Senior officials of the active duty 60th Air Mobility Wing and AFRC 394th AMW at Travis AFB, Calif., recently experienced a unique thrill—they drove in the final rivets on a new C-17 airlifter destined for Travis. Brig. Gen. Thomas Gizler Jr., head of the 394th AMW, and Col. Timothy Zadalis, vice commander of 60th AMW, traveled to the Boeing plant in Long Beach, Calif., to accomplish the “major join” and announce that the first Travis C-17 would be called the “Spirit of Solano” to honor the communities surrounding Travis.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.