BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – February marked a 1 million pound airdrop record for C-130s of the 774th Air Expeditionary Squadron, but not without the support of the Army’s 11th Quartermaster Rigger Detachment and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force riggers here.
 The joint team delivered approximately 1 million pounds of humanitarian aid to villages and supplies to forward deployed forces in Afghanistan. This was a 40 percent increase from January operations and breaks the previous September 2007 record.
 Nearly 35 percent of the record cargo delivered in February was humanitarian assistance to Afghan villagers’ hard-hit by the extreme weather. The HA bundles include essentials like blankets, rice, beans, coal, oil and stoves. More than 300 people died from the severe winter conditions, according to Afghan government reports.  
 “This winter has been very harsh and cold … bad weather and impassable roads were the primary reasons for the increase (of air drop operations),” said Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Morris, former 774 AES director of operations. “We had to deliver the cargo to the villagers and the troops – airdrop was the best means to get it there.”
 The other 600,000-plus pounds were supplies to Coalition troops at forward-deployed locations who are fighting to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.
 The 21-person detachment can rig 50 CDSs with more than 100,000 pounds of supplies a day for a 12-day period, but could probably double that if needed, said Army Chief Warrant Officer Joe DeCosta. For February, the detachment created more than 480 CDS bundles, totaling 650,000 pounds which were delivered to Coalition forces throughout Afghanistan.
 “We keep approximately 150 contingency bundles ready at all times to support any type of emergency or humanitarian mission that could arise,” said DeCosta. “We maintain all classes of supplies, to include Meals Ready to Eat, water, fuel, the list goes on. However, the riggers try to drop anything the units request … we’ve created bundles of Gatorade, ice cream, fruits, vegetables and even some of the frozen food served in the dining facilities.”
 “The only way for this to work is when the Army and Air Force work together,” said Air Force Master Sgt. Mike Pierson, 774 AES joint airdrop inspector deployed from the Delaware Air National Guard 142nd Airlift Squadron. “Operating here in a combat environment is where it all pays off.”
 The C-130s of the 774 AES continue to fulfill their role as the backbone of intra-theater troop and supply movement – with the help of the riggers the.