News

446th Airlift Wing crew bring new C-17 home

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nicole Celestine
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  The 446th Airlift Wing and the 62nd Airlift Wing communities at JBLM, McChord Field are pretty excited. Like new parents, they anxiously awaited the arrival of the newest member to their family.

The new "bundle of joy" is in fact a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and on March 9, the 446th AW brought it home to JBLM, McChord Field from The Boeing Company 717 manufacturing plant, in Long Beach, Calif.

Lt. Col. Ben Morley, current operations chief with the 446th Operations Support Flight here, said deliver of new C-17s is an honored shared between the two airlift wings here. The last aircraft delivered prior to the one arriving March 9, was handled by the 62nd AW.

"Sharing aircraft, the mission and a having joint responsibilities are directly related to the long-standing relationship we at the 446th AW have with our active-duty components here," said Colonel Morely.

Lt. Col. Scott Weichert, commander of the 97th Airlift Squadron here, headed the team consisting entirely of Reservists to Long Beach, Calif., and brought the aircraft back to JBLM, McChord Field.

Colonel Weichert said the new aircraft is the latest C-17 model, the P-195, which JBLM, McChord Field has not seen before. The colonel said flying the new model C-17 is a treat for him because, "It's a new aircraft, with a new smell."

The crew left McChord Field March 8 for Long Beach, Calif., where it met Brig. Gen. Robert Millmann Jr., mobilization assistant to the commander of the 18th Air Force, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. While at Long Beach, the general took part in a simulator exercise and The Boeing Company representatives briefed him and the wing's Reservists on the aircraft's capabilities and specifications. General Millman. and the crew then flew the C-17 to JBLM, McChord Field. The new addition brings the total number of C-17s at McChord Field to 44.