FORT GREELY, Alaska — Paratroopers with 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, conducted an airborne operation May 11, 2021, onto Allen Army Airfield, Fort Greely, Alaska, as part of Northern Edge 2021.

Following the seizure of the airfield, an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) battery from the 17th Field Artillery Brigade out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord arrived and conducted a live fire exercise at nearby Donnelly Training Area.

Approximately 300 paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, exited from U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III and C-130 Hercules aircraft while A-10 Thunderbolt IIs orbited, providing close air support. Once on the ground, paratroopers moved to their assembly areas to consolidate and secure the airfield as additional C-130s and C-17s landed with more paratroopers, equipment and the HIMARS battery.

The HIMARS battery with 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, was air transported from Cold Bay, Alaska, and fired a full volley of rockets that demonstrated the ability of the joint force to quickly build and implement combat power.

Conducting a JFEO as part of a joint operation is nothing new to the Spartan paratroopers who train for operations like this all year long.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time, and each paratrooper knows their role,” said Maj. Michael Conforti, the operations officer for 1-501st PIR. “You never know if an aircraft will have a mechanical issue, or someone will get injured, so the key to success is that each paratrooper also knows the jobs and duties of everyone else around them.”

Understanding the role of adjacent units and enhancing the ability to work together are key components of exercise NE21.

NE21 is a U.S. Indo-Pacific Command sponsored, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces led U.S. joint field training exercise scheduled for May 3-14, 2021, in locations in and around Alaska that uses realistic scenarios to improve joint combat readiness.

The Spartan Brigade is the only airborne infantry brigade combat team in the Indo-Pacific Command and provides the combatant commander with the unique capability to project an expeditionary force by air across Pacific and Arctic regions.

By MAJ Jason Welch

FORT BRAGG, North Carolina — Certified parachute test jumpers here finished 23 risk reduction jumps with the T-11R Single Pin Troop reserve parachute, making sure it works as it should during equipment test jumps.

The Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate (ABNSOTD) tested the chute from both rotary winged and fixed winged high performance aircraft to eliminate the potential for premature reserve activations.

Any necessary changes were made to address the previous version’s premature activation thought to be caused by wind blast, according to Lt. Col. Derek Johnson Chief, Test Division at ABNSOTD.

“Testing promotes and delivers a safe, and more durable piece of equipment to the Warfighter,” said Johnson. “Soldiers relish in participating in day-to day testing. It ignites their enthusiasm to rig and load a piece of equipment which will ultimately serve our future Soldiers during combat missions.”

After the risk reduction jumps, ABNSOTD conducted 53 operational static line jumps during daylight hours to be fully certified by the Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Command located at Natick, Massachusetts.

While employing a host of risk reduction measures to ensure potential test items are safe and effective from the intended user’s standpoint, test events with the T-11R kicked off with new equipment training.

Parachute Riggers participated in New Equipment Training to learn the assembly of the chutes new components and closing of the pack tray.

“There is a huge increase in the amount of information that is provided to Soldiers who are given the opportunity to practice what they are learning in the form of hands-on training,” said Mrs. Shonda Strother, editor with ABNSOTD.

Testing new airborne equipment enables Soldiers the opportunity to provide feedback to the Army concerning current Soldiers needs in the field, according to Staff Sgt. Robert Whan, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s Battalion Air NCO.

All airdrop test iterations were airdropped with Soldiers in full combat equipment as if they were jumping into a combat operation.

“The T-11R Single Pin reserve parachutes were then inspected for any damage in order to make sure they can hold up to the high demands of the airborne mission,” said Sgt. 1st Class Katherine Greene, ABNSOTD’s T-11R test noncommissioned in charge.

The new T-11R Single Pin pack tray is manufactured from the same materiel as the current issue item. The current T-11R version has a square shaped look while the redesign has a rectangle shape.

The re-designed pack tray includes a change where the reserve ripcord handle is now a single pin pull, and a change in the geometry of the reserve handle eliminates the risk of windblast.

A plastic viewing window also assists the jumpmaster when inspecting the curve pin during jumpmaster personnel inspection. The reserve handle remains a textile type.

Story by Mr. William Slaven, Airborne & Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command

Some of photos by Jim Finney, Airborne & Special Operations Test Directorate, U.S. Army Operational Test Command