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Hickam C-17 crew enables ballistic missile defense test redeployment

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ben Sakrisson
  • 15th Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii --  Late in the evening on Nov. 6, as many in the country were watching the waning moments of the 2012 Presidential election, a flight crew from the 535th Airlift Squadron here began spinning up for the final legs of a 32-thousand mile, 11-day crucible to transfer equipment from a highly publicized Missile Defense Agency test in the South Pacific to locations in Asia and the American mainland.

While the ballistic missile defense test itself represents the cutting edge of American technological capability, the redeployment of its component systems provided a glimpse at another capability unique to the U.S. Air Force; the ability to move assets to any point on the globe within days via the C-17 Globemaster III.

"The C-17 provides a combination of both tactical and strategic airlift," said mission commander Capt. Mathew Klingenberg, a pilot with the 535th AS. "Tactically similar to a C-130, we are able to land on short, austere runways, and our load capacity is unmatched in this arena. Strategically, we can deliver across the world to the end user much like the C-5, but we require a much smaller crew and runway."

For much of this journey the interior of the aircraft looked closer to that of a shipping warehouse than an airplane. Large semi-trailer sized crates were packed end-to-end for the length of the aircraft with only a small path crisscrossed by heavy tie-down chains traversing along either side. Visually, there was no question that the C-17 was moving huge amounts of cargo.

"With such a heavy load, it is crucially important to do the weight and balance for the aircraft properly," said Airman 1st Class Gunther Legg, a loadmaster from the 535th AS. "It allows for a safe takeoff, increases fuel efficiency, helps with maneuverability and prevents the aircraft from stalling in flight or scraping its tail on the runway."

Much of the load for the redeployment transited through America's westernmost state as Hawaii provided a highly strategic step-off point throughout the mission; hours closer to waypoints in the Pacific and Asia than other airfields on the U.S. mainland. Likewise, C-17's based here were ideally suited to the short runway at the pickup point in the Kwajalein Atoll.

"In some ways, when we landed in the Kwajalein Atoll it was similar to landing in Hawaii," said Capt. Nick Carr, a pilot with the 535th AS, "in that it is an island completely separated from any large landmass by hours of flying time. What makes Kwajalein unique is that if we have weather or maintenance issues there are not any nearby divert locations so we carry holding fuel for contingencies. Thankfully, the C-17 is typically a very reliable aircraft so with proper fuel planning and good weather we have no concerns."

However, the reliability of the aircraft is in part due to the reliability of the crew that mans it. Safety and crew alertness are always a concern, but particularly on this mission due to the large distances and flight times involved. Rotating crew members by sleeping in shifts in the tight crew-bunk in the back of the cockpit served to alleviate crew fatigue and enabled the aircraft to stay aloft for up to 24-hours in a given day.

Through the course of the mission the crew delivered over 630-thousand pounds of cargo and peaked by flying 22-hours straight on one day of the trip, demonstrating that the C-17 and its crews are a formidable answer to the "tyranny of distance" in the Pacific.