A soldier reaches up to touch a CH-47 Chinook helicopter as he and his fellow soldiers prepare to sling load a container from Camp Bondsteel.
A U.S. Army soldier reaches up to touch a hovering CH-47 Chinook helicopter with a grounding rod as he and his fellow soldiers prepare to sling load a container from Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo, on March 13, 2001. The grounding rod is used to dissipate the build up of static electricity on the helicopter so the soldiers who attach the loading slings won't be shocked. The soldiers are from A Company Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment Task Force 47 and the Chinook is attached to the 501st Aviation Battalion. The container will be used to build a security outpost on a hilltop to support KFOR. KFOR is the NATO-led, international military force in Kosovo on the peacekeeping mission known as Operation Joint Guardian.