FTIG’s drop zone enlarged, improved to accommodate 193rd SOW’s new mission

The National Guard base at Fort Indiantown Gap has expanded a 15-year-old drop zone between the Blue and Second mountains to accommodate operations by the 193rd Special Operations Wing.

The 193rd SOW is based at Harrisburg International Airport in Middletown. The unit transitioned from the EC-130J Commando Solo airborne broadcasting aircraft to the MC-130J Commando II in 2023, according to a recent report from Bradley Rhen, the deputy state public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania National Guard.

According to Rhen, the enlarged and improved drop zone can now be used for personnel drops as well as equipment drops.

King Drop Zone is located east of the Bollen Air-to-Ground Range in the base’s training corridor between Blue and Second mountains and has been in operation for about 15 years for training on airborne equipment drops, the release explained. Although the report does not say exactly how much acreage was added to the drop zone, Rhen said it now covers 238 contiguous acres, including more than 70 acres of cleared land.

King DZ can now be used for high-altitude, high-opening (HAHO), high-altitude, low-opening (HALO), and static-line personnel drops, Capt. Michael Shea of FTIG’s Range Management Authority, said in the release.

“This is yet another capability that has been added to Fort Indiantown Gap’s training areas,” Shea said.

The impetus behind the expansion project was the 193rd SOW’s new mission. According to the release, the 193rd SOW’s new aircraft came with a new mission: “to fly clandestine, low-level infiltration, exfiltration and resupply missions.”

During the conversion to the MC-130J, “a decision was made to pursue a clearing project to open the clear area on King DZ in order to mitigate the risk of damage to heavy equipment platforms,” Lt. Col. Ryan Ott, commander of the 193rd SOW’s Detachment 1 at Bollen Air-to-Ground Range, explained in the release.

The 193rd secured funding from Air Force Special Operations Command for a brush and stump grinding contract, and Fort Indiantown Gap forestry conducted a timber sale for the area that was economical for logging operations, Ott said.

“With the improvements to King DZ, the 193rd SOW is now able to conduct every type of training air drop close to home,” he said. “Being able to do the drops locally saves us the time and resources of having to travel further away and provides limitless opportunities to conduct training scenarios that integrate Bollen Air-to-Ground Range with the cutting-edge training facilities offered by Fort Indiantown Gap.”

Like most of the 193rd SOW’s operational areas in the corridor, the land that King DZ encompasses is managed by Fort Indiantown Gap’s Range Operations but is maintained by Bollen Range personnel, the release noted. Additionally, Ott said, Bollen Range personnel coordinate the aircraft scheduling for the airspace and drop zone with Range Operations.

Fort Indiantown Gap also has two other designated drop zones that are capable of supporting airborne operations: DZ Wyatt and DZ West Field.

The King DZ project was a great example of the Air Force and Army working together to establish a new training area to help meet the 193rd SOW’s training requirements, Shea said.

“When units ask us to help facilitate their training at Fort Indiantown Gap, the Training Center does everything it can to make that happen,” he said in the release.