U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kyle Swader, 517th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron combat mobility specialist, weaves a length of one-quarter inch cotton webbing through a drogue parachute as military parachute riggers from three nations joined together for a subject-matter exchange at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea, New Zealand, Nov. 11, during the second annual Exercise Kiwi Flag. U.S. Air Force trainers, deployed to the 517th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, taught attendees how to rig a “15-foot extraction chute to the 160-foot extraction line” for cargo air drops from the C-17 Globemaster III. The small drogue chute, attached to a 60-foot line, sits in the back of the aircraft where it is prestaged to catch the air current from the open ramp when activated mid-flight. When the drogue chute catches the current, the drogue rapidly pulls the extraction package, which in turn, pulls the cargo through the opening in the rear of the plane. A combat mobility team, deployed from the 773rd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, trained more than 20 personnel from the New Zealand Army, the RNZAF and the Republic of Singapore Air Force. The Pacific-partners will have numerous opportunities to practice the newly-attained skill during the exercise which runs through Nov. 29. Kiwi Flag personnel are supporting Exercise Southern Katipo - held on New Zealand’s South Island - by managing air operations and providing cargo and passenger airlift including tactical air drops to SK participants. Swader calls Topeka, Kansas, home. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Denise Johnson/Released)
Senior Master Sgt. Denise Johnson
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