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# Cope South Experts Exchange Knowledge, Techniques

By 1st Lt. Jacob Bailey

                BAF BASE BANGABANDHU, Bangladesh  –              The flightline here at Exercise Cope South 15 is usually a flurry of activity  every morning, with maintainers firing up auxiliary power units and loadmasters  finalizing their cargo plan.However on Jan. 27, there wasn’t a single  C-130 aircraft engine running. Instead, U.S. and Bangladesh Air Force Airmen  were busy forging relationships and exchanging knowledge in their respective  fields with one another.CS15 features subject-matter expert exchanges,  also known as SMEEs, across a multitude of Air Force specialties, including  operations, maintenance and rigging disciplines. Airmen from Yokota Air Base,  Japan, have the opportunity to meet face-to-face with their respective BAF  counterparts and learn aspects of each other’s duties and technical prowess.  “SMEE day is probably the most important block of time here at Cope  South,” said Maj. Adam Staubach, Cope South mission commander. “It’s really  where the exercise takes off in terms of developing an understanding of each  other’s capabilities and sharing ways in which we can operate more cohesively as  a unified force.”Staff Sgt. Scott Sorensen, a 374th Aircraft Maintenance  Squadron C-130H guidance and control system technician, had an opportunity to  engage with several BAF maintenance personnel who share his specialty and  discuss a variety of aircraft maintenance matters.“Although the BAF  maintainers work on the C-130B and we work on the C-130H, we are very similar in  a lot of ways,” Sorensen said. “They’ve seen and done a lot of things with the  Herc during their careers. As a fellow maintainer, I can appreciate their  attention to detail and commitment to keep it flying 100 percent.”One of  the busiest exchanges happened in the cargo hold area of the flight line, where  riggers and loadmasters from Yokota’s 374th Airlift Wing demonstrated their  patented low-cost, low-altitude, or LCLA, airdrop bundle techniques to  Bangladeshi airmen. The LCLA airdrop configuration utilizes minimal  rigging supplies and decommissioned personnel parachutes that are still  serviceable to deliver customized cargo, such as humanitarian aid and disaster  relief, in bundles up to 600 pounds. Additionally, it can be rigged in a  “coastal” configuration suitable for a shoreline drop zone.“LCLA offers  a cheap, effective and accurate delivery system that is transferable across the  tactical airlift, especially the C-130, community,” said Staff. Sgt. Wantani  Redo, a U.S. Army-certified rigger assigned to the 374th Logistics Readiness  Squadron. “This region is prone to floods and natural disasters, so we’re  excited and proud to share this innovative airdrop method with our Bangladeshi  partners.”To further demonstrate the technique, two LCLA bundles  configured by Yokota and BAF Airmen were loaded on a BAF C-130B aircraft for  delivery to a forward drop zone near Sylhet. The following day, Bangladeshi  airmen pushed the bundles from the ramp of their C-130 where each successfully  landed in its designated drop area.“Days like today are an important way  to learn not only about each other, but how we can improve our teamwork as  Airmen,” Wantani said.

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