Pelican 01, 14th Airlift Squadron, 437th Airlift Wing
Flight Level 140, Barstow, CA
“Pelican Oh One, Bear One One”
“Go for Pelican.”
“Pelican, we have a hot LZ, troops in contact.”
“Confirm, hot LZ.”
Lieutenant Colonel Holtzman looked over at his young co-pilot. As the commander of the 14th, Holtzman usually took the most junior right seater. The young woman sitting in the co-pilot’s seat looked young enough to be his daughter. “You ready for this Wilkins?”
“Yes, sir. Good to go.”
The C-17s of the 14th were about to drop the lead elements of the Immediate Reaction Force into a combat zone. This would be the first combat jump for the US Army since Iraq in 2003. That jump wasn’t contested so this would be the first one under fire since Vietnam. The members of the 82nd Airborne in the back were about to parachute into a world of hurt. Holtzman only had to get them there.
“Pilot to Loadmaster.”
“Go.”
“Jimmy, the ground pounders just let me know that we have a hot LZ.”
“Roger that, sir.”
“We are going in at 500 feet. Let the troops back there know.”
“Yes, sir. We’re on it.”
The aircraft’s warning receivers were already detecting enemy radar coming from the area where they were scheduled to drop. Signaling the rest of the squadron, Holtzman dove the big four-engine jet down, following I-15 through the Cajon pass. The big cargo plane was a dream to handle down low. He pushed her lower, well below the mountains on either side, shielding the big bird from enemy radar.
Their target was a golf course just east of I-15 in Temecula. Not a perfect LZ, but better than dropping over houses or other buildings. Large swaths of grass made excellent landing conditions for the paratroopers.
2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Falcon Brigade), 82nd Airborne Division
Flight Level 5, Temecula, CA
“Check Equipment!”
The answer came back in unison: “Check Equipment!”
“Sound off for equipment check!”
Each soldier, starting with the furthest back, responded, the answer moving up the line on each side of the aircraft. When it reached Colonel Gregens, he responded with “All OK, Jump Master!” After responding, he gave the jumpmaster a low five which was instantly returned.
After getting the all-OK, the jumpmaster turned away from the other paratroopers and faced the door. The first soldier in line checked his static line, giving it a small adjustment, then padded the jumpmaster on the shoulder to let him know everything was OK. Gregens turned back to make sure his “stick” of paratroopers was ready behind him. Each trooper was lined up and holding their static line in their right hand, ready to go.
They waited tensely for the signal to jump. After an eternity of waiting, the Air Force crew member slid the side door of the C-17 up and out of the way. He looked outside briefly, then held up one finger. With a nod, the jumpmaster moved to the doorway, carefully checking for obstructions, even running a hand along the edge of the opening to be sure there were no sharp edges that would catch on the soldiers on the way out of the plane.
“Stand by!”
When the jump light turned from red to amber, the jumpmaster stepped back, allowing his commanding officer the privilege of being first out. It is tradition that paratroop officers in the US Army are always the first ones out of the plane. Figuratively and literally leading their men into combat.
The moment the light turned green, Gregens launched himself out of the C-17. As he fell, the static line played out quickly and deployed his parachute. With a grunt, he felt the chute open, rapidly slowing him from 150 miles per hour. At this low altitude, it would take almost the entire jump to slow down. Unlike a sport jump, they didn’t spend any time in free fall. Looking up, he could see hundreds of parachutes all around him. Mostly other troopers from the 2nd BCT but also bundles of equipment and even vehicles. Everything the brigade needed to fight was coming down with them. The plan was to have the bulk of the 82nd along with their heavy weapons and vehicles flown into a nearby airport, but the troops on the ground needed support right now and the parachute jump was the fastest way to get that help on the ground.
He looked down. The loadmaster had placed them right on target. Gregens was coming down on the 15th green and only needed a few small adjustments to be sure he hit the grass dead center of the open area. There were sure to be soldiers off track, and injuries were unavoidable in a combat drop, but he felt confident that the majority of his command would get on the ground safely.
Once they were on the ground, it was a different story. “Falcon Actual, Bear One One.”
“Go for Falcon.”
“Falcon, I need you to take elevated positions on the east side of the fifteen. We have armored Chinese regulars coming up the freeway. We have deployed artillery-based mines but they are working to clear them.”
“Copy, deploy to east of the fifteen, engage armored column.”
“Readback correct.”
Within five minutes, the leading elements of the brigade were on the ground and moving to the west. The golf course was on a mesa overlooking the I-15 freeway. They should be able to find good firing positions up there. He signaled to a nearby sergeant to get his attention. “Sergeant, get two squads of Gustafs up there on the bluff. Engage any enemy vehicles you see. Take another four squads and deploy them to defend the bluff. There are bound to be infantry down there.”
“All the way, sir!”
“Airborne!”
Running to the edge of the course and looking out over the bluff, he could see that they were just in time. PLA units including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other support vehicles were making their way up the hill and into the narrow valley that the I-15 used to get up to Temecula. Within moments, recoilless rifle fire began raining down from the bluff onto the vehicles.
“Bear One One, Falcon Actual.”
“Go for Bear.”
“If you have artillery, this would be the time.”
“Roger that, fire mission incoming.”
“INCOMING! TAKE COVER.”