(Left to right) New Zealand Army Staff Sgt. Peter Baker, rigger and loadmaster for the 5th Movements Company, joins U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Bryan Rogers, combat mobility specialist, and Tech. Sgt. George Weaver, combat mobility NCOIC, both of the 517th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, 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 taught attendees how to rig a “15-foot extraction chute to the 160-foot extraction line” for cargo air drops from the C-17. 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. The 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. Baker is visiting Ohakea from Linton Military Camp in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Weaver calls Loveland, Colo., home. Rogers hails from Virginia Beach, Va. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Denise Johnson/Released)
Senior Master Sgt. Denise Johnson
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