#Team McChord

[usafphantom2]

USAF crew plans and performs demonstration of C-17 capabilities in just 24 hours

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 10/06/2022 - 16:00 at Air Shows, Military

An order arrived in the inbox of the emails of the 446th Air Transport Wing at 8 p.m., looking for an aircraft for air demonstration, although previously it was to be only in static exposure.

The aircraft that was originally scheduled to be displayed on the ground would now perform in flight at the Abbotsford International Airshow in British Columbia.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Cohn, instructor pilot assigned to the 97th Air Transport Squadron and commander of the C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the air show, forwarded the request to his commander. In 24 hours, Cohn and his crew were approved to show the combat agility of the aircraft of more than 330,000 pounds in front of a crowd of approximately 100,000 people.

The crew of the Lewis-McChord, Washington, Joint Air Force Reserve Base planned a 15-minute demonstration.

"I want to thank you and those in your leadership chain for approving the team of Lieutenant Colonel Cohn of the 97th Air Transport Squadron (AS) to hold a flying overflight exhibition at our three shows over the weekend," Jim Reith, president of the air show, said in an email to Cohn and his commanders.

"The Globemaster is always a wonderful spectacle in the sky combining its size and maneuverability to show the flexibility of the missions it can accomplish."

The objectives of Cohn and his crew for the demonstration were three: to fulfill the commander's intention, follow the regulations and make it a pleasure for everyone.

“A demonstration is showing the capabilities of an aircraft,” Cohn said. “We plan and perform a performance in 24 hours. It was fantastic."

And they were able to successfully demonstrate the C-17.

"We made a maximum effort takeoff followed by a high angle climb over the exhibition center. Followed by high and low speed passes and a short field landing. The demonstration ended with the support of the aircraft and the 180-degree rotation on the runway," said Cohn, a 22-year-old veteran.

Each maneuver aimed to show how the aircraft can operate in austere environments. Although the demonstration was the first for the pilots, it was their readiness training that made an email fly.

The training allowed the aerial crew to quickly plan and present global mobility capabilities.

Tags: AirshowMilitary AviationBoeing C-17 Globemaster IIIUSAF - United States Air Force / US Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. It has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[lboogie1906]

Otis Sistrunk (September 18, 1946) is a former football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman (1972-78). He played his entire NFL career with the Oakland Raiders. He became a professional wrestler in the NWA.

He was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was one of the few NFL players of his day to not play college football, going directly from William H. Spencer High School in Columbus to the Marines. After leaving the military, the 21-year-old found work at a Milwaukee meat-packing plant and played two years of semi-pro football in the area for the West Allis Racers before joining the Norfolk Neptunes of the Continental Football League in 1969.

He played three years for the Neptunes (the last two in the semi-pro Atlantic Coast Football League after the CPFL folded); in 1971, a Los Angeles Rams scout spotted him and believed he could play in the NFL. During team practice, he was observed by representatives of the Oakland Raiders, who brought him to their team in 1972.

He was inducted into the American Football Association’s Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1974. In 1976, playing under coach John Madden, he was part of the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings. He retired after the 1978 season, finishing his career with seven fumbles recovered and three interceptions in 98 games played.

After leaving football, he spent two years as a beer salesman. He was then approached about working with the Army as a civilian employee. He spent twelve years working at Fort Benning. He now manages Cowan Memorial Stadium at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and helps with athletic training programs.

He had a brief movie career, appearing as a short-order cook in Car Wash (1976) and the role in Babyface (1977).

His nephew Caesar Rayford, was a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys. He is a distant cousin to former NFL player Manny Sistrunk. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[atpaine]

What do we Do?

[Acts 10:44-48] By the Reverend Tom Paine Preached at Westminster Presbyterian, Chehalis May 5, 2024 When I first walked into the Base Exchange at Joint Base Lewis McChord in 2017, I saw a kiosk selling sports paraphernalia.  But one item really caught my eye.  They were the “divided house” license plates and flags.  You could get almost any sports team on one half and another sports team on…

[georgemcginn]

DOD Featured Photos

Knight Sparks Fly Members of the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, conduct night training jumps over Homestea… Photo Details > Training Time A soldier participates in downed aircraft recovery team training at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.,… Photo Details > Sunlit Sail The USS Nimitz conducts routine operations while transiting the South China Sea, Feb. 4, 2023. Photo Details > View…

[mountrainiernps]

May is Military Appreciation Month. The military, especially the Army, has a long historical connection to Mount Rainier. 

