The large, grey planes flying from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base are a common sight in the skies above the Miami Valley. Those planes are called C17s.
They are the newest, most flexible cargo aircraft in the airlift force.
I was able to visit the base recently and experience what it was like to fly in a C17 Globemaster III.
Here's how that experience went.
A Glimpse Into the Work of a Medical Unit Officer
The medical unit in this training exercise is part of the 445th Airlift Wing which operates with 1,700-officers at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
The medical teams are divided between the Aerospace Medicine Squadron and the Aeromedical Staging Squadron. There are more than 220 officers split between the two squadrons.
They took us along on a three hour flight to see what their training exercises are like.
By the numbers: C17
- 174 feet long
- 169 foot, 10 inch wingspan
- 170,900 max payloadU.S. Air Force
The team is a mix of full-time staff and reservists who report on a part-time basis. Reservists are required to serve one weekend every month and two weeks of training each year.
For this training exercise, two fellow journalists and I were strapped to gurneys on the airway. The flight crew lined us up in a row with a mix of test dummies, wrapped in green blankets.
As the crew loaded dummy after dummy, we watched and listened to their commands.
Each of us were then lifted into the plane, and lowered onto the plane's floor where we were strapped down to ensure a safe flight.
Medic team members then jumped into action to brief patients on their status and act out training exercises.
Joseph Ellerbee is Captain and flight nurse with the crew on board. In one exercise, he pretended to be a patient. Without warning, he went into medical crisis mode and acted out a hypoglycemic episode.
The other medics on board had to figure out what’s wrong with Ellerbee by tending to him as if he were a real patient.
“So when I play a role of a patient, I try to make it as real as possible for them," Ellerbee said. "And so I was given by the MCC, which is the one that coordinates everything, what my patient was going to experience. And I just kind of rolled with it from my clinical experience.”
Drills like this are common on training flights with the 445th Airlift Wing.
The wing uses the C17 Globemaster III which stands at over 170 feet long with a wingspan of more than 169 feet.
It is always operated by a crew of three, including a pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster.
The plane can land on runways as short as 3,500 feet which makes it well suited for medical evacuations and missions. Its maximum payload is 170,900 pounds with a maximum gross takeoff weight of 585,000 pounds.
Master Sgt. Brenna Pogoy is a medical technician with the crew. She said in real-world situations they can have anywhere between one and 70 patients on board.
“We go through the paperwork like an EMT in the air. But since it's Air Force, we can do more," she said. "Like, I can start an IV, we can give medications. And then we work in this team. It's typically two nurses and three med techs to provide care in the air.”
These medical units must be ready for deployment at a moment's notice and they are trained and equipped to handle combat with rapid global response.
Pogoy has been with the unit for 15 years and she said anyone can join from any background.
“I worked retail, I worked 9-1-1, so there's different jobs that you could do, especially if you're a med tech and you come here, you and you do medical,” she said.
Recruitment and the Air Force Reserves
Air Force Reserve enrollment was just under 10% short of its goal in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Defense.
The Marine Corps Reserve was the only Reserve to achieve its recruiting goal through November of last year.
Col. Micheal Baker at Wright Patt said this can be a challenge when it comes to responding to national emergencies.
Ellerbee said he agrees with Baker.
“It's super important," he said. "Most of AE is reserves. So I think there's probably two, 2 or 3 units that are not reserve off the top of my head, but most of us are reserve.”
The Air Force Reserves attained 884 recruits out of a goal of 926 by November 2023 according to the Department of Defense.
Baker said he hopes these numbers will increase as they enter the 2025 fiscal year.
Ellerbee said it is important to have reservists like him to deploy as needed and protect the nation.
"I just finished flight school in May, so that's why I'm here," he said. "I'm actually from Atlanta and my unit has been gone. So I did all my major qualification training with the 445th. It'll probably be a couple of years before I get to deploy, but hopefully I'll get to do some big missions in the United States taking people home."
Landing Back at Base
Our plane flew from Wright Patt, up through Cleveland and Pittsburgh, then down to Tennessee before it arrived back at the base.
Upon landing, crews quickly cleared the plane and loaded up for a second flight.
Each engine produces 40,440 pounds of thrust and they remained engaged to allow for a quick turnaround as we excited the C17 and recruits loaded onto the plane.
This maneuver is also common on a C17, which is best utilized for rapid, strategic delivery of troops and cargo.
"Let's say we get a call tonight, something's happening around the world, the president mobilizes us . We need to get everybody here within 72 hours to go deploy," Baker said. "So our reservists know to be accessible if we need to run those recall drills."
