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New airlift routes provide new possibilities

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Marshel Slater
  • 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Planners from the U.S. Transportation Command and 618th Air and Space Operations Center (Tanker Airlift Control Center) here teamed with the aircrew of a C-5M Super Galaxy from the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover Air Force Base, Del., to open a historic new non-stop route from the U.S. to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on Sept. 25 and 26.

The flight marked the first time a C-5 aircraft has flown this route from the United States East Coast, across the Atlantic Ocean, then over Europe into Afghanistan. The total flight time was less than 14 hours, cutting time off of traditional routing and eliminating the need for crews to rest overnight in Germany. The new route also enhances the ability of air mobility forces to respond worldwide despite challenging environments including volcanoes, floods, natural disasters or weather-related diversions.

"This was a huge collaborative effort," said Harold Guckin, chief planner for the Contingency Channel Operations Directorate at the 618th AOC (TACC). "My schedulers worked closely with flight managers from the Command and Control Directorate, and we all worked tirelessly with the Operations Group at Dover to get the mission planned." The success of the flight also required a refueling over England by a KC-135R Stratotanker from RAF Mildenhall's 100th Air Refueling Wing.

With its ability to carry more than any other aircraft, the C-5 has been an aviation workhorse for the Air Force since the 1970s and is critical to the success of global mobility operations. The new route not only showcased the capabilities of the airframe, but also supported ongoing Department of Defense efficiency initiatives by providing both an increase in airlift velocity and a reduced mobility footprint.

According to officials here, planners at the 618th AOC (TACC) are constantly looking for innovative solutions that allow the mobility Air Force to be good stewards of the resources entrusted to them by the American taxpayer.

"The 618th AOC (TACC) is the hub for mobility operations. It is our responsibility to ensure that those we serve can succeed in their mission," said Brig. Gen. Dewey Everhart, the 618th AOC (TACC) commander. "This new route provides invaluable options and increased flexibility, so air mobility assets can arrive where they're needed faster and more efficiently."

The 618th AOC (TACC) plans, schedules, tasks and directs a fleet of more than 1,300 mobility aircraft in support of strategic airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations around the world. Since Sept. 11, 2001, the 618th AOC (TACC) has command controlled nearly 78,000 C-5 flights flown in support of overseas contingency operation missions.

Earlier in 2011, from June 5 to 6, another C-5M crew flew for the first time a flew a northern Arctic route from the U.S., over Canada and into the Arctic Circle, then back down through Russian and Kazakhstan airspace to Afghanistan. That was a was a "proof of concept" flight, officials said in an Air Mobility Command Public Affairs news report.

To make that first 15-hour-plus flight to Afghanistan, the C-5M was refueled by a KC-135R Stratotanker from the New Hampshire Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing and Pease Air National Guard Base. The refueling for that mission took place over Northern Canada.

(Air Mobility Command Public Affairs contributed to this report.)