Charleston's C-17s Flying Wherever These's a Runway.

• Author: Kennedy, Harold

Like giant, gray pelicans, three C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft earlier this year lumbered off the runway at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. On board were 172 paratroopers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, from nearby Fort Bragg.

The C-17s flew more than 10 hours nonstop--refueling twice in the air--to deliver their passengers to a remote drop zone near the Ukraine-Polish border. Over the drop zone, the paratroopers tumbled out, parachuting to the ground as part of a joint training exercise with the Ukrainians.

The operation illustrates the C-17's ability to deliver combat troops and their equipment to far away destinations, said Air Force Col. (Brig. Gen. select) Vern M. "Rusty" Findley II, commander of the 437th Airlift Wing, which is headquartered at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C.

The base--located 16 miles north of South Carolina's historic port by the same name--is home to nearly two thirds of the C-17s deployed by the Air Force, Findley told National Defense. They may be the busiest transports in the Air Force, he said.

In 1999, Findley explained, the 437th--and the 315th Airlift Wing, an Air Force Reserve organization, also based at Charleston--flew more than 2,000 missions, delivering 2,326 tons of cargo to 153 countries.

"We went to almost every country that has an airfield," he said.

Charleston C-17s flew more than 1,200 missions in support of NATO operations against Yugoslavia, according to Findley. They lifted Army tanks, Apache helicopters and force-protection components into the small airport at Tirana, Albania.

After NATO ground troops moved into Kosovo, Charleston crews flew into the airport at Pristina. At Christmas time, they delivered 16 pallets of shoeboxes full of donated candy, toys and school supplies to Skopje, Macedonia.

"I really look at Kosovo as the 'coming-out party' for the C-17," Findley said. "Ninety five percent of our missions were on time. That's better than the airlines."

The C-17s had other work to do in 1999, besides Kosovo, Findley said. During that same year, Charleston aircraft also delivered cargo to:

* U.S. forces enforcing the "no-fly" zones in Iraq.

* Peacekeepers in Darwin, Australia, preparing to stop ethnic bloodletting in East Timor, Indonesia.

* Victims of Hurricane Mitch in Honduras and Nicaragua.

This year also has been busy for the air-lifters. After terrorists attacked a Navy destroyer, USS Cole, in the Yemeni harbor of Aden, a crew from the 315th flew the bodies of five sailors to Ramstein Air Force Base, in Germany. Another 315th crew airlifted the remains from Ramstein to Dover Air Force Base, in Delaware, for port mortuary processing.

In January, Charleston C-17s are scheduled to begin flying special operations low-level II missions, inserting and extracting U.S. commandos during international crises, Findley said. Aircrews have been training to perform this mission, covertly when necessary, 24 hours per day, seven days a week, he noted.

Breaking News

"When there's breaking news on CNN, I stand by," said Findley, "because in short order we may be tasked to go somewhere. If you watch the news, you'll see our logo on ramps all over the world."

What keeps the C-17 so busy, Findley said, is its sheer utility. For one thing, he said, it is big...