Breaking Records in the C-17: Airmen who operate the C-17 out of Manas AB, Kyrgyzstan, typically put in 18-hour days, often flying back and forth to Afghanistan multiple times. The new airlifter and its air and ground crews are in high demand. USAF journalist SSgt. Lara Gale, reports that the C-17 force at Manas broke all previous records in February and may well break that one this month. The C-17 fleet, as a whole, is slated to bust one million hours this month.
It is critical that the Air Force move forward on the replacement for its E-4B “Doomsday” aircraft to keep the capability “viable” into the next decade and beyond, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers May 8.