Saving the Galaxy

摘要

The story of the Air Force's C-5 Galaxy airlifter is a tale equally divided between promise and problems. In the recent surge for Gulf War II, for example, the huge transport aircraft proved invaluable, giving the logistics train a kick in the pants so that supplies could move swiftly to the war theater. Gen. John W, Handy, the commander of US Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command, recalled, "In this last conflict," there were "many, many times when, frankly, the only way to unclog" Charleston AFB, S.C., Dover AFB, Del., or Ramstein AB, Germany, was "to get the C-5 in there in sufficient numbers ... and, literally, in a weekend, ... clean out all three aerial ports." The C-5's vast volume-the ability to carry 36 standard pallets, and 265,000 pounds of cargo, roughly double that of the newer C-17-is an "astounding capability," Handy said. He added, "We certainly need to keep [it] at our fingertips for as far as I can see into the future."