One of the first documented climbers of Mount Rainier was Lt. August Kautz. In 1857, after many months of looking up to Mount Rainier from his home and office at Fort Steilecoom, Lt. Kautz organized an expedition to summit the mountain. He came close, Point Success, before turning around.

During the Great Depression, Army officers at Fort Lewis worked with park rangers to plan, set up and equip Civilian Conservation Corps camps all around the mountain. While the Army ran the camps, it was park rangers working with them to complete miles of rock walls and trails around the park.

Today the park is still connected to the armed forces. Units from nearby JBLM (Joint Base Lewis McChord) visit the park for recreation, team building, and relaxation after deployments. Sometimes, they even re-enlist here. Perhaps you’ve witnessed one of these ceremonies? Or maybe taken part in your own here? What memories do you have of Mount Rainier and appreciation for the armed forces? ~ams

NPS Photo (top). View from Ricksecker Point at sunset. Point Success is the most prominent false summit on Mount Rainier. NPS Photo (middle). Members of the CCC work on construction of the Wonderland Trail. Image circa 1930s. NPS Photo (bottom). Members of the U.S. military at a re-enlistment ceremony on the Muir steps at Paradise. 2018.

[gunrunnerhell]

Stress Fire

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Washington- A Soldier with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), competes in a stress fire shooting event Dec. 4, 2018, during the Menton Week team competition. The 1st SFG(A) and the Canadian Special Operations Regiment celebrate their on-going legacy as premier special operation professionals during the first week of December, and to commemorate the deactivation of the First Special Service Force. (U.S. Army photos by Spc. Amanda Baker)

[shadowron]

The Districts of the Seattle Sourcebook (1st Edition): Fort Lewis: The District No One Visits

I have played Shadowrun as both a PC and GM through the first four editions and all my adult life, and I have never had a character step foot in this district. Why?

Because that’s where the fragging ARMY is.

For all of the bravado and cutting edge tech that runners jander around with, they only have to glance across the border while driving on I-5 and catch a glimpse of not just one, but multiple GMC Banshee Low-Altitude Vehicles, each with 1,250-round autofeed Vigilant rotary autocannon, a 2,500-round coaxial assault cannon (both with antiaircraft capability, natch), and a four-slot, armor-protected missile launcher unit to realize they really should be happy with their Ares Predator and zip back home to the Barrens.

Just ignore the rigger’s lusty gaze.

Fort Lewis is also the headquarters for the Metroplex Guard, the National Guard equivalent for 2050’s Seattle, which, for the purposes of most shadowrunners, is even more dangerous than Lone Star or corporate security. Despite the balkanization of the North American continent and weakening of governmental power, they are still are not only allowed, but expected and encouraged to trot around the ‘Plex in mil-spec body armor and fully automatic weapons. They are still the Army.

Not nearly enough Laubenstein in this post.

Organized Crime

Mafia – Minor

Yakuza – Minor

Seoulpa Rings – None

Go-Gangs – Minor

# Plot Hooks: 9

Places of Note

Downtown Hell (Urban Combat Simulator)

Address: 213 W. Outer Dr., on the grounds of McChord Air Force Base. This is a 25 square block replica of downtown Seattle, used primarily for the Metroplex Guard to train for when your team of runners gets their first big score and decides to take their Vindicator minigun to the Space Needle.

“I conceal it under my jacket.”

Fort Lewis Zoological Gardens

Address: 1011 W. Jackson Ave. This is where they keep the Critters, in case your Coyote Shaman decides they need to ride a unicorn.

Paranormals? When you say it like that it sounds kind of racist.

[fatehbaz]

Another endemic and very endangered butterfly species from rare prairie and dry oak savanna environments of the coastal Pacific Northwest: As of 2019, Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) has recently been successfully reintroduced to the sensitive and ecologically unique South Puget Prairies through the help of prescribed fires meant to fight invasive Euro-American plant species and propagate native prairie species like blue camas.

