Photo By Staff Sgt. Adam Keith | A parachute rigger with the 82nd Sustainment Brigade’s 11th Quartermaster Company...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - This isn’t your grandfather’s parachute.
The JPADS (Joint Precision Airdrop System) uses an onboard global positioning system, much like those found on cell phones or in a car, to guide its cargo to a precise location on the ground, said Staff Sgt. Andrew Gatschet with the 82nd Sustainment Brigade.
Gatschet, along with a team of parachute riggers with the brigade’s 11th Quartermaster Company, successfully dropped and recovered four JPADS at Fort Bragg N.C., March 20.
“They are very precise,” said Gatschet, a heavy drop rigging site noncommissioned officer in charge. “The system talks to satellites so it knows where it is and where it has to go.”
Gatschet said the JPADS takes wind data and altitude into account and uses a pulley system to manipulate its canopy when it needs to change direction.
Warrant Officer Tommy A. Young II, the 82nd Sustainment Brigade heavy drop rigging facility shop technician, said because of the on-board GPS, the bundles can be dropped from a higher altitude and further away from the delivery location.
Each JPADS delivered 2000 pounds of food, water and simulated ammunition to a predetermined point on the drop zone during the training.
“These supplies would be crucial to a unit during combat operations,” said Young. “Being able to drop supplies at higher altitudes mitigates hostile fire to the aircraft from the ground and you still get the supplies to the Soldiers.”
Young said because of the planning and preparation that goes into setting up training with the JPADS, his unit was making the most of the opportunity to use the system.
“It is great training that we don’t get to do very often because of the logistics involved,” he said. “It’s something new for our riggers, and in our field anytime you get to do something new it’s a good thing.”
Spc. Stephen V. Bono, a parachute rigger with the 11th Quartermaster Company, said this was his first time working with the JPADS since being introduced to the system during initial entry training.
“For these types of parachutes, because of the GPS, there is a lot more work that goes into packing. It can get pretty technical,” said Bono. “I learned a lot. It was a huge team effort.”
Gatschet said his entire packing section attended specialized refresher training prior to packing the chutes.
“With a system like this if you don’t use it, you’ll lose that knowledge and expertise required to be successful,” said Gatschet. “It was great to get out here and show that we can actually use the JPADS effectively.”
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2015 13:26 |
| Story ID: | 158191 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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