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14th AS Pelicans deliver Davis-Monthan AFB augmentees loadmaster training

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Kerry Fields
  • 437th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  It was 91 degrees in the hot, arid climate of the Arizona desert. Tail 1190 landed at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., and Team Charleston's loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Jason Brown and Airmen 1st Class Matthew Efird, James Soto and Peter Jensen of the 14th Airlift Squadron kicked into gear. 

In an effort to further develop Air Force capabilities for the Global War on Terrorism, the loadmasters went to Davis-Monthan to train local loadmaster augmentees. 

Augmentees are Airmen from many different squadrons and career fields selected to fill a position outside of their AFSC. Since there were no Airmen with prior C-17 experience, Team Charleston has made Davis-Monthen better prepared for future C-17 operations. 

In addition to training the Davis-Monthan AFB Airmen, Charleston's loadmasters gained invaluable experience as trainers. Off-site training developed skills for inexperienced loadmasters to handle loading cargo without the help of an experienced supervisor. 

The training allowed for a more realistic situation that mimics deployments to bases not familiar with C-17 operations.
 
"It is great to be able to train other individuals so they can help out other loadmasters in the future," said Airman Efird. 

When loadmasters deploy they are often under stringent time restrictions and are given a specific ground time to load and off-load the aircraft. Furthermore, the method of unloading and loading the cargo varies. The equipment can be loaded via a wench, pulleys, or driven onboard. At Davis-Monthan, loadmasters were tasked with loading an air cart, two power carts, an engine cart, an F-350, 4 pallets, a fuel truck and a K-loader. 

Not only is it important that the augmentees know how to load the aircraft, they also need to know how to properly secure it. 

With less than 1 inch clearance between a 31,000 pound K-loader and a 28,000 pound fuel truck, there is little room for error. One small mistake could be catastrophic.
"Safety is the overall goal of a loadmaster," says Airman Jensen. "In addition to our duties, we made sure the augmentees were trained properly to minimize future potential hazards." 

Loadmasters are tasked with loading cargo ranging from pallets of produce to munitions, helicopters, tanks, personnel and high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles just to name a few. 

"We can load pretty much anything that will fit and isn't against regulations," said Airman Jensen. "The most unusual cargo I've ever loaded was a Buffalo, which is a 51,000 pound vehicle with a claw. This off-site training allows for more experience with different loads; learning how to tie cargo down on the fly." 

"This is the first time I've been to off-site training. This allowed me to get experience unloading cargo so that I'm more comfortable on down-range missions," said Airman Soto. 

Initial loadmaster training for Team Charleston is the basic loadmaster course, a five-week course taught at Altus AFB, Okla. The training consists of weight and balance calculations, C-17 capabilities and limitations and center of gravity determination. After completing BLM, the loadmasters transition to loadmaster initial qualification which is a three-month course where the trainees get their first hands-on training on the C-17. This includes the standard training of loading and off-loading, securing of cargo and combat off-load training.