AMC's operations hub plans missions to deliver MRAPs to Afghanistan

Published April 28, 2009
By 1st Lt. Justin Brockhoff
618th Tanker Airlift Control Center Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Air Mobility Command's hub for global airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation is "all in" with its commitment to support joint worldwide operations, including efforts to deliver Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles to support the increasing U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

The vehicles, commonly referred to as MRAPs, feature V-shaped hulls and a raised chassis design to deflect underbelly blasts, and have proven to be lifesavers against improvised explosive devices.

The MRAPs are transported overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan by a combination of sealift and airlift assets, all working to fulfill requirements coordinated by the U.S. Transportation Command, headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. The 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center, also at Scott AFB, is the organization responsible for planning and executing the airlift missions to meet the MRAP need.

"When requirements are identified to move MRAPs or MRAP-like vehicles by air, the 618th TACC schedules those missions, finds an aircraft and aircrew available to fly the missions, and obtains permission from other governments to fly over their countries while executing the missions," said Maj. Gen. Mark S. Solo, 618th TACC commander. "And once those missions are airborne, our 24-hour operations floor acts as 'virtual crewmember,' fulfilling any mission needs for that aircrew to make things go as smoothly as possible."

The 618th TACC has been the lead for centralized control of AMC airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations worldwide since its activation April 1, 1992. That coordination in recent years has included hundreds of thousands of point-to-point flights, called sorties, in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom.

In fact, for OIF and OEF alone, AMC aircrews have flown more than 358,000 sorties, which includes transportation of more than 5 million passengers and 2.6 million tons of supplies since the operations began.

"We work very hard to meet the needs of our forces on the ground, and to-date in 2009 we've been able to coordinate airlift to move nearly 500 MRAPs to overseas locations, almost exclusively into Afghanistan," said Maj. Charles Velino, chief of the 618th TACC division that plans MRAP airlift missions. "As combatant commands [such as U.S. Central Command, responsible for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan] update their requirements, we're continually working to plan new missions to meet their needs, in this case their need for MRAPs, as fast as possible."

MRAPs were introduced in 2007, and since that time AMC Airmen, starting at the 618th TACC, have been working around-the-clock planning, coordinating and executing missions to rush the vehicles into Iraq and Afghanistan. In fact, an Air Force C-5 'Galaxy' delivered the 10,000th MRAP to troops overseas in late September last year.

"Delivering an MRAP overseas is an extremely fulfilling mission," said Tech. Sgt. Jamey Caskey, a C-17 'Globemaster III' loadmaster who has delivered MRAPs to troops in Iraq and now plans missions as a member of the 618th TACC. "When you put one of those vehicles in the hands of the men and women on the ground, you know you're having a life-saving impact."