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Liberty Wing reservists part of historic C-5 surge

  • Published
  • By Capt. Marnee A.C. Losurdo
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Moving cargo and supplies is nothing new here. However, it wasn't business as usual when the 512th Airlift Wing participated in the historic Air Mobility Command's surge last month.

The wing's 709th Airlift Squadron flew two missions moving cargo to Iraq and to the Pacific theater in support of an exercise flying C-5B and C-5M aircraft supporting transport missions to destinations across the globe.

From Oct. 14-21, nine crews and seven aircraft from Team Dover took part in the surge designed to test the ability of the C-5 to transport large numbers of supplies, equipment and personnel in the event there is a crisis such as a large-scale natural disaster or event where large numbers of troops are needed overseas.

In all, active-duty, Reserve and Air National Guard aircrews supported the surge with 43 Galaxies from 12 Air Force bases.

"We all pitched in and provided what was asked of us by AMC," said Capt. Justin Botts, 512th AW Current Operations chief. "The whole thing was a challenge for AMC; it doubled the aircraft in the system at any one point in time."

Typically, there are only 18 global C-5 missions scheduled at one time. During the surge, there were as many as 41 missions.

The C-5 has the ability to carry more than any other U.S. military aircraft and fly 6,000 miles without refueling. In addition, the huge airlifter can transport fully equipped combat units rapidly anywhere in the world and then provide the support needed to sustain them. All four models of the C-5 fleet were involved in the surge (A, B, C, and M). At Dover AFB C-5B and C-5M crews flew missions to support the surge, said Botts.

The joint U.S. Transportation Command, which handles the nation's military transport and logistics, coordinated the surge to test the flexibility of the C-5 Galaxy fleet. The command is evaluating the results from the surge.

Although the official results are not yet released, the Liberty Wing considers their part in the surge as mission accomplished, said Botts.

"Team Dover did well," he said. "We met or exceeded expectations."

"Our team of dedicated reservists constantly train to support the AMC and Air Force mission, and this was a great opportunity to show what we do best; the mission," said Col. Randal L. Bright, 512th AW commander.