The annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop was held last weekend at Fort Bragg. It combines an international parachute operation with an opportunity to give back to the local community.

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — About 260 jump masters from 14 partner nations landed on Fort Bragg’s Drop Zone Sicily, officially commencing the 21st annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, Wednesday. These jump masters will lead the anticipated 3,000 paratroopers who will jump Friday and Saturday.

The annual Fort Bragg international event, hosted by the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, has collected more than 100,000 toys for children since then-Staff Sgt. Randy Oler established the combined training event in 1998.

Upon establishment of the first jump with 1,200 participating Soldiers, Oler included toy collection and distribution as a charitable component of the collective training that strengthens bonds among partner nation paratroopers. Toys have remained a voluntary component since that first event, yet the number collected has steadily increased since those first 500 toys. Each year, volunteers distribute the donated toys to participating regional charities.

In 2017, almost 4,000 Soldiers participated in Operation Toy Drop, and about 4,500 toys were donated for children in need throughout the region. Planners anticipate similar participation in 2018, with continued support from U.S. Army Reserve medical, administrative, logistics, transportation, quartermaster, combat camera and others.

PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES

– Cote d’Ivoire
– Italy
– Poland
– Canada
– Germany
– The Netherlands
– Latvia
– Sweden
– Colombia
– Singapore
– Brazil

COUNTRIES SENDING JUMP MASTERS TO OBSERVE TRAINING

– Chile
– United Kingdom
– Denmark

TYPES OF AIRCRAFT

– C17 Globemaster
– C130H Hercules
– C27 Spartan

AIR WINGS INVOLVED

– 910th
– 179th
– 934th
– 97th
– 437th
– U.S. Army Special Operations Command Flight Company

TYPES OF PARACHUTES

-T11 and MC6 for standard paratroopers (without combat equipment load)
-RA-1 for military free fall

FORT BRAGG UNITS INVOLVED

– U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command
– XVIII Airborne Corps
– 82nd Airborne Division
– U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center & School (SWCS)
– 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne)
– 528th Sustainment Brigade (Airborne)(Special Operations)
– 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne)
– Joint Special Operations Command
– U.S. Army Special Operations Command
– 824th Quartermaster

TOYS

The organizations below requested categories of toys in 2017 to accommodate the interests and abilities of each gender by age group. The numbers by each non-profit represent the aggregate number of toys provided.

– Cumberland County DSS – 1,000
– Cumberland County Family Violence Care Center – 50
– Lee County DSS – 250
– Hoke County DSS – 150
– Hoke County H.E.L.P. – 280
– Fayetteville Urban Ministries – 300
– Falcon Children’s Home (Falcon, NC) – 35
– Moore County DSS – 300
– Harnett Co. Kiwanis – 320
– Masonic Childrens Home (Oxford, NC) – 45 (this was one of the original recipients)
– Methodist Home for Children (Raleigh, NC) – 800
– Montgomery County DSS – 50

By MAJ Carter Langston, 352nd Civil Affairs Brigade Public Affairs Officer

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — Jumping out of a plane may be a routine part of an airborne Soldier’s training, but if the equipment doesn’t function properly, it can be deadly.

“Generally, there are a handful of towed jumpers per year, which can be potentially dangerous situations,” said Samuel Corner, project manager for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command Soldier Center Aerial Delivery Directorate.

Until recently, there were two ways to help a towed jumper, which occurs when the static line attached to the aircraft anchor cable becomes tangled with the jumper and/or the equipment and the parachute is not released — cut the jumper’s static line so the Soldier can deploy his or her reserve parachute or pull the Soldier back into the aircraft. Both scenarios are dangerous because the Soldier is dragged alongside or behind the aircraft until he is either released or pulled into the aircraft.

In March 2017, in an effort to eliminate the possibility of a towed jumper situation, the Aerial Delivery Directorate’s Airdrop Technology team submitted a project proposal to the U.S. Army Foreign Comparative Testing Program, which is embedded in RDECOM’s Global Technology Office, as part of their annual call for proposals. The proposal was selected, enabling the Airdrop Technology Team to purchase ten Hung Up Parachutist Release Assemblies, or HUPRA, from the United Kingdom company, IrvinGQ (formally Airborne Systems Europe) for tests and evaluation.

A simulated towed jumper scenario is created during U.S. Army testing with a mannequin that is towed behind an aircraft. The new system includes an emergency parachute that is released once the jumpmaster cuts the aircraft anchor line cable. (Photos Credit: U.S. Army photo )

The HUPRA, which includes an emergency parachute that is released once the Jumpmaster cuts the aircraft anchor line cable, is manufactured by IrvinGQ in the UK. The HUPRA is used by the UK as well as other nations on C-130 and other military aircraft.

By purchasing the system from the UK, the Army saved approximately $500,000 in non-recurring engineering costs and additional costs to develop, integrate and validate a new recovery system.

“Testing, which includes aircraft time and manpower to design validation tests, is very expensive,” Corner said. “We built on efforts of the UK by using their lessons learned to accelerate our process and decrease our costs.”

The tests, which were conducted at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, used mannequins that “jumped” out from the aircraft’s side doors and ramp. The testing was conducted on C-130 aircraft and divided into seven phases; minor changes were made to the system after the first phase was completed.

Before a Soldier jumps out of an aircraft, a Jumpmaster conducts a personnel inspection of the Soldier’s attaching, jumping and releasing equipment. Jumpmasters must complete a rigorous training program before they manage airborne jump operations.

A complete developmental test was performed on the Towed Jumper Recovery System (the Army name for the slightly modified HUPRA) at YPG, including aircraft procedures development, safety evaluation, rigging procedure development and performance testing.

One of the goals of the tests was to ensure the system recovered with an All Up Weight maximum of 400 pounds, slightly above the UK’s fielded version of the HUPRA systems capabilities. AUW includes the weight of the Soldier, the weight of the parachute system, which is approximately 40 pounds, and the weight of the equipment that Soldier needs for a mission — rucks, guns, ammunition, food and water.

While Standard Operating Procedures were developed based on the C-130 aircraft that was used during testing, another set of SOPs will be developed for C-17 aircraft, which is a much larger aircraft that the Army uses.

“The TJRS program has been positively briefed to the Army Airborne Board,” Corner said. “The next step is to work with the board and TRADOC to develop a formal requirement for a jumper recovery system. After that, the project will transition to PM Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, under PEO Soldier.”

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The Foreign Comparative Testing program is a congressionally authorized program that is executed for the Army by the RDECOM Global Technology Office, which receives oversight from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Comparative Technology Office. The FCT Program provides an avenue for Army engineers, scientists and program managers to acquire, test, and evaluate items and technologies from foreign industry allies and other friendly nations that may fill an Army capability gap or other urgent need.

By Argie Sarantinos-Perrin, RDECOM