MAY 9, 2025 – The 404th Civil Affairs Battalion (CA BN) under the 352nd Civil Affairs Command (CACOM) conducted an airborne insertion into at Camp Santiago drop zone and immediately transitioned to training on their mission essential tasks, including Develop a Civil Network Engagement Plan and Leverage Partner Capabilities on Apr. 10, 2025.
“This [airborne drop] is our ride to work as paratroopers. It’s a critical method to how we get Civil Affairs troops into combat operations,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Brett Baker, (G3 Air) air division team member.
The 404th CA BN conducted airborne operations with support from the Delaware Air National Guard’s 166th Air Wing. The CA BN delivered two lifts of paratroopers, container delivery system (CDS) pallet paradrop, and two door bundles (light equipment/cargo) paradrops, onto Camp Santiago Drop Zone, Circuns DZ and training area to simulate their real-world mission of supporting world-wide contingency operations, with scenarios into Latin America.
“This exercise is great because the battalion is working on a Deployment Readiness Exercise (DRE), which has many moving pieces and comprehensive, from simple medical readiness to complex air and airborne mission planning,” said Baker.
An airborne operation involves the air movement into an objective area of combat forces and their logistic support for execution of a tactical, operational, or strategic mission (Joint Publication 3-18).
“[During this mission] the battalion gets to train on their Mission Essential Tasks (METs) and create greater proficiency within the unit,” said Baker. “Additionally, we earn the right to do an airdrop operation because a great deal goes into doing it safely, such as an air letter, a complete concept of the operation (CONOP) and Operations Order (OPORD), a Deliberate Risk Assessment Worksheet (DRAW) with emphasis on hazard awareness and contingency risk mitigation plans, accurate manifests, timetables, light/weather analysis, flight formations, aircraft capabilities, etc. For example, planning an airload and airdrop is a big muscle movement because you must plan to incredible detail, from personnel manifests, aircraft configuration, equipment loadouts and timelines, down to how many pairs of socks in a rucksack.”
Once on the ground, the 404th trained their Civil Affairs tasks by engaging Spanish-speaking community leaders and members, role-players provided by units stationed in Puerto Rico. However, the airborne operations took up most of the unit’s planning efforts.
“Being able to do an airborne mission shows how elite our CA leaders and soldiers are. Our Leaders are so proficient in the required skills that they have the confidence to open the aircraft door midflight and lead soldiers out into the sky.”
Airborne forces are able to respond on short notice, airborne operations provide distinct advantages such as, ability to bypass all land or sea obstacles, surprise, and the ability to mass rapidly on critical targets (U.S. Army Field Manual 3-99).
“People’s lives are in your hands as jumpmasters. We open the door in the dark and lead soldiers by example, confident in our tactical and technical proficiency, out that same door,” said Baker. “As a senior leader and jumpmaster, we are not scared to validate what we know. We follow the checklists to standard and are not scared to be spot checked or questioned, because we encourage learning and courageous leadership.”
Story by Capt. Jose Robledo
1st Mission Support Command