DAEGU, South Korea - As exercise Operation Pacific Reach ’17 continues this week, U.S. and Republic of Korea military assets further hone their logistical crafts. The U.S. Army and ROK Air Force teamed up to conduct a simulated fuel resupply using C-130s to validate several pieces of equipment and skills while solidifying partnerships, Apr. 12.
“This combined joint operation builds the strength and alliance between the Korean and American military,” said Chief Warrant Officer 5 Rob Sharp, command airdrop officer 403rd AFSB, Camp Zama, Japan. “We have elements from the Air Force that have assisted us with this. We have elements from the Republic of Korea Air Force, 4th Quartermaster out of Alaska, 19th [Expeditionary Sustainment Command] and then we have elements from the 2nd Infantry Division that have all come together to demonstrate a capability that builds partnerships across the Peninsula.”
ROK-AF worked side-by-side with soldiers from 403rd Army Field Support Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade, 25th Transportation Battalion and 4th Quartermaster Detachment preparing two types of Low Cost Aerial Delivery Systems, high and low velocity, to deliver nearly 30 loads of simulated fuel to a ROK-AF drop zone located between Daegu and Busan.
Sharp further explained that not everything is focused on contingency operations. Nation building and establishing continuity between commands to be able to respond to a crisis at a moment’s notice is just as important. An example would be a natural disaster area where civilians become isolated and need immediate assistance with food, water or medical supplies.
Along with verifying skills during exOPR17, 4th QM has also been conducting inspections of war stock equipment for serviceability. The containerized delivery systems validated during the aerial drop used some of those stocks from both U.S. and ROK stores. The CDS consists of several layers of crush material to absorb the impact of aerial delivery of over 2000 pounds of supplies.
“We have multiple types of container systems and three different parachutes being used,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clayton Kloehn, senior airdrop advisor for 2ID SBDE. “Today’s drops simulate 55 gallon drums of fuel. In Afghanistan we learned a lot of lessons by getting trucks stuck outside of the mountains. We couldn’t tactically resupply a lot of the forward operating bases over the road so we would drop supplies to them.”
The logistics triad, consisting of air, land and sea, allows the military multiple options when it comes to successfully delivering supplies.
“If we can’t move trucks or ships, we can fly planes,” said Sharp.
25th Transportation BN will continue to further test interoperability later this week as it conducts line haul operations and uploads vehicles onto the U.S. Naval Ship Fisher. ExOPR17 is scheduled to conclude Apr. 21.