WPAFB 445th Air Wing hurricane missions

By Mike Ullery, Piqua Daily Call

When one thinks of the United States military, one usually envisions combat and a John Wayne- ish scenario on top of Mount Surabachi or a similar place.

While our military men and women perform admirably in combat situations, they also routinely perform other duties that “The Duke” would probably never have made a movie about - although maybe he should have.

Over the course of this past week, the 445th Airlift Wing, based at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a wing made up of both full and part-time Air Force Reserve members, has been flying their C-17 Globemaster aircraft on humanitarian relief missions to bring supplies and personnel to areas ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.

On Tuesday, I was asked to accompany a crew on one of these missions.

On about two-hours notice, I arrived at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at 3:55 p.m. on Tuesday, ready to take on “our” mission.

Following a crew briefing that began at 4:15, our six-man crew and I boarded a small bus and were transported to our waiting aircraft, tail number 70044, and climbed aboard.

The flight crew immediately set about preparing for the aircraft for the mission. I was invited to the cockpit where Capt. Aaron Port, of Grand Rapids, Mich., gave me a quick tour, even allowing me a few minutes in the co-pilot’s seat.

After leaving the co-pilot’s seat, (reluctantly), the cockpit crew got down to what, I would learn over the next 15 hours, seemed to be a never-ending series of checklists.

Checklists complete, we were cleared to taxi and departed our Ohio base at 6:30 p.m., pointed our nose west, climbed to a flight level of 36,000 feet at 245 knots (280 mph) of airspeed, destination, McChord Air Base near the west coast in Washington state.

I divided my time between sitting in the cockpit and in troop seating in the cargo bay. The cavernous area is 88 feet in length, 18 feet wide and 12 feet 4 inches high. The aircraft can carry a payload in excess of 170,00 pounds.

Aircraft amenities are spartan. Two bunks on the flight deck, one deck above the cargo area, are for relief pilots. There is one small, actually very small restroom, and a tiny galley. The good news is that the aircraft is equipped with several 110 volt outlets. I did not have to worry about my cell phone battery on this trip.

The view from the cockpit was surreal. Looking out of the large right-hand window behind the co-pilot, the Big Dipper kept us company as we crossed over the northern part of our country.

As Jack Nicholson’s character, Col. Nathan Jessup, pointed out in “A Few Good Men,” they do “stand on a wall” to keep us protected. Hats off to our armed forces and the United States Air Force.