-

Here’s a look at the extent of the South Puget Prairies - sometimes called the South Sound Prairie - which exist south of Olympia, between Tacoma and Chehalis. [Source: Lalita M. Calabria, et al., 2015.]

Both “prairie” and “oak woodland/savanna” could be referred to as “dryland” environments, which are rare in the Pacific Northwest due to mild marine climate, moisture, and dense coniferous forest even at lower elevations. While Garry oak woodland and savanna does exist farther north in small pockets on eastern Vancouver Island, near Sequim on the eastern Olympic Peninsula, and also at the Fraser Delta near Vancouver (all 3 of these regions along the shores of the Salish Sea), the only truly sizable region of contiguous native prairie north of Portland, Oregon, is probably the South Puget Prairie region. Lush rainforest covers the Coast Range to the west, and more rainforest covers the western slopes of the Cascades to the east, but the relatively dry lowland corridor in-between these two rainforest zones allows prairie to exist. The South Puget Prairie area is highly endangered, and hosts some small, isolated and notable populations of endemic lichens, endemic invertebrates, rare reptiles, and endemic mammals (pocket gophers).

Here’s a prairie-oak woodland landscape near Olympia:

Excerpts from “Endangered Butterflies Rebound in South Sound Prairies - Scatter Creek: WDFW Celebrates Reintroduction of Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly,” Daniel Warn for Nisqually Valley News, 9 May 2019:

The scientists at the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife have successfully reintroduced the endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly into South Sound prairies, specifically at the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area in Thurston County and Joint Base Lewis McChord. [...]

In the past decade, WDFW has tripled the number of Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies in the South Sound prairies.

“No one has been able to do this successfully with this group of butterflies, so this is really exciting on a national scale,” Linders said. Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly is one of about 20 subspecies of Edith’s checkerspot butterfly, and is the only one that has successfully been reintroduced to the wild.

The butterfly became endangered due to loss of habitat from the advance of invasive plant species like Scotch broom. So the first method of restoring the subspecies was to restore the prairies themselves.

“The easiest way to do it is to start with prescribed fire,” he said. “We’ll select areas that could use a burn and that will open up a canvas, essentially, of landscape. Then the invasive weeds will emerge first, once we get some precipitation. So we’ll herbicide those out, and that will give us the opportunity to select against them. A lot of the native plants will emerge after that.”

Those native plants are what the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly needs to survive. These plants include the blue camas and Indian paintbrushes found in the prairies.

“Over the course of the last 20 years, we’ve been working hard on restoring the habitat on this prairie,” Linders said. “It used to be covered with scotch broom, five, six, seven feet tall. We have gotten rid of that and are restoring a lot of the native prairie plants. These efforts preserve a lot of the native nectar and host plants for the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, and also for a whole suite of other species that are also very rare on these prairies.”

In 2007, WDFW officially started the program, testing the waters of this type of restoration work. The larva were reared in captivity throughout their hibernation stage, before the caterpillars could be released onto the prairies. [...] [End excerpt.]

You can read this article, which includes more about the specific details of how the butterflies were raised and released, here.

-

Here’s a map of the general ecoregions in the coastal Pacific Northwest which host Garry oak savanna and woodland. The Salish Sea shoreline and Willamette Valley both sit in the rain shadow of the Coast Range, and are relatively dry enough to host “prairie.” [Source.]

[Edits/labels by me. Source for base layer of map: x.]

-

This table, and more, come from a short but interesting piece on the relationship that the Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly has with oak savanna and dryland bird species: “Meet the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly and the Bird Conservation Focal Species that Share its Grassland Habitat,” eBird Northwest Team, 19 April 2019.

From Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, current as of 2016:

[courtneytincher]

U.S. Army field artillery brigade print protective masks, fight COVID-19

U.S. Army 17th Field Artillery ‘Thunderbolt’ Brigade Soldiers assigned to 308th Brigade Support Battalion joined the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, on April 1, 2020, as they began using additive manufacturing to produce personal protective equipment.

In response to increasing cases of COVID-19 around the world and corresponding shortages of masks across the United States, JBLM is using their resources by producing these PPE prototypes in support of our medical professionals that operate our medical facilities and for Soldiers performing COVID-19 missions.

