thedrifter
07-18-07, 07:31 AM
Welcome Aboard! Air Drop From A C-17
Tuesday July 17, 2007 12:27pm Reporter: Kelsey Starks Posted By: Michael Butler
» Watch the eVideo
www.wciv.com/video.hrb?stat=wciv&a=f&f=n&s=440023&file=http://video.wjla.com/wciv/airdrop.wmv
Charleston, SC - Pulling up to the battlefield ...It's not Afghanistan. It's not Iraq...It's Camp Lejune, North Carolina. "Attention please... welcome aboard.." Where the Charleston Air Force crew is welcoming aboard... the Marines. "We use the C-17 bird for air delivery drops... we drop personel and cargo", says Cpl. Derrick Thompson of the U.S. Marine Corps. They dropped more than a half-million pounds of it last year in Iraq. Cargo, meaning medical supplies, food, water amunition and even equipment. Joint exercises like these only happen 4 times a year, but real drops happen almost weekly in places like Afghanistan." But the safety, checks and jumps... just the same. "Jumping... it's just a great experience. it's a rush. just the whole feeling of it.. the adrenaline that you get", says Thompson. As the rush of military trucks...is getting more difficult nowadays. The threat of IEDs makes moving high above the trees.. a better route. "We deliver their beans and bullets, if you will. keep them supplied with equipment. sometimes landing on a runway is not available, so we have other means of getting them to the fight," says Capt. Mitch Alley, Aircraft Commander with the U.S. Air Force. "We deliver their beans and bullets, if you will. Keep them supplied with equipment. Sometimes landing on a runway is not available, so we have other means of getting them to the fight," says Cpl. John Evans with the U.S. Marine Coprs. "With airdrop capability, you do convoy mitigation. you don't have as many trucks on the road. so you don't have as big of a threat when the trucks are there," Evans says. Meaning this landscape may not be in war... but its just as important. Because the Charleston Airforce Base houses the most C-17s than anywhere else in the country.
"I'm with joint air delivery. i'm going to jump out of a C-17." Meet Lance Corporal Stephen Dolby. He's 24 years old... and a U.S. Marine. He's jumped into the desert of Iraq many times. This time, he's jumping into the fields of North Carolina for training....but the feeling? it's still the same. "Absolutely. i'ts not humanly possible to not be nervous. Because it's not a natural thing to just walk out of an airplane," says Dolby. But the jump, not taken lightly as they walk in... all eyes on a light: their countdown. "We have a motto. I will be sure always. Everything you do there's always checks to make sure eveyrthing is as perfect as possible," quotes U.S. Marine Cpl. Cerrick Thompson. For many of them - they are nearing a second tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. Stephen Dolby... he says his wife has seen him jump twice. He says he's not as nervous as she is... because of the trust he has in his commerades. "Everyone's lives are in each others hands in our group. Everybody packs each other's parachutes. You pick up not the one that's handpicked... the one that's with the rest of them."
When the door opens... the desination revealed. And green light... means go time. Those ropes pulled back now... with no one on the other end. They are long gone... the flight of a lifetime.
"Attention please... welcome aboard..."Aboard a mission... to transport more Marines... and more. "It's a pretty important mission because we could be re-supplying forces with ammunition, other supplies... we can also be doing humanitarian relief and drop medical supplies, food, things like that as well," say Cpl. John Evans with the U.S. Marine Corps. The upload... just as important as the download. Wvery container, carefully placed...and carefully strapped... The main purpose of a C-17, of course, to transport cargo... with food and medical supplies. Today, nearly 16,000 pounds of it will be dropped from the sky with the help of those parachutes strapped on top. "As a rigger, our moto is - I will be sure always. Zero tolerance and zero acceptance for failure," says Evans. "So we have to take everything and inspect it in its entirety when parachutes packed, equipment rigged, you'll see us do the same thing again to make sure everything's right." Because how it's rigged... depends on how it falls.... "It's held in place until we're over the drop zone and when we push the droves up here, that will rip and extraction chute out...that pulls them out... it's pretty aggressive. they come out rather quickly," says Capt. Mitch Alley of the U.S. Air Force. Dropping a thousand feet... to their destination.
