AMS loads longest pallet train

  • Published
  • By Capt. Rose Richeson
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  As the sun begins to set over the Incirlik flightline, a five-person load team wraps up their ninth mission of the day including the upload of a six pallet train, or T-6. Trains can range anywhere from T-2 through T-6, with a T-6 being the largest possible.

Pallet trains consist of pallets "married" together by couplers making it one single piece of cargo. Only the 60K Tunner, or K-loader, is equipped to handle the unique T-6 load that measures 44 feet in length and can weigh a maximum of 60,000 pounds.

"Six pallet positions really speed up time for both upload and download with a 10,000-pound maximum weight for each pallet," said Staff Sgt. Dan Merrill, 728th Air Mobility Squadron Load Team chief.

The load team chiefs are very important in the loading operation because they are responsible for all aspects of aircraft loading, from setting up the load in sequence to ensuring the proper weight and balance of the aircraft so that each piece of cargo is ready for movement. The chief assigns positions to each load team member and provides a detailed briefing on the type of cargo being loaded, safety procedures for the operation and evacuation points in the event of an emergency.
Paired with the aircraft loadmaster, nothing moves on or off an aircraft without their direction.

"I go over procedures for anything out of the ordinary that we may encounter during the shift," he said. "This is my fourth deployment and it's nothing new. Just making sure the rest of the team knows how to handle each load is my main concern."

Sergeant Merrill's team was responsible for loading the T-6 on a quick turn mission to Iraq with six additional single pallets heading to the same location June 4. This particular T-6 consisted of steel beams needed at a construction site downrange.

"During a quick turn mission, the aircraft sits on the ground just long enough to load the equipment before heading to the next destination," said Sergeant Merrill. "It lands, loads and takes off again sometimes within the hour."

The T-6 upload was the second in two weeks for Incirlik and one of the smallest, crew members have encountered weighing in at only 6,000 pounds compared to the May 23 mission which carried approximately 35,000 pounds.

"The hardest thing about loading a T-6 is that it has to be spot-on and lined up to the nearest inch to fit," said Sergeant Merrill. "Every centimeter makes a difference and pallets can be very hard to get unstuck."

The load team and aircraft crew work in sync placing pallets on board C-17 aircraft and don't mind putting in a little extra time to make sure every job is done to perfection.

"Just knowing whatever we're shipping downrange is keeping people from doing convoys makes it worthwhile," said Staff Sgt. Bryan Childers, 728th AMS Load Team chief. "It's a lot easier for us to work harder here than for them to go out on the road and put their lives in danger for this equipment."

With three quarters of the load team being temporary duty personnel, it's not easy to anticipate the experience level of each team member. The 728th AMS schedules different people on each shift to keep a good mix of skill-levels which helps teams gel that much faster.

"We are a coalition of bases here," said Sergeant Merrill, who is temporarily assigned here from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. "Once we work together for a few days we become a family and I know I am trusted as the shift supervisor and team chief just like permanent party would be."

Five T-6 loads like the one loaded June 4 would max out Incirlik's high-line docks used to store the pallets. Incirlik's cargo hub operates around the clock transporting 72 percent of all air cargo going into Iraq and 26 percent of all Air Mobility Command cargo worldwide.

"Our team alone had hands-on at least 200 pallets today completing eight uploads and two downloads all in one 12-hour shift," said Sergeant Childers.