Mildenhall hosts Incirlik Globemaster mission during runway renovation

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Eric Petosky
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  More than 200 Airmen and eight C-17 Globemaster III aircraft will call RAF Mildenhall home for the next two months while the runway at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, undergoes renovation. 

The first wave of about 70 Airmen touched down here Feb. 26 from their home station of Travis Air Force Base, Calif. 

Normally, crews and jets from Travis deploy to Incirlik to perform heavy airlift in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron - part of the 385th Expeditionary Airlift Group. However, the 10,000 foot runway there is scheduled for comprehensive repairs to both its concrete slabs and sealant between them, according to Lt. Col. Ann Stefanek, 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs officer. The repairs will be completed in two separate phases, tentatively scheduled from March 7 to April 22.  Meanwhile, the 385th EAG deployed airlift mission will continue from the local tarmac. 

"It's been great - everyone has welcomed us nicely," said Lt. Col. Rick Williamson, 817th EAS director of operations. "Kudos to the 727th (Air Mobility Squadron) - They have been in daily contact since we hit the ground, making sure we have everything we need. I'm thrilled with the reception we received, especially after a 13-hour flight." 

Servicing the additional aircraft and providing for more than 200 additional Airmen is no small task. Ramp and cargo storage space will be a commodity during the C-17 stay. Also, every aspect of daily living, like housing, food, and transportation, must be taken into consideration. 

"We will provide maintenance and aerial port support," Maj. Leonel Gonzalez, 727th AMS director of operations said. "Our maintainers will launch and recover the C-17 missions and will keep the planes in full mission capable status. Our aerial port will download 747s and transfer the cargo onto the C-17s. The aerial port process includes planning the C-17 loads based on the available cargo and loading the planes. We will use the cargo yard to store the cargo that cannot be immediately loaded. It will change our cargo flow significantly." 

Support personnel are also being flown in from Incirlik's 728th Air Mobility Squadron to augment the force, but the majority of support services will be shouldered by Airmen at Mildenhall. 

Although eight of the C-17s will be operating from RAF Mildenhall, only three or four will be on the ground at any given time. Transiting 747s should only be on the ground for the amount of time it takes to transfer cargo - a few hours at most. That increase in aircraft traffic is in addition to Mildenhall's normal transient operations, significantly increasing the need for materiel like fuel. 

"Our average amount of fuel delivered to each C-17 that landed at Mildenhall this year has been just over 16,000 gallons," said Senior Master Sgt. Herbert Welday III, 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight operations section chief. "You can multiply 16,000 times the number of flights a day, times seven days a week as an estimate of how much extra fuel we'll need." 

The 100th Services Squadron will be shouldering some of the burden as well. Since all the visiting Airmen are to be housed either here or RAF Lakenheath, billeting will be pushed to 90 to 95 percent occupancy, according to Tyronne Grissett, Gateway Inn guest services manager. 

"(The visiting Airmen) are taking a big chunk of availability," he said. "My advice is to have patience and make reservations as soon as possible. We'll do our best to find rooms in contract hotels as close to the base as possible for those who are (permanently changing stations). Even then, we may have to reach out further to accommodate folks during this time period." 

The C-17 mission will be centered mainly on the north side of the base. Accordingly, the Gateway Dining Facility may see increased traffic, although Master Sgt. Thomas Green, 100th SVS Food Service Section chief, said customers should see very little change. 

"An average lunch service is around 300 people," he said, "and now we're adding one-third that number. It's that many more mouths to feed. We will still provide the same menu - just more of it. We do the same thing with temporary duty (Air National) Guardsmen during the summer, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Regular customers might notice a little longer wait at the register." 

The Northside Fitness Center, however, expects a significant increase in customers during the peak hours before and after the duty day, according to Senior Airman Alice King, fitness specialist. Airman King said the best hours to avoid over-crowding fall before and after lunch. 

"Adding that many people will increase usage drastically," she said. "During peak hours, I would expect to see someone using every piece of equipment in the cardio room. Class attendance will be up too." 

Even though more people will use the fitness center, the capability exists for the fitness center staff to increase program availability to match, according to Master Sgt. Paul McCourty, RAF Mildenhall fitness director. For example, another cycle or yoga class could be added depending on needs. 

More customers at those north-side locations means more foot traffic along the sidewalks, parking lots, and roads as well - a hazard Mildenhall "natives" should pay particularly close attention to, according to Lt. Col. Gary Slack, 100th Air Refueling Wing chief of safety. To help familiarize visiting Airmen with local conditions, they will receive the same drivers' training as permanently assigned personnel. 

"There are going to be more than 200 additional Airmen on the north side of the base," he said. "Some will be familiar with traffic patterns, some will not. Drivers must be cognizant of pedestrians, even more so than normal, at crosswalks and roundabouts." 

The most important customers -- U.S. Forces in Southwest Asia dependent on supplies airlifted by the 817th EAS -- should not be impacted by the temporary relocation. 

Despite the challenges of adding a heavy airlift capability to Mildenhall's already impressive air refueling, aerial port, special operations, and intelligence missions, the similarities between the two bases makes Mildenhall a natural choice for the temporary bed down. 

"RAF Mildenhall has an important transient aircraft support mission already, which is highlighted by our ability to temporarily support the 385 AEG's airlift mission," said Col. Eden Murrie, 100th ARW commander. "In fact, there are many parallels between our mission and Incirlik's - both bases have a critical aerial port mission supported by aircraft from all over the world. Mildenhall is perfect for this kind of operation."