Photo Essay: C-130s, crews complete CDS airdrop at Fort McCoy for Patriot North 2018

A pair of C-130 Hercules aircraft and their crews flew over Badger Drop Zone and completed a Container Delivery System (CDS) airdrop for the Patriot North 2018 exercise July 17, 2018, at Fort McCoy, Wis.

Patriot North is a joint agency civilian and military exercise, sponsored by the National Guard Bureau (NGB), taking place at Fort McCoy and Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center, Wis.

It is a training exercise designed for civilian emergency management and responders to work with military entities in the same manner that they would during disasters.

The exercise tests the Wisconsin Emergency Management and National Guard's abilities to support response operations based on simulated emergency scenarios, such as an earthquake creating collapsed buildings, mass casualties, and the need for search and rescue along with evacuations of injured.

Container Delivery System bundles are the most commonly used method for the airdrop of supplies for contingency and humanitarian operations. CDS bundles are used as a means of delivering equipment and supplies that are too heavy for an individual parachutist to carry, and are often used to supply ground units in forward-operating areas like Afghanistan.

In its configuration, as an example, CDS bundle consists of a skid board built with plywood and energy-removing material such as "honeycombed" cardboard, an A22 container to rig equipment no taller than 83 inches, one cargo parachute, one pilot parachute, and various expendable supplies.

Fort McCoy has supported America's armed forces since 1909. The installation's motto is to be the "Total Force Training Center." The post's varied terrain, state-of-the-art ranges, new as well as renovated facilities, and extensive support infrastructure combine to provide military personnel with an environment in which to develop and sustain the skills necessary for mission success.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at www.mccoy.army.mil, on Facebook by searching "ftmccoy," and on Twitter by searching "usagmccoy."