C-17s cross globe to assist international exercise

  • Published
  • By David Kellogg
  • 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. (AFPN) --  Six C-17 Globemaster IIIs flew from Alaska to Australia June 18 to 21 to help launch the Talisman Saber 2005 international exercise. The exercise involved more than 6,000 Australian and 10,000 U.S. servicemembers from the Air Force, Army, Marines and Navy.

The C-17s were from here and Charleston AFB, S.C.

The purpose of the exercise was for Australian and U.S. servicemembers to practice a “forced entry operation,” said Lt. Col. Smokey Robinson, the air mission commander from the 8th Airlift Squadron here. Also, the land invasion portion of the ongoing exercise allowed them to practice collective training among the different military services.

The C-17s delivered troops and supplies during a nighttime airdrop.

The aircraft left Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, on June 18 and flew more than 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to northeastern Australia. It was one of the longest C-17 direct delivery airdrops worldwide, Colonel Robinson said.

The C-17s refueled twice during the flight, once just beyond Alaska and again near Hawaii

“It was a long working day, and to have the most difficult part of the mission come at the end made it challenging,” said Maj. Steve Funanich, 8th AS lead pilot of the mission.

Shortly after midnight in Australia, the C-17s raced across the Kapyong drop zone and dropped 12 container delivery systems and more than 200 Soldiers, Major Funanich said.

The Soldiers, from the 1st Battalion at Fort Richardson, Alaska, were meant to “put boots on the ground,” to begin a simulated invasion, Colonel Robinson said.

Some planes had to abort their drops because of safety issues, so not everything went according to the initial plan, Colonel Robinson said. But, he said that is a big reason why they have these exercises -- to find areas for improvement and to learn to adapt when things do not go perfectly.

“Nothing really caught us by surprise,” he said. Every contingency was thought of, so when they did have to deviate from the mission plan, everyone knew exactly what to do.