Using four 3-D printers — which commonly are used to create tools and parts for military vehicles — Thunderbolt Soldiers started production on personal protective equipment using the Rapid Fabrication via Additive Manufacturing on the Battlefield (R-FAB).

With this capability 308th BSB is capable of producing 24 face shields per day with a goal of 100 per week — leaving room to account for the time required to perform machine maintenance, power generator services and for failed part print productions.

“The design and initial guidance for the personal protective equipment was shared with me by a retired warrant officer assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richmond Minton, I Corps Logistics Officer. “We then took the design and shared it with our subordinate units across I Corps.”

When the initial guidance was given down to the subordinate units the Allied Trade Specialists, 91E, within the 308th BSB took on this challenge using the unit’s R-FAB.

“I’m not trying to make myself look good, I’m just trying to help people out,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ivan Vazquez, an Allied Trade Warrant Officer with the 308th BSB, 17th FA BDE, whose usual focus is metal working and fabrication.

Thunderbolt Soldiers began printing the face shields using the approved program files and assembly instructions downloaded from the National Institutes of Health website.

“We are happy to be part of the team providing the solution,” said Lt. Col. Christina Lewis, commander of the 308th BSB. “This was definitely a combined effort amongst the Allied Trade Warrant Officers within 1st SFG (A), I Corps and 17th FA BDE. The Soldiers are gaining valuable experience from this while creating a product that can potentially help others all while utilizing equipment typically used during expeditionary missions.”

Minton will meet with experts from the University of Washington Medical Department COVID-19 research team April 7, to review face mask and filtering face-piece respirator (FFR) prototypes, review manufacturing processes, and review storage and shipment processes. All, to ensure efforts are in accordance with National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and Veterans Affairs standards.

“This effort is important in two different ways,” said Minton. “First, it shows the capabilities that tactical units have and how they can provide a positive impact to Army wide concerns and requirements. Second, it highlights the capabilities that the Allied Trades career field possess and its ability to react to a need with a solution to assist commanders in mitigating risks to the force.”

“At the end of the day this highlights Soldiers taking care of Soldiers,” said Minton. “The Army has and always will be about caring for the person in front, behind and next to you.”

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

from Defence Blog

U.S. Army 17th Field Artillery ‘Thunderbolt’ Brigade Soldiers assigned to 308th Brigade Support Battalion joined the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, on April 1, 2020, as they began using additive manufacturing to produce personal protective equipment.

In response to increasing cases of COVID-19 around the world and corresponding shortages of masks across the United States, JBLM is using their resources by producing these PPE prototypes in support of our medical professionals that operate our medical facilities and for Soldiers performing COVID-19 missions.

Using four 3-D printers — which commonly are used to create tools and parts for military vehicles — Thunderbolt Soldiers started production on personal protective equipment using the Rapid Fabrication via Additive Manufacturing on the Battlefield (R-FAB).

With this capability 308th BSB is capable of producing 24 face shields per day with a goal of 100 per week — leaving room to account for the time required to perform machine maintenance, power generator services and for failed part print productions.

“The design and initial guidance for the personal protective equipment was shared with me by a retired warrant officer assigned to 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne)” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Richmond Minton, I Corps Logistics Officer. “We then took the design and shared it with our subordinate units across I Corps.”

When the initial guidance was given down to the subordinate units the Allied Trade Specialists, 91E, within the 308th BSB took on this challenge using the unit’s R-FAB.

“I’m not trying to make myself look good, I’m just trying to help people out,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ivan Vazquez, an Allied Trade Warrant Officer with the 308th BSB, 17th FA BDE, whose usual focus is metal working and fabrication.

Thunderbolt Soldiers began printing the face shields using the approved program files and assembly instructions downloaded from the National Institutes of Health website.

“We are happy to be part of the team providing the solution,” said Lt. Col. Christina Lewis, commander of the 308th BSB. “This was definitely a combined effort amongst the Allied Trade Warrant Officers within 1st SFG (A), I Corps and 17th FA BDE. The Soldiers are gaining valuable experience from this while creating a product that can potentially help others all while utilizing equipment typically used during expeditionary missions.”

