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Foreword

Regional Response Forces ::

VALIANT SHIELD:
Building Trust and Security

GREEN LIGHTNING: Providing Security in the Asia-Pacific Region

Transnational Operations ::

KHAAN QUEST 2006:
Enhancing Multinational Peacekeeping

Humanitarian Support ::

USNS Mercy Bringing Hope to Asia-Pacific Nations

C-17 Aircraft Marking A New Airlift Era in the Pacific

New Zealand Defence Force Providing Security and Reconstruction in Afghanistan

From BALIKATAN to Mudslide Relief

Happenings  ::

Happenings

C-17 Aircraft Marking A New Airlift Era in the Pacific
Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM Staff

Compiled by Asia-Pacific Defense FORUM staff from press releases by Col. Bill “Goose” Changose, USAF, Commander of the 15th Airlift Wing; Maj. Bradley Jessmer, USAF, Pacific Air Forces Public Affairs; TSgt. Andrew Leonhard, USAF, assigned to 15th Airlift Wing Public Affairs; TSgt. Chris Vadnais, USAF, assigned Air Force Print News; and Kirsten Tacker, Kukini Photojournalist.

"When the back end of the [C-17] opens up and food, water, supplies, medicine, and doctors come off and others come in with civil engineers and [U.S. Navy] Seabees, who jump off to make life better for those in trouble on the ground, it is that marvelous C-17 with the American flag on the tail that provides that [help]."

General Paul V. Hester, USAF
Commander, Pacific Air Forces

When the first of eight C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft landed on the flight line at Hickam Air Force Base (AFB), Hawaii, on 8 February 2006, it brought a new era of air operations for the [U.S.] Pacific Air Force and the U.S. Pacific Command. The U.S. military can use the C-17 for tactical airlift and airdrop missions to include rapid delivery of troops and cargo to main operating bases or to forward bases in a deployment area. U.S. Air Force airmen and Hawaii Air National Guard reservists flew the C-17 together, also signifying a new era of force integration.

The C-17 Globemaster III is the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force. The flexibility of the C-17 force improves the ability of the airlift system to fulfill the worldwide air mobility requirements of the United States. These requirements can involve defense against terrorism worldwide to include the homeland, support to humanitarian operations, and support for any other contingency.

During the groundbreaking ceremony for the arrival of the first C-17, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, who supported the C-17 deployment to Hawaii in the U.S. Congress, said the aircraft “demonstrates to our nation and the world that our active force – the Air Force and the [Air National] Guard – can work together.” He added that the deployment of the C-17s to Hickam AFB demonstrates that U.S. civilian policymakers and the military recognize that “the area of concern and the area of importance” is the Asia-Pacific region.

Less than two weeks after the arrival of the first C-17, a plan swung into action to provide supplies and recovery equipment to areas in the Philippines affected by a severe mudslide. The C-17 brought 13,608 kilograms of relief supplies to the Philippines. Since then, crews have delivered people and goods to neighboring Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and Fiji, among other places.

The new squadron of C-17s, the last of which arrived at Hickam in July 2006, dramatically increases the military’s capability to rapidly deploy valuable assets anywhere in the Pacific. U.S. Air Force Col. Bill “Goose” Changose, then Commander of the 15th Airlift Wing noted, “The [U.S.] Pacific Command and Pacific Air Forces’ area of responsibility is vast, but having these aircraft stationed [at Hickam] means they’re six hours closer than the mainland and that’s a six-hour faster reaction time when airlift is needed throughout the Pacific. We are excited to be part of several firsts,” he said. “The first C-17s stationed outside of the continental United States, first [U.S. Air Force] active duty and Air National Guard associate airlift unit, and the first combined [active duty-Guard] maintenance group. All in all, it should provide everyone on Hickam with a visual reminder that we participate daily in our nation’s defense and help make this very, very important Pacific region more stable.”

“The C-17 [has] proven its worth in gold for the [U.S.] Air Force in the war on terrorism and for humanitarian relief,” said General T. Michael Moseley, U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, during a visit to Hawaii to discuss the importance of the C-17 and the Global War on Terrorism. “We’ll be able to work with the [U.S.] Army a lot closer within the island and . . . move things around the global system as we … apply these airplanes to strategic problems.” The Global War on Terrorism is “not something that will be quick or will be over right now,” he added. “We’re part of a joint team and part of the coalition. We have people driving trucks and delivering goods and services within Iraq. It is too important to the republic. It’s too important to our people and to our children, and we are a key piece of a joint team fighting global war, and we will continue to do this. This is a war and we will be in it for awhile, and we’re not going to lose this.”

When asked if the C-17s at Hickam would see combat missions, General Paul V. Hester, Commander of the Pacific Air Forces, said, “These planes are strategic airlift, meaning they will fly all over the world. So consequently, they will do whatever mission is on their plate. It could be taking supplies to our forces in Japan and Korea, or it could be landing in the desert in Afghanistan. Our Hawaii crews are going to be involved in everything this aircraft was designed to do. The C-17 gives our nation the flexibility and dexterity to excel across the entire spectrum of military operations – it can provide humanitarian aid one day and support full-scale combat the next,” he continued. “I’m confident that these new aircraft, along with the proud and professional airmen of Pacific Air Forces and the Hawaii Air National Guard, will help bring this vast and diverse region closer together.”

Concerning wartime missions, General Hester said, “While we’ll be helping nations, while we’ll be re-supplying ourselves, we’re also going to help those who are going into harm’s way. Those who leave from our Hawaiian Islands and head into the danger zones of Iraq and Afghanistan can be transported on this C-17. Our [U.S. Army] Stryker Brigades – both here and in Alaska – can be transported on our C-17s – and very quickly,” he added. “Our airborne brigades that are developing in the Pacific, specifically up in Alaska, can be transported and they can do their practicing out of our C-17s, in addition to the C-130s that we will continue to have in the Pacific.”

General Hester described the C-17 as a key tool for providing humanitarian relief. “The C-17, as amazing as it is, is nothing more than an opportunity for America to continue to show who America is,” he said. “We’ve had the opportunity … in times of need to show those in this region in particular that America can reach out the velvet hand of humanitarianism and that we can in fact embrace those who need help. When the back end of the airplane opens up and food, water, supplies, medicine, and doctors come off and others come in with civil engineers and [U.S. Navy] Seabees, who jump off to make life better for those who are in trouble on the ground, it is in fact that marvelous C-17 with the American flag up on the tail that provides that [help].”

Air National Guard Brig. Gen. Peter Pawling, 154th Wing Commander, also commented on the importance of permanently deploying C-17s at Hickam Air Base. “U.S. Pacific Command has a large area of responsibility – approximately 105 million square miles [273 million square kilometers]” he said. “The flexibility and power of the C-17 will make that area more manageable.”

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