DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (USTCNS) --- Under the roar of the turbo-propelled engines, the airman completes a final check before clearing the pilot to raise the cargo door. He willingly jumps into the back of the aircraft and prepares the load for takeoff. Where they are going or for how long, he does not know nor does he ask.
Strange locales, many tours of duty, and long days are just some of the job "perks" when it comes to being a 317th Airlift Group loadmaster. But the real advantage of the job is knowing the airlift mission couldn't continue without them.
"The role of the loadmaster is key to the whole concept of airlift," said Senior Master Sgt. Dan Wiggers, 317th AG chief loadmaster. "Without the load, it would just be a plane and some flight crew."
Dyess loadmasters supervise all loading operations for the group's 29 C-130H aircraft, as well as perform in-flight checks of cargo and offer in-flight service to any passengers the aircraft may be carrying, Wiggers said.
"We perform a variety of airland and airdrop missions," said Master Sgt. Tom Holden, 39th Airlift Squadron loadmaster. "Airland is when you fly cargo from point 'A' and drop it off it at point 'B.' Airdrop is where you, well, drop stuff."
"With airdrop, pallets or containers are dropped with a set procedure for each individual aspect," Wiggers added.
While the loadmasters do not handle the actual airdropping portion unless there is a system malfunction, they do have to calculate weight to space ratios as well as come up with creative ways to configure the aircraft to fit the individual cargo.
"While each load varies from the other based on its size or other special reasons, we have to keep the same things in mind such as clearances," Wiggers said. "The role of the loadmaster could be crucial to the safety of the aircraft."
If the tasks the loadmasters face while in-flight are not enough, the loadmasters also have special wartime tasks they are responsible for.
"During wartime, the role of our mission sometimes adapts to just watching cargo to being a spotter for any anti-aircraft threats from the ground or fighter aircraft who would wish to fire on the plane," Wiggers said.
During routine airland missions, the airlift group primarily flies to South and Central America, and to Yuma, Ariz. But it is not uncommon for loadmasters to be called to fly all over the world--from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Keflavic Naval Air Station in Iceland.
"By the time I was 19 years old, I had already visited every continent in the world besides Antartica," said six-year veteran Senior Airman Bradley Nulf, 40th Airlift Squadron loadmaster.
Despite the stress caused from being away from friends and family and the possible threat of danger in their missions, Nulf said he is proud to serve in such an important capacity to the mission.
"I am usually TDY about 120 days out of the year - - a long time to spend away from your family," Nulf said. "But the feeling you get when you return is incredible because you know you accomplished an important drop.
"The things that I have seen and experienced while being a loadmaster make me believe this is truly the best enlisted job in the Air Force."
(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)
