C-17 loadmaster students learn from masters of the craft

Published June 24, 2007
By Master Sgt. Tim Barela
Air Force Print News

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFPN) -- Howard Thagard isn't saying that 17 is his lucky number, but with 17 years experience as a loadmaster and currently serving as a loadmaster instructor of the C-17 Globemaster III, it's probably not a bad number for him to use when playing the lotto.

Actually, it is the more than 240 loadmaster students who go through the Boeing C-17 aircrew training system at Altus Air Force Base who are the lucky ones. Having experienced instructors such as Mr. Thagard combined with two $18 million state-of-the-art cargo compartment training simulators, the students soon become mission-ready loadmasters.

"Within three or four months after they leave us, they are doing missions into combat zones," Mr. Thagard said. "So we take our training here very seriously."

Mr. Thagard served in the active duty Air Force as a C-141 Starlifter and C-17 loadmaster before retiring as a technical sergeant in the 58th Airlift Squadron at Altus AFB last year.

He has logged more than 7,500 flying hours, including combat and humanitarian missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Somalia and Rwanda, as well as Antarctica re-supply missions, to name a few.

That experience helps him when training new loadmasters.

"I know what it's like to do your first heavy equipment airdrop, because I had to go through the same thing with a road grater at Pope (Air Force Base, N.C.)," he said. "You're confident in your abilities, but you are still nervous, like driving for the first time. You just want to make sure everything goes right. Then when it does, you're like 'Yeah!' "

What makes these missions go off without a hitch is the realistic training loadmasters go through.

In the cargo compartment trainers, students get to try their hand at a variety of loads, to include pallets, vehicles, helicopters, heavy equipment and aeromedical set-ups. These are real loads done in the simulators, Mr. Thagard said.

In addition to the training simulators, the students log 25 to 30 hours of flying time with the 58th Airlift Squadron.

"When I came up as a C-141 loadmaster, the first time you flew was at your first operational unit. This way is much better," Mr. Thagard said

Two of the most important things the instructors try to teach are situational awareness and checklist discipline.

"We push them to take the lead and think for themselves," Mr. Thagard said. "That is the only way they will gain the confidence and experience to be successful in the field. Lack of situational awareness and not following checklists can affect safety, time management and control. You can't afford that in a real-world environment."

The loadmasters have to work hard and learn a lot in a short amount of time, but it is worth it because they are entering one of the best career fields in the Air Force, Mr. Thagard said.

"It's rewarding to participate in such missions as the evacuation of people from Biloxi, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina, or from Beaumont, Texas, before Hurricane Rita hit," he said. "I got to be a part of that. These new loadmasters will get to be a part of some special missions as well. They will make a difference."