C-17s at Home in New Roles

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Air Mobility Command’s stationing of C-17s within the Southwest Asia theater has made it possible to shift the new airlifters into routine aerial drop missions, like their truly tactical brethren, the C-130s. For instance, C-17 aircrews stationed at Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, routinely are flying large loads into Afghanistan and dropping them to coalition ground forces when and where needed. One C-17 crew at Manas had their airlifter loaded with supplies when it got tasked last minute to convert to a medical evacuation mission. The crew unloaded nine of 18 pallets and converted remaining space to aeromedical evac mode, transporting the recently found Maj. Jill Metzger back to the States.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org