Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Airmen from the 22nd Airlift Squadron prepare to load pallets onto a C-5M Super Galaxy during a Major Command Service Tail Trainer exercise May 24, 2021, at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For one leg of the training, the 22nd AS loadmasters loaded and unloaded cargo weighing 53,411 pounds. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Airman 1st Class Daniel Taylor, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, prepares to load cargo during a Major Command Service Tail Trainer exercise May 24, 2021, at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For one leg of the training, the 22nd AS loadmasters loaded and unloaded cargo weighing 53,411 pounds. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Loadmasters from the 22nd Airlift Squadron strap cargo to a pallet during a Major Command Service Tail Trainer May 24, 2021, at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. For one leg of the training, the 22nd AS loadmasters loaded and unloaded cargo weighing 53,411 pounds. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Airman Ryan Russell, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, marshals a Humvee onto a C-5M Super Galaxy during a Major Command Service Tail Trainer exercise May 23, 2021, at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The training allowed aircrew to gain experience in a low-pressure environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Clifford Lyter, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, checks a chain lock on a C-5M Super Galaxy May 26, 2021 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A total of 10 Humvees were loaded and 23 soldiers were flown to John Glenn International airport in Columbus, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Airman 1st Class Molly Connors, 22nd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, secures a Humvee on a C-5M Super Galaxy May 26, 2021 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. A total of 10 Humvees and 23 soldiers were loaded onto the C-5 and flown to John Glenn Columbus International Airport, Ohio, as part of a Major Command Service Tail Trainer exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Soldiers from the 861st Quartermaster Company line up to enter a C-5M Super Galaxy May 25, 2021 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 22d Airlift Squadron participated in a Major Command Service Tail Trainer that flew 11 pallets of cargo weighing 53,411 and soldiers to Fort Campbell, Kentucky. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joshua Burke, 22nd Airlift Squadron flight engineer, performs pre-flight checks of the exterior of a C-5M Super Galaxy May 25, 2021 at Joint Base Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Pre-flight checks help ensure the safety and maintenance of the aircraft.(U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak)

Air Force, Army joint training ensures readiness

Published May 27, 2021
By Airman 1st Class Alexander Merchak
60th Air Mobility Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. — Aircrew from the 22nd Airlift Squadron stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California, departed for a joint training mission to destinations in the Northeast and Midwest of the United States as part of a Major Command Service Tail Trainer exercise, May 21 - 26, 2021.

They were trained for real-world missions in a low-pressure environment, loading pallets of cargo, Humvees and transporting U.S. Army troops on their journey to mission readiness.

The MSTT leveraged a C-5M Super Galaxy aircraft to maximize training for 22nd AS pilots, engineers and loadmasters while also supporting U.S. Army readiness items, said Capt. Dallin Gray, 22nd AS C-5 pilot and flight commander.

“By planning extended ground training, customizing cargo and supporting total force and joint users, the 22nd AS was able to optimize C-5 mission times and locations to reach training efficiencies — proven to be 300-450% as effective as regular missions for loadmaster and engineer syllabus accomplishment,” he said.

The crew arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where 58 soldiers from the 861st Quartermaster Company were tansported along with 11 pallets of cargo weighing 53,411 pounds.

“The 861st QC provided the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion with parachutes and aerial delivery support,” said Capt. David O’Neil, 861st QC commander. “It allowed both organizations to utilize our training and experience, which betters us as a force,”

During the last leg of the training, 23 soldiers from the 412th CAB and 10 Humvees were loaded and transported to John Glenn International Airport in Columbus, Ohio.

The newly-implemented training, that started in January of this year, has already shown significant signs of success, said Gray.

“The MSTT has proven so effective that current projections predict the Loadmaster (apprentice) backlog to be cleared three years sooner than if no MSTT had been put into practice,” he said.