“ Airborne ops suspended after two paratrooper deaths,” “ 50 paratroopers injured in major airborne operation,” “ Paratrooper’s bad exit from plane led to his death; jumpmasters admonished” – all headlines from recent articles detailing parachute incidents, malfunctions or fatalities. Unfortunately, there are many more articles just like these. Bottom line: There are safety issues within the airborne community, and they can be mitigated – and lives can be saved – by implementing an automated parachute management system.
Prior to earning the highly coveted parachute rigger qualification, each aspiring soldier must recite the Rigger’s Pledge, which ends with, “I will be sure always!” They will demonstrate this decree in every parachute they touch for the duration of their military service. While they continue to strive for excellence, the technology they use to track the life cycle of a parachute is antiquated. Parachute riggers are using pen and paper to track minimal information, and the indisputable need for an automated parachute management system has never been more resounding.
The tracking methods have not kept pace with the equipment when it comes to upgrades. The T-10 Personnel Parachute System, commonly referred to as a “crash 10” by more tenured jumpers because of seemingly inevitable hard landings, now is primarily used for equipment airdrops. In its place: The T-11 Advanced Tactical Parachute System for static line operations.
The MC1-1 Personnel Parachute System has been replaced by the MC-6 Personnel Parachute System. For military freefall operations, the RA-1 Advance Ram Air Parachute System, which features a double-bag static line capability, has replaced the MC-4 RAPS.
However, Department of the Army Form 3912, Army Parachute Log Record (better known as a Log Record Book), has been used since the inception of the airborne paratrooper. It is a paper historical maintenance document that accompanies the parachute canopy throughout its life. Its primary purpose is to serve as an official document parachute riggers use to annotate maintenance associated functions, including in-processing, packing and repacking, repair and maintenance, and technical rigger inspections. The individual who performs the activity and the date it was completed is also logged.
The information contained in this book is not transferred into a central repository. All of the information is lost if the book becomes wet, mutilated or disassociated from the parachute. The only back-ups are individual pack logs, which are collected daily and generally contain up to 25 serial numbers per sheet. These logs are redundant, hold no additional information beyond the log records and are required to be maintained for only a two-year period. Only in the event of a parachute incident or fatality are these primitive records called upon, in which case, an inordinate amount of resources are required.
Another issue arises when a single parachute or assortment of parachutes must be identified and isolated – for example, if a safety concern arises. Finding the necessary equipment without electronic records is a tedious process and a waste of parachute riggers’ man-hours.
There have been numerous parachute incidents and malfunctions in which material failure was suspected during the safety investigations but could not be confirmed due to a lack of information. This lack of information inhibits the ability to conduct comprehensive and detailed analysis that has the potential to identify trends, which would thereby increase safety and ultimately save paratroopers’ lives.
The system would track every parachute in and out of the rigging facility throughout its life cycle. At the click of a button, users could identify chain-of-custody for pack, inspection, issue and receipt of parachutes and equipment by serial number. They could locate an individual parachute and find a block of items should a safety issue or disturbing safety trend arise. They could track how often a parachute has been packed, jumped, maintained and modified, and use that data to determine when to remove the item from service, instead of a blanket 12-year service life.
Lessons are continually being learned, especially with regard to the newer parachute systems. Automation will streamline the otherwise grueling process of identifying issues and sharing those issues with the appropriate command levels for action.
As we continue to charge forward with technological advances with airborne assets, there must be a balanced effort toward advancing the management system. Before that is possible, however, getting a parachute management system on record is a necessity of the utmost importance. Only then, can a parachute rigger issue a parachute while looking directly into the eyes of paratrooper and assert with absolute clarity … I will be sure always!
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Casey A. Reed is the Command Airdrop Advisor for TACOM Integrated Logistics Support Center, Aerial Delivery Branch, at Natick Soldier Systems in Natick, Massachusetts.
