Another load packed – dispatchers deliver cargo to RAAF loadmasters. Photo by Bill Cunneen

Pte Brian Hutcheon conducts one of the six safety checks on a parachute. Photo by Bill Cunneen

Cpl Anthony Millar delivers a load to a Hercules for dropping into the DZ. Photo by Bill Cunneen

Under a cherry beret

THE biggest Army unit at RAAF Base Richmond could be forgiven if it sometimes suffers from a bit of an identity crisis.

The members of 176 Air Dispatch Squadron spend most of their time in aircraft hangars, jumping in and out of planes and wearing a rugged looking pelican on their badge.

They also trace their history back to the Australian Flying Corp in Palestine, WW1, dropping ammo in sandbags.

The squadron is made up of air dispatchers, parachute riggers and support elements and is involved in pretty much everything everyone else does in the ADF. The unit plays a key role in ADF operations by providing and maintaining the crucial bridge of sustained supply.

The squadron’s primary function is to provide the ADF with a cargo airdrop capability for any contingency. Although important for support of the Parachute Bn Gp and Special Forces, they can also lend a hand to almost everyone in the ADF.

Anything can be dropped from boxes of ammunition to artillery and bulldozers with a further capability used in emergencies to drop medical supplies and spare parts to HMA ships at sea, or to Army stations in the Antarctic.

The unit of about 260 personnel, including eight reserves, is involved in parachuting. The parachute riggers jump so they can understand the workings of the parachute; the dispatchers jump so they can set up the drop zone; and the support unit including, cooks, Q-store staff and tech support can volunteer to jump anytime.

OC Maj Craig Donohue, leads his squadron by example, always the first to leave the aircraft under canopy.

The parachute qualified unit supports disaster relief efforts including contributions to Defence Aid to the Civil Community (DACC) tasks ranging from flood and drought relief in WA to fire fighting in NSW and provides a permanent section attached to Richmond’s Base Reaction Force for civil emergencies. Air Dispatchers prepare loads for airdrop, can supplement RAAF aircraft crew and manually dispatch the loads and can also establish an airhead, or air terminal if necessary.

Extensive training is also conducted in helicopter underslung work, a critical function for forward resupply, ship-to-shore and remote operations.

Support to a remote location can be provided with up to 17 tonnes of stores placed on board a Hercules.

The riggers in 176 are the parachute capability of the ADF, with the infrastructure to pack, repair, and maintain all varieties of parachute used from high performance free-fall to cargo parachutes.

An uncompromising safety ethos has made Australia’s safety record in parachute operations the envy of the world, which gives great credibility to working with other nations.

Having worked closely with a number of countries on multi-national operations, Maj Donohue said the dispatchers and riggers in the unit were more multi-skilled than other nations.

“Unlike other countries, we do extensive cross-training involving everything from parachute rigging to terminal forklift and crane operating,” he said.

Air Dispatch has been an integral lodger at RAAF Richmond since 1974 and enjoys one of the closest rapports of any Army unit with the Air Force flying squadrons.

Aerial resupply has a history dating back to WW1 but gained considerable attention during WW2 with unit forefathers known as the Biscuit Bombers. The nickname changed later to the After Darkers.

Para qualified soldiers from 176 wear the distinctive dull Cherry Beret, signifying their membership in Australia’s airborne forces community, a belated recognition awarded to the squadron last year.

Rigging record broken

THE record had stood at Bandiana for almost 20 years. Packing 1806 rigs in a year was not going to be an easy record to break, particularly with a safety regulation restricting maximum daily packs to only 15 parachutes.

LCpl then Pte Colin Millar decided to take up the challenge in 2001 at the Army Logistic Training Centre.

“I crave rigs,” he said.

1920 parachutes later, thanks to support from his mates and encouragement from the RSM, LCpl Millar held the new parachute packing record.

LCpl Millar is now a 176 parachute rigger with the motto ‘be sure always’ and provides the highest form of quality control – he jumps with the parachutes he packs.

All riggers must be free-fall qualified and jump regularly to test the parachutes and understand exactly how they work.

According to OC Maj Craig Donohue, the Australian Army is the only military in the world that has personnel jumping with parachutes they pack themselves.

“You don’t land with an army parachute – you arrive. The parachutes are designed to get you down darn quick so you are not a target in the air,” he said.

The parachutes undergo a series of rigorous inspections with safety checks being made at six different stages of the packing process.

This compares with only one check at the end for civilian parachutes.

The riggers show strict respect for the parachutes knowing that there is no room for error and often say, if, "You stand on a parachute it can result in a nose bleed".

Guru sky god loves his work

Lt Neil Peake was stuck. Cramped on a rough three-hour flight, he began to feel sick.

The bloke beside him was throwing up violently and the guy on the other side was quietly doing the same.

He tried to ignore them and look away but then the guy opposite started to dry retch, he needed fresh air, badly.

He stood up, staggered towards the door, paused, then jumped.

Moments later he hit the ground, dusted himself off and walked off the Drop Zone (DZ).

“I love it, it’s the best and most exciting part of my job – I always walk away grinning from ear to ear,” he said.
Veteran dispatcher, WO2 Andrew Johnston, hates planes, having walked away from three crashes (two civilian and one military) during his 19 years in the Army.

But he remains in the squadron because he loves to jump and is the self-proclaimed ‘shogun guru swarmy jump master’.

To be an air dispatcher, you have to be a qualified paratrooper, often needing to jump in to set up the DZ.

The unit must also sometimes secure an area for resupply missions, so dispatchers jump in first and have their own Tactical Air Logistic Command Team.

The air dispatchers motto is ‘Par Oneri De Caelo’ (equal to the task from heaven or sky) and they conduct heavy weekly drops of up to 35,000 pounds from C130H Hercs and 5000 pounds from DHC-4 Caribous.

The science and maths of airdrop is technically demanding, with the soldiers of 176 needing to know the breaking point of every piece of aerial delivery equipment and cordage used in the air drop world (if you get less than 100 per cent in testing you fail).

It takes a crew of four, two days to pack a big drop, which can include bulldozers, landrovers, rollers, artillery and bobcats.

Such drops are required in many ADF operations so the squadron is constantly on the move.

Pte Rochelle Healy did resupply chopper work in East Timor, also teaching English to local children and involved in building an orphanage with Force Logistic Support.

Pte Joel Ford said the trips away were great and he enjoyed the support work with SASR. The annual trips to Norfolk Island giving field lessons to Army Cadets and of course the jumps.

“My civilian mates are pretty jealous,” he said.

.