Minton will meet with experts from the University of Washington Medical Department COVID-19 research team April 7, to review face mask and filtering face-piece respirator (FFR) prototypes, review manufacturing processes, and review storage and shipment processes. All, to ensure efforts are in accordance with National Institutes of Health, Food and Drug Administration, and Veterans Affairs standards.

“This effort is important in two different ways,” said Minton. “First, it shows the capabilities that tactical units have and how they can provide a positive impact to Army wide concerns and requirements. Second, it highlights the capabilities that the Allied Trades career field possess and its ability to react to a need with a solution to assist commanders in mitigating risks to the force.”

“At the end of the day this highlights Soldiers taking care of Soldiers,” said Minton. “The Army has and always will be about caring for the person in front, behind and next to you.”

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

Photo by Sgt. Casey Hustin

via IFTTT

[usafphantom2]

IMAGES: A-10s aircraft return to Europe for NATO's Defender 23

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 05/11/23 - 12:00 in Military

A pilot of the 303º Fighter Squadron at Whiteman Air Base, Montana, waits to take off from Thessaloniki Air Base, Greece, to conduct approximate air support training with NATO partner nations as part of Exercise Defender Europe 23 on May 8, 2023. (Photo: U.S. Air Force / Master Sgt. Bob Jennings)

Ten A-10s and dozens of aviators were deployed to Europe this week in support of the Army-led DEFENDER 2023 exercise. Nine more mobility aircraft will do the same in the coming weeks.

The A-10, from the 442ª Air Force Reserve Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Base, Missouri, are divided between Zaragosa Air Base in Spain and Thessaloniki Air Base in Greece, providing air support during the exercise, which is intended to build readiness and interoperability between U.S. and NATO allies.

The A-10 of the Maryland National Air Guard were previously deployed in Europe in May and June 2022, participating in last year's DEFENDER exercise and operating in Norway, North Macedonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Estonia. The A-10 were also recently deployed in the Middle East under the U.S. Central Command.

This year's exercise involves 17,000 soldiers from 26 different nations, including about 9,000 U.S. military personnel. It is divided into three phases - Quick Response, Immediate Response and Saber Guardian - each focused on different objectives.

“This annual exercise of almost two months is focused on the strategic deployment of U.S.-based forces, use of pre-positioned stocks by the Army and interoperability with European allies and partners,” said Sabrina Singh, Pentagon's deputy press secretary, at an April 6 briefing.

While the A-10s have already arrived and started participating in the exercise, more USAF aircraft are expected to be deployed next month: six C-17s from the 62ª Air Transport Wing at Lewis-McChord Joint Base, Washington, and three C-130s from the 403ª Wing at Keesler Air Base, Miss.

These aircraft will operate mainly at Aviano Air Base in Italy, according to a statement from the U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

In addition to the aircraft, the U.S. Air Force is also mobilizing support aviators to support DEFENDER 23 - the air mobility teams of the 521ª Air Mobility Operations Wing will go to Aviano, Zaragosa and Larissa Air Base in Greece.

Air mobility teams are composed of personnel who offer airport capabilities, aircraft maintenance, and command and control outside the usual structure. These teams are likely to be crucial to the development of USAF's Agile Combat Employment (ACE), the concept of spreading small teams of aviators and aircraft to operate in remote or austere locations.

Tags: A-10 Thunderbolt IIMilitary AviationMilitary exerciseNATO - North Atlantic Treaty OrganizationUSAF - United States Air Force / U.S. Air Force

Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, has participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Daytona Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. Uses Canon equipment during his photographic work around the world of aviation.

