C-17 loadmaster: keeping warfighters supplied

Airman, May-June, 2008 by Ben Gonzales

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On any given day, Staff Sgt. Adrienne Gariglio could load anything, from pallets of plastic spoons to a 100,000-pound tank, into her C-17 Globemaster III.

But people, especially those she helps fly in and out of the war zone, are her most important cargo, she said.

"I love to talk to the troops and make all the (passengers) comfortable," she said. "Whether it is Marines fresh from the war zone, or retired families flying space available, my job is to take care of the people in the back of the plane."

And there are the times when she helps transform her C-17 into an airborne ambulance to transport injured servicemembers out of the war zone and to medical facilities.

Sergeant Gariglio did a lot of flying in and out of the war zone during her 120-day deployment to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The base is a busy hub for cargo planes delivering supplies to Afghanistan and Iraq. The sergeant knows the job she and her crew do is vital.

By delivering cargo directly into small and remote airfields throughout Iraq, Sergeant Gariglio and her aircrew help keep American warfighters safer. Each airlift reduces the number of people moving supplies by vehicle convoys over the country's dangerous roads. The roads are plagued by roadside bombs, the biggest killer of coalition forces.

"Delivering cargo through the air makes a big impact because we take people out of danger's way," she said. "By flying in cargo, people get it faster. Plus, the C-17 can land where other airlifters can't. Plus we can carry a lot more cargo."

The C-17 alone can carry nearly 171,000 pounds of cargo to austere airfields. Working in tandem with their turbo-prop cousin, the C130 Hercules, the airlift aircraft sustain operations throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. During any 24-hour period, Air Force cargo planes average more than 140 airlift sorties, deliver more than 700 tons of supplies and transport approximately 3,500 passengers, U.S. Air Force Central officials said.

To keep pace with the demand, C-17 crews to fly an average of three to five missions a week throughout Southwest Asia. Sometimes they fly every day to deliver goods to warfighters when and where they need them. And the cargo aircraft also deliver cargo for allies.

And sometimes the cargo presents the "load" with a good challenge during loading.

"My most memorable mission was when my crew flew a Canadian Leopard (tank) into the war," Sergeant Gariglio said.

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In October 2006, her C-17 crew--flying from Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan--delivered the 30-foot, l00,000-pound Canadian tank to Kandahar Air Base, Afghanistan. The tank went into service with Canadian ground forces supporting NATO missions.

"It (the tank) was so big and heavy," she said. "We had never loaded one of them into our aircraft before. So we used a lot of restraints to secure the tank on board and I had to make sure it didn't exceed our aircraft's limitations."

One of the reasons Sergeant Gariglio joined the Air Force was to see the world. She's gotten plenty of chances to do that. During her five years in the Air Force, she has visited 10 countries.

"The best place I've flown to was Antarctica during an Operation Deep Freeze mission," the sergeant said. "It was ironic because on that mission I helped Sir Edmund Hillary get up the stairs into our aircraft. He was the first person to climb Mount Everest (with Tenzing Norgay on May 29, 1953) --and I had to help him to get on our C-17."

But perhaps the most important missions Sergeant Gariglio flies are those where she and her crew must airlift patients out of the war zone. She has had to help configure her aircraft many times for aerial evacuation missions. Once configured to carry patients, the aircraft can carry up to 36 patient litters, 54 ambulatory patients and the medical team needed to attend them directly to the nearest hospital, whether it's in Germany or the United States.

But it's transporting caskets draped with American flags, or warriors injured in combat, that really brings the war on terrorism into perspective for the 23 year old.

"It's a real eye opener when we bring wounded and dead servicemembers on board," she said. "The job can be hard sometimes when you realize people are putting their lives on the line."

Sergeant Gariglio and her crewmates remain vigilant during all their missions, especially those in and out of the war zone. The crew does what it must to deliver people and cargo in and out of the fight quickly and safely. It's how they help further the war effort.

"We all contribute our fair share to the war effort," Sergeant Gariglio said. "Everybody fights the war on terrorism in their own way."

STAFF SGT. ADRIENNE GARIGLIO

DEPLOYED UNIT: 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey

HOME UNIT AND BASE: 10th Airlift Squadron, McChord Air Force Base, Wash.

HOMETOWN: Fremont, Calif.

DEPLOYMENTS: Two

BY TECH. SGT. BEN GONZALES AND PHOTOS BY TECH. SGT. PATRICK HYDE