2.5 Million Pounds of cargo moved during Rota Stage

Soldiers from Task Force Destiny pair with Airmen from 9th Airlift Squadron, Dover Air Force Base, Del., to unload a helicopter from a C-5M Super Galaxy at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2015. The C-5M is the largest military transport aircraft in the world, capable of hauling 270,000 pounds of cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rau)

Two C-5M Super Galaxy aircrafts wait while crews from Task Force Destiny and 9th Airlift Squadron, Dover Air Force Base, Del., unload a helicopter at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2015. The C-5M is the largest military transport aircraft in the world, capable of hauling 270,000 pounds of cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rau)

2.5 Million Pounds of cargo moved during Rota Stage

Airman 1st Class Anthony Green, 9th Airlift Squadron, Dover Air Force Base, Del., operates a winch during the unloading of a helicopter from a C-5M Super Galaxy at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2015. The C-5M is the largest military transport aircraft in the world, capable of hauling 270,000 pounds of cargo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rau)

2.5 Million Pounds of cargo moved during Rota Stage

Published Jan. 6, 2016
By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Three aircrews from the 9th Airlift Squadron and one from the 739th AS, paired up with two aircrews from Travis AFB, Calif., to transport U.S. Army helicopters and their support equipment into and out of Afghanistan via Rota Naval Station, Spain, during the Rota Multimodal Operation, also known as the Rota Stage, from Dec. 6, 2015, to Jan. 2, 2016.

"It has been awesome to watch the entire Dover and Travis Team rock the Rota Stage," said Lt. Col. Matthew Husemann, 9th Airlift Squadron commander. "This operation was successful because of our Reserve partners and the outstanding support from all groups at Dover, Travis, Rota and the AOR locations."

The operation transported cargo from the United States via Navy cargo ships to Rota Naval Station, Spain. Rota was then used as the staging point for the three C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft and six aircrews. In short, an aircrew would fly a sortie to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, dropping off its cargo. That aircrew would then crew rest, allowing a prepositioned aircrew at Bagram to take that aircraft and new cargo back to Rota. This rotation was completed dozens of times until all the necessary cargo was moved either into or out of Bagram.

"Effectually, the jet moves continually back and forth," said Maj. Aaron Suire, 9th AS pilot. "The crews were able to get crew rest at both locations."

Suire was the stage manager, responsible for organizing the aircrews, missions, and take off times.

"It was a bit like a puzzle, trying to get all the pieces together," said Suire. "It definitely was a big operation, a lot of moving parts."

In total, the Rota Stage moved 2.493 million pounds of cargo into and out of Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan via 82 sorties over the four weeks. Specifically, they deployed helicopters for the 4th Infantry Division's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade into Afghanistan, while redeploying helicopters for 101st Airborne Division's 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.

"Maj. Suire and the stage leadership did a phenomenal job leading the operations and providing excellent customer service to the Army," said Husemann. "This operation hinged on their leadership, coordination, and flexibility."

But none of this could have been accomplished without the support of Team Dover's maintainers.

"We haven't seen an overall performance like this yet in the history of the C-5 weapon system," said Col. Chuck Nesemeier, 436th Maintenance Group commander. "The C-5M aircraft have performed at peak operational capacity at off station and theater locations and proved that they are more than capable for these challenging types of missions."

The Mission Capable rate for the C-5 aircraft was at 90.5 percent, a rate that has never been reached before.

In total, 20 Team Dover maintenance Airmen deployed to Afghanistan to support the Rota Stage.

"The crews and maintenance team were outstanding and continued to showcase the capabilities of the C-5M and set new records for reliability, said Husemann. "We are all extremely proud of the entire team for taking care of each other and rockin' the mission!"