at Fort Riley, Zahler is using the JA/ATT to inform other units across the country of training opportunities here and increase opportunities for joint training.

"So far, at Fort Riley, we have been getting local flying wings to come out and participate in what we have to offer them, but it has been almost exclusively hand-shake deals and good relationship based," he said. "Utilizing the JA/ATT system opens up opportunities to non-local flying wings and non-local Army National Guard and Reserve units. It helps us get the word out, because we have built a really good training opportunity for Air Mobility Command aircraft. Good enough that I have flying wings from New Jersey to California asking about coming out here to play. It's a long haul and expensive to fly aircraft that far though, so getting Fort Riley into the JA/ATT system helps with that cost and opens up more opportunities."

Crusinberry said we have drop zones, dirt forward landing strips and other resources to provide future opportunities for joint training. When we work with joint forces, it increases the other services' proficiency, it increases the 1st Infantry Division Soldiers' proficiency and it is good for Fort Riley.