Mobility Airman profile: C-17 Globemaster III pilot flies humanitarian missions for Operation Tomodachi

Published March 23, 2011
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The C-17 Globemaster III is the Air Force's newest and biggest heavy airlifter and is among those in highest demand for operations around the globe. It's no different for Operation Tomodachi in Japan and Capt. Allen "Charles" Morris, a C-17 pilot, is right in middle of that airlift effort.

Captain Morris deployed to Japan with fellow C-17 aircrew and support Airmen from the 517th Airlift Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, shortly after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and tsunami struck areas Japan on March 11. Since their deployment, Captain Morris and the 517th Airmen have been busy supporting the 24-hour-a-day operations in delivering relief supplies to stricken areas of Japan.

Captain Morris was also part of some of the first C-17 missions to land at Sendai Airport, Japan, on March 20 following the disaster, according to a 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs news report from Yokota Air Base, Japan. Those missions, the report showed, delivered an all-terrain forklift which in turn helped download supplies that included four pallets of water and six pallets of blankets and food for the Japanese people.

Captain Morris said in the same news report, "Opening Sendai to C-17s is a must for Japan and to demonstrate our resolve and commitment to the Japanese people."

In supporting Operation Tomodachi, which is U.S. Pacific Command's name for the operation derived from a Japanese word for friendship, Captain Morris is doing exactly what he is trained to do, according to his official Air Force job description for an Air Force airlifter pilot.

The job description shows an airlift pilot like Captain Morris is required to "pilot airlift aircraft and command crews to accomplish airlift, training and other missions."

To fulfill his work as an airlift pilot, Captain Morris reviews mission tasking, intelligence and weather information, the job description states. He supervises mission planning, preparation, filing a flight plan and crew briefings and he ensures the aircraft is pre-flighted, inspected, loaded, equipped and manned for each mission.

Airmen like Captain Morris also pilot aircraft and command crews. They are trained to operate aircraft controls and equipment and perform, supervise, or direct navigation, in-flight refueling, and cargo and passenger delivery. They also ensure the operational readiness of the crew by conducting or supervising mission specific training and they develop plans and policies, monitor operations and assist commanders with functions related to airlift operations, the job descript shows.

Pilots like Captain Morris also have to maintain mandatory job knowledge in the theory of flight, air navigation, meteorology, flying directives, aircraft operating procedures and mission tactics.

At his home station with the 517th AS at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the squadron is part of the 3rd Wing. According to a fact sheet about the 517th AS, the mission of the squadron is to provide tactical airlift operating C-17 and C-12F aircraft.

"The squadron's primary missions are to support worldwide airlift, airdrop and air-land requirements while providing airlift for theater deployed forces and resupply of remote Alaskan long-range radar sites" in support of U.S. Pacific Command, North American Defense Command and U.S. Transportation Command, the fact sheet states.

With Operation Tomodachi, it is a continuing 24-hour-a-day operation, reports show, and Airmen like Captain Morris continue to support the effort.

(Senior Airman Michael J. Veloz, 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this report.)