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'Flying' crew chief discusses Super Galaxy, historic Arctic mission

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Staff Sgt. Steven Dow has worked on all forms of the C-5 airframe for more than 10 years, but he'll tell you the "C-5M is the future." All of his experience, and a recent history-making mission, are why he is proud of what he does as a C-5 maintenance Airman.

"I love the C-5 -- always have," said Sergeant Dow, a C-5 Galaxy "flying" crew chief with the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Dover AFB. "For all the years I have worked on it, it has been an airframe that I thought was underrated but with our mission over the Arctic, I think it has proven to some that it's a great airframe."

Sergeant Dow was one of 14 crew members who flew on a mission that was the Air Force's first direct delivery airlift mission through the Arctic Circle from the United States to Afghanistan. The flight, which took place on June 5 and 6, 2011, was aboard a C-5M from Dover AFB to Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The flight was the first time a U.S. Air Force plane flew this northern route from the U.S., over Canada and into the Arctic Circle, then back down through Russian and Kazakhstan airspace to Afghanistan.

U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command officials at Scott AFB, Ill., said the mission was a "proof of concept" flight that will help establish future sustainment operations in Afghanistan. AMC's 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center planners at Scott AFB tasked and built the mission plans for the effort. It is part of TACC's continuing effort to support and control airlift and air refueling missions around the globe.

To make the entire 15-plus hour flight to Afghanistan, the C-5M was refueled by a KC-135R Stratotanker from the New Hampshire Air National Guard's 157th Air Refueling Wing and Pease Air National Guard Base. The refueling took place over Northern Canada.

In addition to being proud to supporting the mission, Sergeant Dow -- a native of Augusta, Maine, said the M-variant of the C-5 has proven to be very capable.

"It's good to prove what it can do -- especially with a mission like the Arctic mission," Sergeant Dow said. "The C-5M is a great mobility weapons system. During our mission to Afghanistan the plane flow all the way and had zero discrepancies or write-ups."

The official Air Force job description for a crew chief states that maintainers like Sergeant Dow advise on problems maintaining, servicing and inspecting aircraft and they use technical data to diagnose and solve maintenance problems on aircraft systems. Crew chiefs also troubleshoot and maintain aircraft structures, systems, components and support equipment. They also supervise and perform aircraft and component inspections and interpret inspection findings and determine adequacy of corrective actions.

Furthermore, in his job, Sergeant Dow inspects and checks components for clearances, tolerances, proper installation and operation and inspects and operates powered and non-powered aerospace ground equipment, identifies aircraft corrosion for prevention and correction, and reviews maintenance forms, aircraft records and reports to ensure complete documentation.

Sergeant Dow's work is among several maintenance specialties who maintain the C-5. There are C-5 crew chiefs and Airmen specializing in instrument and flight control maintenance, communications and navigation, hydraulics, aerospace propulsion, fuels, electrical and environmental systems and aero repair. Sergeant Dow worked in hydraulics before becoming a crew chief.

"As a crew chief, you have to know a little about everything that's on the plane," Sergeant Dow said. "You have to know how to direct things that need to be fixed so you can get that plane back to flying as soon as possible."

In preparing for the Arctic mission, Sergeant Dow said he worked with other maintainers and crew members in running inspections on the plane and ensuring the plane was ready to go.

"All the prep work for a mission like this is done at home station," Sergeant Dow said. "Once we are in the deployed areas, it's me who looks after the plane. On this (Arctic) mission, everything went great with the C-5M."

AMC officials said the historic Arctic flight was made possible by close diplomatic cooperation and culminates months of operational planning. It further illustrates the military's commitment to finding innovative new ways to operate with increasingly constrained resources. USTRANSCOM planners said this flight is just the beginning of understanding new ways to strengthen the northern corridor for direct delivery missions to the deployed theater.

"It was a big honor for me to be selected for this mission," he said. "After 10 years, to be a part of something that's never been done before and to do it in a C-5M was very special."