Mobility exercise takes off

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kenneth W. Norman
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFNS) --  Seven C-17 Globemaster III and eight KC-135 Stratotanker aircrews practiced executing airlifts, airdrops and air refueling in medium threat environments Nov. 17 as part of the Mobility Air Force Exercise, a biannual Air Force-wide training opportunity hosted by the Air Force Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

The exercise is used to simulate a hostile environment with simulated surface-to-air missiles and global positioning system jammers, said Maj. Donald W. Schmidt, the 58th Airlift Squadron director of operations.

"Six of the C-17s from Altus will simulate an airdrop mission and one will land on a semi-prepared runway and simulate an airlift at Keno Airstrip, near Nellis AFB," Major Schmidt explained. "The (semi-prepared runway operations, or SPRO, airstrip) is a dirt runway 90-feet wide and 6,000 feet long."

"We don't get to practice landing on SPROs very often," said Maj. Darren E. Bates, a 97th Training Squadron C-17 co-pilot. "Landing on SPROs is very rough on the aircraft and can be expensive if done frequently."

Meanwhile KC-135 crews from the 97th TS conducted airborne refueling for aircraft participating in the exercise. Student boom operators practiced air refueling during the exercise.

"This exercise is vital to ... validate that you can bring a large-force package of heavy (mobility) aircraft together in a confined space, survive the threat, and offload the needed supplies to the guys on the ground who must have it to continue the fight," said Tech. Sgt. Phillip L. Landram, the 54th Air Refueling Squadron NCO in charge and lead boom operator during MAFEX. "We like to show all the new pilots and booms that without the gas, the war stops."

Other Airmen who participated included crewmembers from McConnell AFB, Kan.; Fairchild AFB, Wash.; McGuire AFB, N.J.; Charleston AFB, N.C.; Hickam AFB, Hawaii; McChord AFB, Wash.; Elmendorf AFB, Ala.; Dover AFB, Del.; March Air Reserve Base, Calif.; Travis AFB, Calif.; Dyess AFB, Texas; and Nellis AFB, Nev.