Comin’ and Goin’
Alright, this is truly a long flight. And, anyone that has been on a MAC transport (oops, AMC) knows that windows and flight attendants are - scarce? 
You know, the general disorientation that comes with a long flight, crappy seats, the constant humm of the T-56s - oops, C-130 days flooding back here - umm, actually the Pratt and Whitneys whine. You look up, as Captain Erik Aadland does above (front row middle), and realize you are only 2 hours into the flight. Ugh. As time drags on you find yourself living the old adage: a soldier can sleep anywhere, anytime, if the opportunity presents itself. Just look, some of the most unpleasant conditions and folks are sleeping.
And then the bird hit the active runway, you taxi for a few moments, it seems like a lifetime, and then, chocks. Yeah! You get to really stretch your legs and that just seems like heaven. Now you’re out in broad daylight walking towards the “terminal”. We all know that Military Passenger Terminals are a far cry from the ones at home. As you head around the tail section of the plane, you see your destination just across the tarmac - and other folks are headin’ your way to get on the plane you just got off. Do they know how long their flight is going to be?
Actually, I think they do know how long the flight is, but they just want to sit down and sleep - for however long it takes to get home.
TAGS: Fix4RSO, Milblog, Military, USAF, GWOT, Iraq
March 2nd, 2006 at 9:58
It’s still MAC to me! /geezer
Actually, I can go back even further: my first military aircraft flight was as a dependent on a MATS (that would be Military Air Transport Service) C-54. (Damn, didn’t I close that geezer tag?)
A kinda strange fact: I never took a long MAC flight during my 22+ years of service, “long” being defined as trans-Atlantic or greater. Did a few hops between Yokota and Clark on C-141s, and a few in-country C-130 flights in SEA, but no long-distance stuff. And I usually left Yokota via mil aircraft back in my deployable E&I days, but always RTB’ed commercial.
I wonder if they do hot food on those C-17s? Or is it still box “lunches?” The fried chicken was always good, IIRC.
March 2nd, 2006 at 19:27
That first picture is fantastic! Great image!
March 6th, 2006 at 6:31
Try a frozen C-141 from Dover. Gander to Ramstein. About 14 hours on the “hog”. I bounced for almost three weeks in Hungary in 1996. My friend had his ankles frozen on the first flight. He made the mistake of wearing the metal reinforced jungle boots!
March 6th, 2006 at 20:47
That first picture is great! Are Military sleep anywhere and what a way to wake up. I love the new site.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:34
Good read, thanks for adding our comment to the post.