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[lboogie1906]

Otis Sistrunk (born September 18, 1946) is a former football player who played seven seasons as a defensive lineman, from 1972 to 1978. He played his entire NFL career with the Oakland Raiders. He became a professional wrestler in the NWA. He was born in Columbus, Georgia, and was one of the few NFL players of his day to not play college football, going directly from William H. Spencer High School in Columbus to the Marines. After leaving the military, the 21-year-old found work at a Milwaukee meat-packing plant and played two years of semi-pro football in the area for the West Allis Racers before joining the Norfolk Neptunes of the Continental Football League in 1969. He played three years for the Neptunes (the last two in the semi-pro Atlantic Coast Football League after the CPFL folded); in 1971, a Los Angeles Rams scout spotted him and believed he could play in the NFL. During team practice, he was observed by representatives of the Oakland Raiders, who brought him to their team in 1972. He was inducted into the American Football Association's Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 1974. In 1976, playing under coach John Madden, he was part of the Raiders team that won Super Bowl XI against the Minnesota Vikings. He retired after the 1978 season, finishing his career with seven fumbles recovered and three interceptions in 98 games played. After leaving football, he spent two years as a beer salesman. He was then approached about working with the Army as a civilian employee. He spent twelve years working at Fort Benning. He now manages Cowan Memorial Stadium at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and helps with athletic training programs. He had a brief movie career, appearing as a short order cook in Car Wash (1976) and the role in Babyface (1977). His nephew Caesar Rayford, was a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys. He is a distant cousin to former NFL player Manny Sistrunk. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence https://www.instagram.com/p/CipXGTAu_Mr9T6ZwEs724pMjsx6hUvsssRFZ-00/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ultrajaphunter]

(via How a Military Base in Illinois Helps Keep Weapons Flowing to Ukraine - The New York Times) How a Military Base in Illinois Helps Keep Weapons Flowing to Ukraine Thousands of logisticians are responsible for making sure that U.S. military aid reaches its destination, on planes, trains and ships.

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — In a room dimly lit by television screens, dozens of airmen tapped away at computers and worked the phones. Some were keeping watch over a high-priority mission to move a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter from a base in Arizona to a destination near Ukraine’s border.

Earlier that day, a civilian colleague had checked a spreadsheet and found a C-17 transport plane in Washington state that was available to pick up the helicopter and begin a daylong trip.

It was up to the airmen to give the plane’s crew its orders, make sure the plane took off and landed on time and handle any problems along the way.

The C-17 would fly from McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base outside Tucson, where the helicopter was parked in a repository for retired military airplanes known as “the boneyard.”

“So it’s two and a half hours from McChord to Davis-Monthan,” said Col. Bob Buente, reviewing the first leg of the journey. “Then four hours to load, then they’ll take off about 7:30 tonight. Then five hours to Bangor, then we’ll put them to bed because of the size of the next leg.”

From Bangor, Maine, the cargo flight — call sign: Reach 140 — would leave for Europe, the colonel said.

Since the war in Ukraine began four months ago, the Biden administration has contributed billions of dollars in military aid to the Ukrainian government, including American-made machine guns, howitzers and artillery rocket launchers, as well as Russian-designed weaponry that the country’s military still uses, like the Mi-17 helicopter.

The Pentagon has drawn many of the items from its own inventory. But how they reach Ukraine often involves behind-the-scenes coordination by teams at a military base in Illinois, about 25 miles east of St. Louis.

There at Scott Air Force Base, where a half-dozen retired transport planes are on display just outside the main gate, several thousand logisticians from each branch of the armed forces work at the United States Transportation Command — or Transcom. In military parlance, it is a “combatant command,” equal to better-known units that are responsible for parts of the globe — like Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command — and takes its orders directly from the secretary of defense.

Transcom has worked out the flow of every shipment of military aid from the United States to Ukraine, which began in August and kicked into high gear after the Russian invasion.

The process begins when the government in Kyiv sends a request to a call center on an American base in Stuttgart, Germany, where a coalition of more than 40 nations coordinates the aid. Some of the orders are filled by a U.S. partner or ally, and the rest are handled by the United States — routed through U.S. European Command, which is also in Stuttgart, to Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who discuss them in weekly meetings with the service chiefs and combatant commanders.

If the desired items are available, and the combatant commanders decide that giving them to Ukraine will not unduly harm their own war plans, General Milley makes a recommendation to Mr. Austin, who in turn makes a recommendation to President Biden. If the president signs off, Transcom figures out how to move the aid to an airfield or port near Ukraine.

The order to move the Russian helicopter zipped across the base in Illinois from Transcom’s headquarters to a one-story brick building housing the 618th Air Operations Center, where red-lit clocks offered the local time at major military aviation bases in California, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Qatar and Germany.

