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Around the world with the Proud Pelicans

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  • By Senior Airman Zachary Cacicia
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affair

For the corresponding news coverage to this commentary click here.

The following is a day-to-day log of my experiences as a Public Affairs photojournalist travelling on a C-5M Super Galaxy with an aircrew from the 9th Airlift Squadron, the “Proud Pelicans,” on a mission that took us around the world from May 21 to June 3, 2016.

 

Day 1: The bus ride

It all started at 3:30 p.m. when I first arrived at the 9th AS building to meet up with the aircrew. The team was comprised of three pilots, four loadmasters and two flight engineers; additionally two flying crew chiefs from the 436th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron joined us.

 

Though we were not scheduled to take off until the next day, we met up at the squadron to catch a bus ride up to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey. This is where Dover’s C-5M fleet is temporarily being staged out of, due to the ongoing runway construction at Dover AFB. To allow proper amounts of rest, aircrews are temporarily bussed up to JB MDL a day prior their mission to allow them to a full night’s sleep when possible.

 

At 4 p.m. we boarded a bus with another aircrew with our dozens of bags and luggage for the two-hour drive up to JB MDL. We arrived at the Joint Base, checked into billeting and got a good night’s sleep. We were instructed that our alert time for the next day was 7:45 a.m.

 

Day 2: Wheels up for the first time

We alerted early in the morning and were taken out to the flight line to our jet. After several hours of pre-flight checklists and procedures, we departed on board the C-5M tail #86-0017. This would be the C-5M to take us around the world. We took off and headed westward across the continent and the Pacific Ocean. I have flown on Air Force aircraft before, but this was my first time flying on a C-5M. After a ten-hour flight, we arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. After landing, we were bused to a hotel at Waikiki Beach, where we spent the night. We were scheduled to depart the next day.

 

Day 3: Hello, land of the rising sun

We took off out of Hawaii on Monday afternoon and landed in Okinawa early Wednesday morning. We crossed over the International Date Line, so yes, I lost Tuesday. And because our journey would only continue westward, I will never get it back. At this point, my internal clock is all sorts of messed up. It really put into perspective the demanding hours that aircrew members work through.

 

After landing at Kadena Air Base, we went into crew rest and spent the night. The next day was expected to be long. 

 

Day 4: Loading helicopters

Up until now, we have been flying with an empty cargo bay. The primary goal of this mission was to deploy a rescue squadron from one location to another. On this day, we were alerted and reported to the flight line to load our cargo and take off for Africa.

 

Day 5: In-flight emergency

Taking off out of Japan, our flight plan had us scheduled to fly to U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Thailand, to refuel and continue onto Africa. We were about two hours out of Kadena when we experienced a minor in-flight emergency, losing pressurization. As a precaution we returned to Kadena AB.  

 

Day 6: Back to Japan

We returned to Kadena AB for some minor repairs and maintenance. We spent an extra two days here and were soon ready to continue on with the mission.

 

Day 7: Footprint of Freedom

We took off out of Kadena AB in the late evening. Our original route had us going to Thailand for a quick refueling stop. But our plans changed and we were sent to refuel at Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, a tiny island smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean, owned by Great Britain, often referred to as the “Footprint of Freedom,” because of its unique shape. This was a unique and unexpected stop in the trip.

 

While there, I was able to explore the island as much as I could and we went swimming in the lagoon. It was the bluest water I have ever seen. The tropical paradise really is one of the Department of Defense’s best kept secrets when it comes to assignments.

 

Day 8: It was Djibouti-ful

Our next stop was Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa. I exited the C-5 and I felt a heat that I have never experienced before in my life. Saying that I felt like I was melting would be an understatement. While I only spent one day on the ground there, I have a lot of respect for the U.S. service members who are deployed there.

 

The two helicopters we took out of Kadena AB were off-loaded, along with the passengers. We were then taken to our tent and spent the night.

 

Day 9: From Africa to Europe

Overnight we returned to the C-5M to on-load cargo and passengers. This on-load was unique because it was comprised of four military-grade Polaris RZRs, three jet skis and over a dozen pallets of equipment and gear. Once this was complete we took off and nine hours later we arrived at Naval Station Rota, Spain.

 

Day 10: Back in the USA

Our circumnavigation is officially complete, but we are not done with the mission yet. We still have to get our cargo and passengers back to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. Stopping back at JB MDL was not originally scheduled, but the stop was added because we needed gas.

 

Day 11: Final off-load

The next day, we flew from JB MDL to Davis-Monthan AFB for the final off-load of cargo. We spent the night in Arizona, our last stint of crew rest on the mission.

 

Day 12: Home

The final day of the mission had us return home to Dover AFB. The crew was tired, I was tired, and we were all happy to be home.

 

Wrapping things up, I would like to thank the 9th AS aircrew, including pilots Capt. Braden Gross, Capt. Kevin Kirschke and Capt. Kyle Johnson; flight engineers Staff Sgt. Brent Gregory and Senior Airman Dominick Lignelli; loadmasters Tech. Sgt. Will Russell, Senior Airman Jesse Garza, Airman 1st Class Leah Peterson and Airman 1st Class Kyle Wake; the flying crew chiefs from the 436th AMXS Staff Sgt. Bradley Harris and Senior Airman Nathan Bastion. In total we flew 69 hours and 26,000 miles over a 14 day stretch, carrying 580 thousand pounds of cargo and 398 passengers and did a complete trip around the world. I can now say that I feel like an honorary Proud Pelican.