Seasoned by years of hurricane response, the 
Mississippi Air National Guard was on the move within the first 24 hours after the storm hit land. A C-17 from the 172nd Airlift Wing at Jackson, Miss., flew 90,000 pounds of food into the airfield at Gulfport, Miss. The supplies were gone within a day, and six New York ANG C-5s from the 105th AW, Stewart ANGB, N.Y., flew in 540,000 pounds more.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.