C-5M Aces Surge

The C-5M test force completed surge operations in which the C-5M Super Galaxy flew essential cargo over 31 days of non-stop sorties from Dover AFB, Del., to Incirlik AB, Turkey. Maj. Stephanie Halcrow, commander of the 436th Maintenance Squadron at Dover, noting that the unit’s airmen “spent the last 12 months training for this big game,” said the maintainers “hit a grand slam during the surge.” Over the 31 days, the C-5M flew 34 sorties and moved 3.8 million pounds of cargo, bypassing traditional fuel stops for the C-5B Galaxy at Rota, Spain, and flying direct to Incirlik—saving more than 365 hours and about 1.3 million pounds of fuel. “The new engines have significantly increased the C-5M’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Mike Semo, C-5M Dover Program Officer. The next hurdle in the operational test and evaluation process is cold weather testing in Alaska sometime this month. (The C-5M also recently set some flying records.) (Dover report by Maj. Ronald Betts)