Increased C-130, C-17 flights relieve Army ground convoys

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Don Nelson
  • Air Force Print News
SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) --  Airmen are moving more cargo, including armored vehicles, repair parts and ammunition, to assist Soldiers in getting needed materiel to troops in the Iraq theater.

“The Air Force is clearly focusing its efforts, helping the Army give the ground forces the opportunity to reduce the traffic on the most dangerous routes,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper in Washington on Dec. 15.

During the past month, Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft carried a daily average of 450 tons of cargo, 100 tons per day more than the previous four month’s average. The increase has kept the equivalent of about 400 trucks and 1,000 drivers with military escorts off dangerous roads in Iraq, officials said.

From February to November, Soldiers averaged 215 convoys per day using 3,000 vehicles. In that same period, Air Force aircraft moved cargo that would have taken an additional 9,000 trucks and about 150 people per day, officials said.

“The increased airlift operations (in the past month) have taken about 30 more people per day off the roads,” General Jumper said. “Taking the trucks off the most dangerous routes where we have most of the trouble has become (our) goal.”

Since the added Hercules missions began, 44 additional armored Humvees have been flown from Kuwait to Baghdad, eliminating a three-to-four day delivery over hazardous highways and roads, officials said.

Additionally, C-17s are delivering cargo directly to western Iraq instead of dropping cargo in Baghdad for movement via convoy through that dangerous area of the country, officials said.

Air Force officials said they envision moving 1,600 tons, not including vehicles, per day into Iraq.