Army Guard Sherpa useful tool in joint environment | WPN World People News

In the skies over Someplace, U.S.A., members of the Navy elite jumped from a perfectly good C-23B Sherpa flown by members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, on July 28.

Army Sgt. Frank Kiler, a C-23B Sherpa flight engineer with Detachment 1, Company D, 126th Aviation, scans the cargo area to ensure the safety of all of those onboard as the aircraft climbs towards 12,500 ft. July 26, 2011. The Sherpa was working with the U.S. Navy as they performed high-altitude, low-opening para-jumps.

“Today we were doing some para-drop operations with the U.S. Navy,” said Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christopher Sager, a C-23B pilot. “We’ve done extensive training with them over the past couple of years for high-altitude, low-opening training, but we have also done high-altitude, high-opening training with them.”

Sager said what he enjoys the most is flying the Sherpa for such a fun mission.

“Some of the groups we operate with are professionals - especially these guys - but they also know how to have fun doing it,” he said.

For Army Sgt. Frank Kiler, a C-23B flight engineer with Det. 1, Co. D, 126th Aviation, the best part of any mission is when he feels the rush after opening the rear cargo door.

“I know I’m safe and strapped in, but you almost feel out of control,” Kiler said. “It’s like you’re floating there, and looking down at the Earth from that distance really gives you [a sense] of how small you really are.”

Sager said the Sherpa can be a very versatile aircraft for several mission types.

“I’ve deployed with this aircraft before – a lot of cargo and passenger operations and airdrops,” he said. “For some of these secondary operations, the aircraft can also be set-up for medevac missions.”

In a joint environment, he said the aircraft could be utilized to meet the needs of almost any unit.

“We have been operating with various other military units since pretty much our existence,” Sager said. “Originally when we were initially stood-up, we fell under the [Joint Operational Support Airlift Center] … so we saw missions from the Air Force, the Marines, the Army as well as congressional missions.”

Lately, most missions have been Army, but we’re starting to see more and more joint missions, he said.

“Now that some of the Air Force jump units are recognizing us, we’re seeing more requests from them – and it’s a lot easier to schedule us rather than a C-130,” he said. “We are more focused on smaller units and that’s pretty much the arena that these folks are looking for.

“It’s easy for a unit that is only a six-or-seven man jump unit to schedule something this size than it is a C-130.”

Source: U.S. National Guard Bureau