446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
7/12/2013 - MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- With cuts putting the squeeze on the Air Force budget, Reservists at the 446th Airlift Wing here are maximizing training opportunities to get the most out of every mission.
In May and June, aircrew Reservists completed flight training tasks while also carrying rice and beans to Haiti on a humanitarian mission. On these same missions, the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Reservists conducted their training.
When the 446th Security Forces Squadron deployed to Patriot Defender training at Fort Wolters, Texas, they took advantage of a scheduled 446th AES training flight to hop a ride. This saved the Air Force Reserve and the wing the costs of 16 commercial flight tickets. Some of the security forces team "paid" them back by adding extra flavor to the aeromedical team's training by playing the roles of patients.
"Not only did we save the unit money by not having to fly commercial air to our training, but we got to participate in the aeromedical squadron's training. It was a win-win," said Master Sgt. Michael Pate, 446th SFS.
When the aeromedical Reservists conducted training in May, they coordinated a flight with the 313th Airlift Squadron. The pilot on that mission found an opportunity to enhance his crew's training by volunteering for a humanitarian flight to Haiti.
"I saw that there was a Denton mission on our scheduling board and I had never seen one of those before. So I talked to (Loretta Miller) down in ops. I asked her what this Denton mission was and she educated me. It's a way we can use the military airlift to provide humanitarian aid," said Maj. Michael Masuda, 313th AS pilot.
The Denton amendment provides for humanitarian and civic assistance in conjunction with military operations. Such supplies may be transported only on a space available basis.
Always looking for training opportunities, the medical team from the 446th AES jumped onboard the flight, conducting they're training on the McChord to Charleston AFB, S.C., leg of the mission (and back). The pilots and loadmasters on the mission gained Invaluable training as the crew brushed up on skills needed for flying into less than optimal environments.
"Those fields are not always suitable for certain aircraft. Fortunately, the C-17 is very versatile," said Masuda.
Some of the skills the aircrew used at the airfield in Haiti included becoming familiar with flight clearances within the Caribbean.
"I had to get into the clearance guides and make sure I understood what applied for flying into the Caribbean part of the world; each part of the world has different rules. Haiti is actually very mountainous. I thought island, flat place; but no it's surrounded by some pretty decent size mountains that if you're not cognizant of what's there you could get in trouble if there's bad weather. So the terrain was not daunting, but it needed to be respected," said Masuda.
While most of McChord's C-17 aircrews have been routinely flying into hazardous Afghanistan for the past 10 years, flying to Haiti almost proved more challenging.
"Flying into places like Afghanistan or Germany the routes and challenges are well known and almost routine. But we almost never fly into Haiti. Poorer countries don't always have the best facilities," said Masuda. "When I started doing the mission planning, I thought it would be simple, run of the mill stuff; go to Haiti, drop stuff off, come back. When you fly into a field like Haiti, you have to kind of use more cumbersome methods to fly approaches. You have to reference several sources to make sure that you are legal to flying under these specific kinds of approaches. Those approaches a little more crude than what use when flying to places like Germany."
Security forces Ravens were also on the flight to Haiti. Ravens are teams of two to four specially trained and equipped security forces Airmen deployed as aircrew members to provide close-in security for aircraft transiting airfields where security is unknown or additional security is needed.
"Being on the ground is more of a threat than being in the air because there are people running around everywhere," Masuda explains.
Another method for economizing today's limited resources is mixing Reserve and active-duty aircrew.
"We had an active-duty co-pilot on the crew," said Masuda. "I think we're going to see more of that in the future, especially with the cut backs. It's one of those things now where it's about what is the best force you can put forward versus we're going to live in our stovepipe society. The best use of our assets sometimes is to mix, say an aircraft commander who is Reservists, with an active-duty co-pilot who is relatively new and can learn from the more experienced Reservist. We're doing that on our deployments as well. "
Economy of force takes on a whole knew meaning when talking about the bargain that is the Air Force Reserve.
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