Globemaster III

Globemaster III

Acquiring the C-17

Betty Raab Kennedy

Air Mobility Command Office of History Scott Air Force Base, Illinois 2004

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Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Air Force History and Museums Program, U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. Perfect cover digital image credit: Operation Enduring Freedom. Security Forces monitoring airfield activity as the C-17 Globemaster III takes off from Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, 12 May 2002. (USAF, TSgt Melissa Sanscrainte) Cover and layout design credit: Ms. Ginger Hickey, Visual Information Support Center, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

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Persistent, Resolute . . . Thousands made the C-17 a reality

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Overall, I think it's probably the best airplane I've flown. Colonel George G. London Jr., February 2000 Test pilot and copilot on the first C-17 flight

Well, like most things if you can look beyond the glossy brochures and if you can look beyond what the politicians and generals say and go to the guys that are flying the airplane and ask them `Is this airplane a good airplane or is it a piece of junk?' The general answer you get is, `It's a pretty good airplane.'

Colonel Walter S. Evans, September 1998 AMST, C-X Task Force, and HQ AMC representative to RM&AE

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FOREWORD

The C-17 holds the distinction of being the premier military airlifter in the world as we move into the 21st Century. It flew for the first time in September 1991 and entered the United States Air Force inventory in June 1993, assigned to the Air Mobility Command. On 17 January 1995, General Robert L. Rutherford declared the C-17 met its initial operational capability with a squadron of 12 aircraft based at Charleston AFB, South Carolina. Today the C-17 is recognized as a world-class, dual-role mobility aircraft...but it was not always viewed as such.

Uncertainty characterized the C-17 program for many years starting with the concept definition phase in the late 1970s and early 1980s. There were debates about the requirement, development problems, program management, cost increases, and the viability of the program. In 1993 the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, John Deutch, placed the program on probation, a first for a defense acquisition program. As the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Transportation Command and the Commander of the Air Mobility Command from 1992 to 1994, I was faced with several critical issues relating to the C-17, to include exploring alternatives to the aircraft. In the end, I came to the conclusion that the C-17 offered the best choice for meeting the Nation's need for global mobility to support the emerging post-Cold War national security requirements.

This conclusion, arrived at during my time at Air Mobility Command, was reinforced when I became the Chief of Staff of the Air Force. It has been gratifying to see the aircraft perform so magnificently during the conflicts and crises of the mid and late 1990s and in the opening phases of the War on Terror.

Ronald R. Fogleman General, USAF, (Ret.) Commander Air Mobility Command, 1992-1994 Commander-in-Chief United States Transportation Command, 1992-1994 Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, 1994-1997

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