Better Understand the Russia-Ukraine War

History and Background: Here’s what to know about Russia and Ukraine’s relationship and the causes of the conflict.

How the Battle Is Unfolding: Russian and Ukrainian forces are using a bevy of weapons as a deadly war of attrition grinds on in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s Brutal Strategy: An analysis of more than 1,000 photos found that Russia has used hundreds of weapons in Ukraine that are widely banned by international treaties.

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Stay Updated: To receive the latest updates on the war in your inbox, sign up here. The Times has also launched a Telegram channel to make its journalism more accessible around the world.

Colonel Buente runs the day-to-day operations at the 618th Air Operations Center, where about 850 active-duty airmen, reservists and civilians spend their days planning missions like the helicopter’s trip, he said. Making sure those plans are carried out falls to a smaller group — working in shifts of 60 people, 24 hours a day, every day of the year — that follows the stream of missions posted on a constantly updated screen centered on the back wall all the way to completion.

It is the same center that orchestrated the mass evacuation of Americans and Afghans from Afghanistan’s capital in August. On the busiest day then, 21,000 passengers were flown out of the Kabul airport, with planes taking off or landing every 90 minutes, officials said.

That was a busy time for Transcom, which on an average day not only plans and coordinates about 450 cargo flights but also oversees about 20 cargo ships, along with a network of transcontinental railroads and more than a thousand trucks — all of which routinely carry war matériel.

Live Updates: Russia-Ukraine War

Updated July 4, 2022, 1:57 p.m. ET1 hour ago1 hour ago

Ethnic Russians in an Estonian city are beginning to question Putin’s war.

Amid war and mounting losses, a mood of resignation and little appetite for compromise.

A spate of arrests suggests the Kremlin is further clamping down on dissent.

The flights also transport humanitarian assistance and other supplies when needed, including shipments of baby formula in May to alleviate a shortage in the United States.

Commanding all of it is Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost of the Air Force, who is just the second female officer to lead one of the Pentagon’s 11 combatant commands.

For the aid shipments to Ukraine, the planning begins long before the White House announces a new aid package, she said.

“We cannot wait until the president signs or the secretary gives an order before we do the necessary planning,” General Van Ovost said in an interview in her office, where a photo of Amelia Earhart hung on the wall. “We’re watching it evolve,” the general said of the discussions about aid, “and we create plans that are sitting at the ready.”

Mr. Biden authorized the first U.S. military equipment and weapons for Ukraine — a $60 million package — on Aug. 27. At the time, it took about a month to get the items onto a plane after they were approved, according to General Van Ovost, a test pilot who flew cargo planes.

The White House has announced 13 subsequent aid packages for Ukraine, and the planning process has advanced enough that it now takes less than a day from the president approving a shipment to having the first items loaded onto a plane, she said. Three of the packages in the war’s first 29 days totaled $1.35 billion. As of Friday, the United States has committed $6.9 billion in military aid to Kyiv since Russia invaded.

Transcom’s operations center decides whether to send aid via cargo plane or by ship based on how quickly European Command needs it to arrive. Though military cargo planes like C-17s offer the fastest delivery option, they incur the highest costs. About half of Transcom’s airfreight is handled by a fleet of contracted, commercially owned aircraft, including 747s, each of which can carry double the weight a C-17 can.

Whenever possible, though, military planners send goods on cargo ships, a less expensive option.

“We’ve activated two vessels and used multiple liner service vessels to deliver cargo bound for Ukraine,” said Scott Ross, a spokesman for the command. The vessels and more than 220 flights had delivered just over 19,000 tons of military aid to Ukraine since August, he said.

On one of the large screens in Colonel Buente’s operations center, about a dozen missions were listed in order of importance. At the top were two “1A1” missions supporting some of the command’s most important customers: the president, vice president, the secretaries of state and defense as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Immediately below those missions was Reach 140, the C-17 flying to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Thousands of aircraft have baked there in the sun, including 13 Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters that the United States had bought for Afghanistan before Kabul fell to the Taliban.

In recent months, 12 of the helicopters were shipped to countries near Ukraine, returned to flying condition and handed over to Ukrainian pilots for the fight with Russia.

