Photo By Master Sgt. Anthony Florence | Staff Sgt. Doug Wattier a Loadmaster with the 317th Airlift Squadron based in...... read more read more
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CHARLESTON, S.C. – In the past, the 414th Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Company convoyed from Orangeburg, S.C., to Fort McCoy. Wis., for their annual training exercise, Red Dragon. This year, Sgt. 1st Class Eddie White, the 414th company operations sergeant, collaborated with the air force to fly the company instead.
White began the extensive planning process in November 2014 with conference calls to the 315th Airlift Control Flight (ALCF) commander, Air Force Lt. Col. Don L. Thigpen, II. White explained, “Without the help and guidance from Lt. Col. Thigpen, we could have never made this flight happen.”
But the heavy lifting and preparation of loading the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III was done with the expertise of Air Force Master Sgt. Eric Walker, 315th ALCF affiliation program manager and C-17 loadmaster. “Master Sgt. Walker was the answer man when questions came up during the past week and all the way until crunch time,” said White.
The company reported for duty at 4:00 a.m. to pack the bus for the 75 mile trip to Joint Base Charleston, August 15, 2015. The company had to be on the flight line and ready to complete the mission at 8 am.
“What a great experience for all the soldiers to get the chance to load a C-17 and fly to the Red Dragon training exercise,” said White. “In fact, this is the first time I loaded equipment onto a C-17.”
Soldiers and airmen worked together for two hours to load the C-17 with equipment and guide three Light Medium Tactical Vehicles (LMTV) up the ramp.
After completing the load out, 1st Lt. Jordan Clayton, 414th CBRN company commander said, “The soldiers loved this! Although the exercise took a lot of time and effort, it’s been great working side by side with Sgt. 1st Class White, who helped reduce the stress and safety issues involved with this mission.”
By flying to Fort McCoy, the U.S. Army Reserve saved money on transportation costs and provided additional training for soldiers and airmen. The joint mission proved successful and Walker was pleased with the loading process. “Everything went smoothly and according to plan; we got everyone safely on the plane and on their way to Red Dragon.”
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2015 12:20 |
| Story ID: | 174557 |
| Location: | CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, SC, US |
| Web Views: | 183 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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