Photo By Kevin Clark | An Air Force C-5M Super Galaxy from Dover Air Force Base, Del., carrying Soldiers with...... read more read more
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Air Mobility Command aircrews flying C-5M Super Galaxy and C-17 Globemaster III aircraft delivered approximately 450 Soldiers and more than 30 pieces of equipment and vehicles during a U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise on July 6-7 in Wisconsin.
The crews flew their missions to Volk Field, Wis., which is located approximately 20 miles south of Fort McCoy. Approximately 700 Soldiers with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division made the trip to Wisconsin from Fort Polk, La., to complete FORSCOM training objectives. After the equipment and personnel arrived, the operations for the exercise moved to Fort McCoy.
According to FORSCOM, the Emergency Deployment Readiness Exercise, or EDRE, by definition is a no-notice, rapid-deployment exercise designed to test a unit’s ability to alert, marshal, and deploy forces and equipment to an emergency disaster or for contingency operations. An EDRE also tests the deployment readiness of active-component troops — in this case, the 10th Mountain Division.
The use of the Air Mobility Command (AMC) airlift aircraft also is a common practice for rapid deployment of forces, FORSCOM guidance states. In this exercise, C-17 aircraft came from Charleston Air Force Base (AFB), S.C., and C-5M aircraft from Dover AFB, Del., were involved.
Both the C-17 and C-5M provide a lot of airlift capabilities, according AMC’s fact sheets on both airframes.
“The C-17 Globemaster III is the most flexible cargo aircraft to enter the airlift force,” states the fact sheet at https://www.amc.af.mil. “The C-17 is capable of rapid strategic delivery of troops and all types of cargo to main operating bases or directly to forward bases in the deployment area. The aircraft can perform tactical airlift and airdrop missions and can transport litters and ambulatory patients during aeromedical evacuations. The inherent flexibility and performance of the C-17 force improve the ability of the total airlift system to fulfill the worldwide air mobility requirements of the United States.”
“The ultimate measure of airlift effectiveness is the ability to rapidly project and sustain an effective combat force close to a potential battle area,” the C-17 fact sheet further states. “Threats to U.S. interests have changed in recent years, and the size and weight of U.S.-mechanized firepower and equipment have grown in response to improved capabilities of potential adversaries. This trend has significantly increased air mobility requirements, particularly in the area of large or heavy outsize cargo. As a result, newer and more flexible airlift aircraft are needed to meet potential armed contingencies, peacekeeping or humanitarian missions worldwide. The C-17 is capable of meeting today’s demanding airlift missions.”
The C-5M has the largest airlift capacity in the U.S. military.
“The C-5M Super Galaxy is a strategic transport aircraft and is the largest aircraft in the Air Force inventory,” states its fact sheet at the AMC website. “Its primary mission is to transport cargo and personnel for the Department of Defense. The C-5M is a modernized version of the legacy C-5 designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin. … It can carry oversized cargo over intercontinental ranges and can take off and land on relatively short runways. Both the nose and aft doors open, allowing ground crews to simultaneously load and off-load cargo from both ends, reducing cargo transfer times. The full-width drive-on ramps at each end enable double rows of vehicles to be transported.
“The C-5M, with a cargo load of 281,001 pounds (127,460 kilograms), can fly 2,150 nautical miles, offload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away from the original destination — all without aerial refueling,” the fact sheet states. “With aerial refueling, the aircraft’s range is limited only by crew endurance.”
Fort McCoy officials have said Air Force involvement demonstrates an ongoing partnership the installation has with the service as well as Volk Field. The Wisconsin Air National Guard airfield has been involved in supporting Fort McCoy missions for decades — including deploying and flying mobilized Army units during the global war on terrorism and during Operation Desert Shield/Storm.
The EDRE involvement overall was also part of the level III mobilization exercise Pershing Strike ’21 taking place at Fort McCoy.
The exercise included the EDRE, two units preparing and training for deployment, and additional units completing training to “stress” Mobilization Force Generation Installation (MFGI) capabilities, said Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) Director Mike Todd.
“This exercise enables Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) to prepare their system for a unit to deploy,” Todd said, noting it helps the command and units make sure everything such as personnel and equipment are ready for a deployment while at the same time helping refine MFGI capabilities.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.
| Date Taken: | 07.20.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.20.2021 17:47 |
| Story ID: | 401331 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 190 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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