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Missions take Reserve C-5 aircrew around the world

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  An Air Force Reserve C-5 Galaxy aircrew from the 445th Airlift Wing flew around the world in June, picking up and delivering cargo in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Reservists from the 89th Airlift Squadron and two crew chiefs from 445th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron added more stamps to their passports during the two-week mission that took them to Colorado, Germany, Iraq, Afghanistan, Diego Garcia, Japan, Korea, Alaska and California before returning home.

The crew originally set out on one mission. Aircraft commander Capt. Frank Saul knew of cargo planes flying out of California that were taking on missions flying further and further west; basically, taking them around the world. He saw this as the perfect opportunity to extend their mission to do just that. Plus, it would save another unit from being tasked if they could take on this second mission.

A phone call to the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., landed the crew the extended mission. Another call to the 445th AW current ops got the necessary clearance from maintenance, operations, and scheduling to accept the mission. "The crew was excited and willing to stay with the trip for a few more days," Captain Saul said.

The Galaxy crew delivered Army supplies from Colorado to Afghanistan on the first leg of the around the world jaunt. On their way to Afghanistan, the crew stayed the night in Iraq in make-shift sleeping quarters built out of old shipping containers retro-fitted into trailers.

The second leg of the trip included an overnight stay in Diego Garcia for crew rest before picking up cargo at two stops in Japan. "Basically, the cargo we picked up in Japan was composed of anything that had to be moved from the Pacific back to the States. We picked up roughly 40,000 pounds of cargo at each location, filling up most of the plane," Captain Saul said.

The crew stopped in Alaska for crew rest before dropping off the cargo in California. After dropping off the last load and crew rest, the aircrew flew home to Wright-Patt.

"This was an amazing experience. We traveled in two hemispheres, flew near the 38th parallel, and passed through several time zones. It was a lot of work but very rewarding in the end," Tech. Sgt. Joshua Roland, flight engineer, said. "We experienced a lot of different cultures in one trip and sampled different cuisines--eating Japanese food one day followed by German the next day," Sergeant Roland added.

"I love my job," Captain Saul said.