The new C-17 aircrews operating out of Hickam AFB, Hawaii, used the request for assistance in moving Australian defense forces as an opportunity to help an ally and get some additional C-17 training. (And, the Aussies picked up pointers, too.) The Hickam airmen in two C-17s moved, over the course of eight days, more than 1.1 million pounds of cargo, transporting 333 passengers, 48 pallets, and 74 vehicles. While they were doing this, they practiced engines running onload/offload—a practice quite common in operational areas like Afghanistan and Iraq—and took care of some needed loadmaster training.
The Air Force still needs more than 300 combat squadrons, but the biggest priority is not number of squadrons but capability, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said Sept. 22. He also suggested the records set by the Next Generation Air Dominance prototype likely have more to do…