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Niagara aerial porters take on heavy load

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Andrew Caya
  • 914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. --  Resupplying ground forces with water and ammunition is itself no easy task, but it's just one of the missions performed by the 30th Aerial Port Squadron, which executed training on heavy-load airdrops during the 914th Airlift Wing's Unit Training Assembly here in early March.

A heavy load is a simulated high-weight capacity air drop, said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Frischholz of the air delivery section in the 30th APS. The squadron practices building, palletize and equipping the loads in order to keep their skills honed for war-time re-supply missions. Click here for video.

Frischholz stated these palletized loads are important for the troops because they can be air dropped where the forces need supplies, but conventional ground transportation, like trucks and Humvees, cannot go.

"The ability to get [ground troops] supplies when no one else can is rewarding," said Frischholz.

Creating the heavy load can take time; approximately two hours to complete.

"It's a two-man job," said Tech. Sgt. Kevin Menendez, aerial port specialist with the air delivery section. "The pallets need to be built, and then the loads need to be rigged with parachutes," Menendez added.

In order to have a successful airdrop, the loads must be constructed and rigged in a certain way, according to Menendez.

The aerial port Airmen handle the loads from start to finish and that includes recovering the pallets and the parachutes from a drop.

The recovery team goes to the landing site with equipment to recover the load base, as well as the parachutes. The team then carefully packs the parachutes into bags to take back to the squadron.

The recovered parachutes are meticulously inspected for defects such as rips or broken strings. If they pass the scrutiny of the Airmen, they are carefully packed and readied for the next drop.