BAMBERG, Germany - Sling load teams from the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion and the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion conducted an airdrop and sling load exercise at Bunker drop zone in Grafenwoehr, Germany, May 27.
This is the first airdrop and sling load exercise the 16th Sustainment Brigade has executed since it stood up three years ago.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ismael Ramos, the 16th Sust. Bde. senior airdrop systems technician, organized and coordinated the exercise with the Air Force and sling load teams from the 391st CSSB and the 18th CSSB.
The purpose of the exercise was to establish and incorporate the ability to deliver and receive supplies from the air in remote locations, said Ramos. The ability to drop in and take out supplies from the air allows us to reduce our footprint on the ground and reduces the risks of traveling by convoy.
In Afghanistan, there are troops in remote locations that are very difficult to get supplies to because of the terrain and the infrastructure of the country, he said.
"We've got to be able to get things from the sky and get them back up," said Lt. Col. Reed Hudgins, the 18th CSSB commander.
The exercise began with two days of train up with riggers from the 21st Theater Sustainment Command's 5th Quartermaster Company on Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern, Germany. After the two days of training, the teams went to Grafenwoehr to unhook airdropped cargo and rig it back up for airlift by helicopters.
The allotted time for this task was 30 minutes. The exercise took about 28 minutes from the time the cargo was dropped until the job was completed. The Soldiers performed superbly for their first time, said Ramos.
These Soldiers were handpicked from the best, said Hudgins. They all went to Air Assault School for two weeks in Schweinfurt last month to prepare for this.
The mission was a success and the next mission is already being planned, said Ramos.
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