August 21, 2007: Ten years
later, the U.S. Army got around to saving $25 million by fixing some
parachutes. This all began back in the early 1990s, when the United States was
providing air transportation for dropping humanitarian supplies into Bosnian
refugees surrounded by hostile forces. The parachutes used, were modified to
fall faster than usual, to prevent them from being shot out of the air. When a
peace deal was finally reached, and the parachute drops were no longer needed,
there were still 6,100 of the modified parachutes left. As modified, they were
of no use for military drops. So the parachutes, worth about $4,000 each, sat
in a warehouse. About three years ago, someone realized that there were reserve
units (Quartermaster units) that specialized in repairing and packing
parachutes. These units went on active duty for several weeks each year. Why
not have the reservists, as part of their active duty (which is meant for
training), fix the parachutes, and restore them to their original state? That
would put about $25 million worth of cargo parachutes back in inventory. A lot
of these cargo chutes were being used in Afghanistan, and elsewhere. They were
needed. It took about 45 minutes to fix and repack each parachute, and over the
last three years, that exactly what the reservists did.
When the army does
something right, it isn't considered news. But it is worth knowing. Just to put
things into perspective.