Ellie
Tuesday July 17, 2007 12:27pm Reporter: Kelsey Starks Posted By: Michael Butler
» Watch the eVideo
www.wciv.com/video.hrb?stat=wciv&a=f&f=n&s=440023&file=http://video.wjla.com/wciv/airdrop.wmv
Charleston, SC - Pulling up to the battlefield ...It's not Afghanistan. It's not Iraq...It's Camp Lejune, North Carolina. "Attention please... welcome aboard.." Where the Charleston Air Force crew is welcoming aboard... the Marines. "We use the C-17 bird for air delivery drops... we drop personel and cargo", says Cpl. Derrick Thompson of the U.S. Marine Corps. They dropped more than a half-million pounds of it last year in Iraq. Cargo, meaning medical supplies, food, water amunition and even equipment. Joint exercises like these only happen 4 times a year, but real drops happen almost weekly in places like Afghanistan." But the safety, checks and jumps... just the same. "Jumping... it's just a great experience. it's a rush. just the whole feeling of it.. the adrenaline that you get", says Thompson. As the rush of military trucks...is getting more difficult nowadays. The threat of IEDs makes moving high above the trees.. a better route. "We deliver their beans and bullets, if you will. keep them supplied with equipment. sometimes landing on a runway is not available, so we have other means of getting them to the fight," says Capt. Mitch Alley, Aircraft Commander with the U.S. Air Force. "We deliver their beans and bullets, if you will. Keep them supplied with equipment. Sometimes landing on a runway is not available, so we have other means of getting them to the fight," says Cpl. John Evans with the U.S. Marine Coprs. "With airdrop capability, you do convoy mitigation. you don't have as many trucks on the road. so you don't have as big of a threat when the trucks are there," Evans says. Meaning this landscape may not be in war... but its just as important. Because the Charleston Airforce Base houses the most C-17s than anywhere else in the country.
"I'm with joint air delivery. i'm going to jump out of a C-17." Meet Lance Corporal Stephen Dolby. He's 24 years old... and a U.S. Marine. He's jumped into the desert of Iraq many times. This time, he's jumping into the fields of North Carolina for training....but the feeling? it's still the same. "Absolutely. i'ts not humanly possible to not be nervous. Because it's not a natural thing to just walk out of an airplane," says Dolby. But the jump, not taken lightly as they walk in... all eyes on a light: their countdown. "We have a motto. I will be sure always. Everything you do there's always checks to make sure eveyrthing is as perfect as possible," quotes U.S. Marine Cpl. Cerrick Thompson. For many of them - they are nearing a second tour in Iraq or Afghanistan. Stephen Dolby... he says his wife has seen him jump twice. He says he's not as nervous as she is... because of the trust he has in his commerades. "Everyone's lives are in each others hands in our group. Everybody packs each other's parachutes. You pick up not the one that's handpicked... the one that's with the rest of them."
When the door opens... the desination revealed. And green light... means go time. Those ropes pulled back now... with no one on the other end. They are long gone... the flight of a lifetime.
"Attention please... welcome aboard..."Aboard a mission... to transport more Marines... and more. "It's a pretty important mission because we could be re-supplying forces with ammunition, other supplies... we can also be doing humanitarian relief and drop medical supplies, food, things like that as well," say Cpl. John Evans with the U.S. Marine Corps. The upload... just as important as the download. Wvery container, carefully placed...and carefully strapped... The main purpose of a C-17, of course, to transport cargo... with food and medical supplies. Today, nearly 16,000 pounds of it will be dropped from the sky with the help of those parachutes strapped on top. "As a rigger, our moto is - I will be sure always. Zero tolerance and zero acceptance for failure," says Evans. "So we have to take everything and inspect it in its entirety when parachutes packed, equipment rigged, you'll see us do the same thing again to make sure everything's right." Because how it's rigged... depends on how it falls.... "It's held in place until we're over the drop zone and when we push the droves up here, that will rip and extraction chute out...that pulls them out... it's pretty aggressive. they come out rather quickly," says Capt. Mitch Alley of the U.S. Air Force. Dropping a thousand feet... to their destination.
Ellie