Eighth C-17 arrives at the 445th Airlift Wing

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The 445th Airlift Wing received its eighth C-17 Globemaster III, tail number 6004, on a snowy day in Ohio Jan. 13 from Joint Base Charleston, S.C., completing its required inventory of eight.

According to Lt. Col. Richard Klarich, 445th Operations Group C-17 Program Integration Office, the wing will receive its ninth C-17 in February. The ninth will be a backup aircraft inventory tail. Eight is the standard for a unit equipped squadron, such as the 445th AW.

"We were allowed to ask for a ninth tail, even though our manning ratios are based on eight tails, Klarich said.

Lt. Col. William Gorczynski, 445th Operations Group chief of standardizations and evaluations and C-17 pilot, along with C-17 aircraft commander Capt. Kristopher Herman, 89th Airlift Squadron, were the pilots on the flight and were joined by 89th AS loadmaster Master Sgt. Roberto Garcia to bring the plane home to the wing.

"This has been a great experience. This is my third C-17 pick up for the wing. I flew two in from McChord (Air Force Base) and this one from Charleston," Gorczynski said.

The aircraft is no stranger to Herman. He was on active duty at Joint Base Charleston flying this particular tail number before his last assignment at Altus Air Force Base, Okla. He's now an Air Reserve Technician here.

"I've flown more than 3,000 hours on this plane when I was at Charleston. Now I'll be able to continue to fly this particular tail number here at Wright-Patt," Herman said.

Gorczynski has been involved in past aircraft drop-offs for the wing during the conversion from the C-141 Starlifter to the C-5 Galaxy aircraft.

"I did a lot of drop-offs when we began receiving the C-5s. I flew four C-141s to the Boneyard (the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Tucson, Ariz.)," Gorczynski said.

A three-person team of crew chiefs assigned to the 445th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepped the aircraft before it left Charleston. According to Chief Master Sgt. Nathan Wilson, 445th AMXS superintendent, the crew chiefs - Master Sgt. John Cummings, Tech. Sgt. Chuck Roach and Staff Sgt. Nate Jones - spent two days inspecting the aircraft.

As part of the inspection, Wilson said the crew chiefs inspected the equipment inventory, checked each write-up in the aircraft forms and spoke to the owning unit about the plane's maintenance history. He said the trio checked for issues that Charleston would need to resolve, such as any missing or broken equipment, before the wing could take ownership and fly it home.

Roach was selected as the "dedicated crew chief" for 6004. He will be responsible for ensuring the aircraft is safe for flight and mission ready at all times.

Herman reflected on his past experiences at Charleston and now his current role here at the 445th AW.

"The C-17 is going to be a very good asset to the wing. I'm proud I'm here to be part of the beginning of its mission here," Herman said.