Tech Talk ARTICLE

April 2005

Chinook Off-Load System Rushed to Troops

edited by Robert H. Williams

Soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were having a hard time unloading supplies from Chinook helicopters. Not only was it hard work, but equipment tended to get banged up.

The solution, inspired by a member of the Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, was commercially available conveyer rollers with wooden ramp extensions. The fix was brought to fruition within 90 days by a support team at the Army Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.

The upshot is that 120 roller systems have been dispatched to the combat zones, and 60 more on the way. Additional improvements are currently being considered.

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