Kandahar Airlift Unit Reaches New Heights for Airdrops

Airmen with the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, completed 81 airdrops in April, setting a new mark for the busy C-130J unit. The April tally eclipsed the squadron’s previous record of 72 airdrops conducted in March. The airdrops quickly supply coalition ground troops and prevent ground convoys from having to make sometimes treacherous drives. “It means something. We could be saving somebody’s life,” said Capt. William McLeod, officer in charge of Kandahar’s 451st Expeditionary Airlift Maintenance Squadron. Keeping the C-130Js flying is no easy task for his maintainers, since the aircraft incur unique wear from operating in Afghanistan’s harsh sandy and rocky environment. (Kandahar report by TSgt. Emily F. Alley)