As the airmen tracked the C-17, a handful of soldiers and civilians in a small Army-run section of Transcom monitored a separate mission: four cargo trains moving across the United States as well as several cargo ships, some of which were owned by the Navy.

One of the Navy vessels was heading from Norfolk, Va., to a military port in North Carolina, where it would be loaded with ammunition for M142 HIMARS rocket launchers long desired by the Ukrainian military. The rockets, packed in bundles of six and loaded into 20-foot shipping containers, were also en route to the port. Cranes would soon lift the metal boxes off tractor-trailers and rail cars, stack them aboard the ship and lock them into place for a journey at sea lasting about two weeks.

Most of the Pentagon’s military aid sent to Ukraine on ships goes to two German ports — one on the North Sea and the other on the Baltic.

To keep potential adversaries from closing off routes for Ukraine military aid, Army planners can set up operations at any one of dozens of ports on the two seas. Russian warships have largely shut down the most direct routes for resupply missions — Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.

At the 618th, where presidents and secretaries of defense can reassign planes in a heartbeat for emergencies around the world, a screen that usually displays a classified map of global threats to military air and sea shipments was blacked out for security reasons while a reporter was in the room.

And three of the televisions were set to cable news because, as Colonel Buente explained, “we usually end up reacting to breaking news.”

Military Aid to Ukraine

What Are ‘Artillery Rockets,’ and Why Is the U.S. Sending Them to Ukraine?June 1, 2022

The U.S. Is Sending Advanced Weapons to Ukraine. But Conditions Apply.June 1, 2022

The Senate overwhelmingly approves $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, sending it to Biden.May 19, 2022

As Diplomacy Hopes Dim, U.S. Marshals Allies to Furnish Long-Term Military Aid to UkraineApril 26, 2022

John Ismay is a Pentagon correspondent in the Washington bureau and a former Navy explosive ordnance disposal officer. @johnismay

[sfc-paulchambers]

Major Nicole Solana of Joint Base Lewis-McChord has been a staple in the All-Army program since 2012. As a member of five different teams MAJ Solana knows what it takes to prepare, train and compete at the All-Army and international level. All-Army Sports provides Soldier-Athletes the opportunity to strengthen their resilience and mental toughness through friendly competition. Being a part of an All-Army team forces athletes to push themselves to reach their highest performance level both on and off the playing field. “Being part of the All-Army teams has significantly improved my life as a Soldier. It allows me to be part of a team of like-minded individuals and keeps me motivated to improve my overall well-being. My best friends and memories have been made during competition and preparation for these teams." –#allarmyalphawarrior @allarmysports If you’re ready to be a part of #history & #armyhistory then contact me now 615-429-0932 #bearmystrong #bedifferent #theydiditwhycantyou #theydidit #whatsyourexcuse #teamarmy #usarmyreserve #bedifferent #sisterhood#womenshistorymonth #bearmystrong #dosomethingpositive for your #futureself #dosomethingworthwatching #yourarmyreservecareercounselor #parttimejob #fulltimebenefits #usarmyreserve #globallypositioned #globallyengaged #parttimeservicefulltimebenefits #parttimeservicefulltimepride #parttimeservicefulltimesuccess #wehaveajobforthat https://twitter.com/sfc_paul https://instagram.com/sfcpaulchambers http://sfc-paulchambers.tumblr.com/ Robert.p.chambers6.mil@army.mil Request Information | goarmy.com (at Middle Tennessee Area) https://www.instagram.com/p/CazTxE6O0wN/?utm_medium=tumblr

[militaryleak]

Lockheed Martin Delivers Critical Equipment for Long Range Hypersonic Weaponto US Army

Lockheed Martin celebrated with the U.S. Army the delivery of critical ground equipment for its Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system – part of a rapid, multi-year hypersonic weapons development program supporting the service’s focus on long-range precision fires.

Lockheed Martin celebrated with the U.S. Army the delivery of critical ground equipment for its Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) system – part of a rapid, multi-year hypersonic weapons development program supporting the service’s focus on long-range precision fires. In a ceremony held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord today, the U.S. Army and industry team celebrated this delivery of ground…