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McGuire AFB busy preparing aircrews for C-17 arrival

  • Published
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE, N.J. --  The first C-17 Globemaster III will arrive here Sept. 24, and the base has been busy preparing its aircrew members for the arrival of the Air Forces newest airlifter.

While a majority of the C-141 aircrews here are either retiring or PCSing, some have decided to transition to the C-17. In fact, nine loadmasters and three pilots have attended, or are scheduled to attend transition training at Altus AFB, Okla. Depending on the crew position, the Altus C-17 training has various training phases, some as short as four weeks with others as long as four and a half months.

The C-17 training is very different from C-141 training, according to Lt. Col. Richard Keyes, 305th Operations Group deputy commander. He said C-17s routinely fly low-level tactical missions that only airdrop-qualified C-141 crew members used to fly. The C-17 also has a requirement to land on short field runways, allowing it to go places many other airlift aircraft cannot.

The predominate focus of C-17 training has been on combat tactics and employment, said Colonel Keyes. While the C-141 has certainly evolved in a similar mindset, only specified crews routinely employed the tactics, while in the C-17 force, every crew is required to employ these procedures.

While a few McGuire C-141 aircrews are making the transition to the C-17, the majority of McGuires C-17 aircrews are new to the base. Twenty pilots have PCSed to McGuire in the last few months; six of those pilots came straight from pilot training at Altus, while the others PCSed here from C-17 operating bases such as Charleston AFB, S.C., and McChord AFB, Wash. McGuire also has received six C-17 qualified loadmasters from these bases.

Those numbers are growing daily, said Lt. Col. Eric Wydra, 6th Airlift Squadron commander. All the C-17 aircrews will fall under the 6th. Same squadron, same identifier, just a different aircraft. The squadron should be full up, and we should have everyone in place by June.

By June 2005, the 6th AS should have approximately 80 pilots and 40 loadmasters, or 36 total crews. A C-17 crew consists of a minimum of two pilots and one loadmaster. The 6th AS will have three crews for each of the 12 aircraft McGuire will receive. By the end of September, the squadron will have nine crews set up and ready.

However, according to Colonel Keyes, the training doesnt stop once the aircrews arrive.

Our crews are required to be proficient in operating the Globemaster III, and the only way to do that is to continue training, no matter how long you have been flying, said the colonel.

According to Capt. Garrett Gulish, 305th Operations Support Squadron chief of C-17 training, once the pilots arrive at McGuire, they receive basic mission qualification training, such as 9mm, survival, evasion and resistance, and gas mask. After flying two or more local training flights they are fully qualified and can fly overseas. The loadmasters do the same with some tasks specific to their job, such as backing an aircraft and cargo loading and offloading.

Continuation training also takes place. Pilots are required to perform at least one take off and approach each month. Each quarter, they must also perform tasks such as assault landings, tactical approaches and practice emergency procedures. Loadmasters are exempt from this continuation training. They must fly a proficiency sortie every 60 days.

 

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