Expeditionary Airlift Operations: An Assessment of the C-5's First Deployment
Abstract
Our military is undergoing a transformation into an expeditionary force. In order to stay relevant under the new military construct, a weapon system needs to be able to perform in an expeditionary environment. The C-5 Galaxy's low reliability rates have not made it an attractive option for conducting missions into austere airfields using a deployed infrastructure. The C-5 normally operates on intertheater legs, flying between AMC enroute stations where routine maintenance can be accomplished before returning to home station, mission complete. In fact, the C-5 had never deployed as a unit to an enroute location with a complete leadership, maintenance, support, and aircrew package in support of combat operations. That is until July 2002, during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, when the C-5 was tasked to support the redeployment of a Canadian Light Infantry Regiment from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Diego Garcia. This graduate research project presents a case study of this deployment and assesses the performance of the C-5 weapon system from two perspectives: effectiveness and efficiency, in order to determine whether or not the C-5 can perform in an expeditionary environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA430849
Entities
People
- Daniel J. Oosterhous
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology