14th Airlift Squadron flies Army mission, lands 'short'
Capt. Paul Lambertson, 14 AS pilot, aircraft commander and Aircrew Life Support flight commander; Capt. Eric Wittendorfer, 14 AS pilot; and Staff Sgt. Michael "Flash" Gordon, 14 AS loadmaster, were the first CAFB crew to land a C-17 on Peason Ridge Assault Field, Fort Polk, La.
"Peason is a semi-prepared assault strip," said Lambertson. "It's the shortest peacetime strip we're authorized to land on."
The strip is a combination of dirt and cement, according to Lambertson. Normal runways are layers of hard materials that can withstand a great deal of weight for a long period of time. Peason's strip doesn't offer the stability of a standard runway.
"Regular runways are engineering feats. They may have layers of cement and metal to withstand the weight. The cement cap strips, like the one at Peason, are temporary."
Peason's strip measures approximately 3,500 by 90 feet, compared to the 9,000 by 200 feet for Runway 15/33 here, according to Lambertson. The minimum length of an airstrip for C-17 use depends on a great number of variables such as weight, slickness of the runway and winds.
The Charleston aircraft departed here April 1 and met with a C-17 and crew from McChord AFB, Wash., at Manhattan Regional Airport, Kan. During April 2-4, the crew flew M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, M1A1 Abrams Tanks, personnel and other equipment from MRA to Fort Polk. The first day gave the crews a chance to land at Peason, but they were diverted to Alexandria, La., on the last two days because of inclement weather.
Day three was complicated further due to a mechanical issue with the McChord AFB aircraft.
"We had an in-flight problem, and Charleston AFB was a lot closer, so we went there to get it fixed" said Maj. Mike Phillips, 7th Airlift Squadron pilot evaluator, McChord AFB. "We couldn't make it back in time to finish our part of the mission."
With the McChord AFB crew out of the picture, the CAFB crew was asked to pull some extra weight.
"The Army commander asked me how much we could do to complete the mission," said Lambertson. "I asked him 'What do you need us to do?' We flew our missions and then we flew McChord's that day."
The success of missions, like the one to Peason, has a lot to do with planning, according to Lambertson. The aircraft, cargo and fuel weight have to be figured accurately to achieve success.
"The weight of the load and fuel is the biggest factor," said Lambertson. "A loadmaster figures the backend weight and sends it to the aircraft commander to review. After that, winds and other factors are input into the computer which then calculates a minimum landing distance."
There is a back-up system to the computer. Lambertson said if the computer failed during flight, the crew has technical orders available to manually figure the same information the computer gave.
"We had to figure our weight precisely to ensure we had enough fuel, but would not arrive too heavy to land. We had about 8,000 pounds to play with, which isn't much in a C-17," said Lambertson. "It's awesome to me that a three-person crew is able to load, unload, refuel and do all the things needed to carry out our mission. In three days, we flew nine sorties, airlifting about a half million pounds of Army personnel and heavy armor."
Along with the airlift, the crew got the opportunity to participate in some public relations work while at MRA.
"The mayor, city council members, children and even three WWII veterans came out to see the C-17," said Lambertson. "We gave them tours and talked about what we do. Everyone enjoyed it, even though it wasn't a scheduled part of the mission for us. I would love the opportunity to do it again."
Phillips, who is also a former Charleston flier, said he enjoyed the teamwork and the opportunity to fly with his old unit again.
"It was great to fly with Capt. Lambertson again," said Phillips. "The mission was built on great teamwork. When our plane broke, they picked up our drops, and we would have done the same for them had the roles been reversed. Our crew chief helped them with preparations for landing at Peason, and we helped each other with paperwork.
"Everyone worked together in all aspects of the mission," continued Phillips. "For me, it's not a competition. I'm more of a 'let's build a great C-17 program together' person, than an "us and them" person." (FROM CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE PUBLIC AFFAIRS).
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