The End For Now:

Dover AFB Special Operations Mission Deactivated

Lockheed C-5

By Alan V. Cecil
ST. MARY'S TODAY

DOVER, DEL. --- In Southern Maryland, most of us are accustomed to seeing a myriad of military planes in the air in addition to those civilian planes landing at the three Washington and Baltimore airports. Proximity to the federal government in Washington D. C. and the Pentagon has made the Mid-Atlantic States host to several military air bases. Andrews AFB, Bolling AFB, Langley AFB, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and Dover AFB are the premier military flight operations centers that come to mind.

Dover Air Force Base is the home to many of the C-5 Aircraft that are generally regarded as the largest transport planes in the Western world. The have been used for many purposes. I had the honor of being invited to (for me) at the unusual time of 11 PM on 3/31/04 to witness the Deactivation Ceremony of the 436 AW (Air Wing) Special Operations Low Level II (SOLL II) at Dover effective April 1, 2004 ending a 23 year history of SOLL II and predecessor Special Operations Employment (SOE) at the central Delaware airbase. Air Force Headquarters of the Military Airlift command wanted to develop and evaluate a program that would allow a C-5 to conduct operations on prepared runways with minimal lighting and no permanent ground based navigational aids.again for the largest airplane in the western arsenal!

According to and "unofficial history" of the SOLL II their mission was: "To conduct operations in response to threats of unconventional warfare against the United States or its allies throughout a broad spectrum of operation conditions while execution activities requiring special security measures. In austere, threat laden environments." That's the official line.in my way of analyzing it that spells COVERT OPERATIONS with a plane that can hold 5 fully loaded "charter busses!" The Roman number "II" denotes that this is the second generation of SOLL planes. And this means "night vision" and the plane with a 223' wingspan can in these special operations fly at the unusually low altitude of 500' according to Capt. Olivia Nelson the public information officer for the group. Apparently consolidation, economy of scale and a repositioning of operations will find the duties of the Dover 436 AW transferred to Charleston AFB where the SOLL II operations will be carried out by another type of transport plane, the C-17. Some personnel will be posted to Charleston. All of the navigators will have to leave Dover as there is no use for them in regular C-5 operations. About 50 personnel will be lost at Dover as a result of this consolidation.

Regular C-5 Galaxy planes fly with a crew of from 6 to 8 people while in SOLL II outfitted C-5s there are l3 or more flight personnel. In this special operations group there are 2 navigators and 2 crew chiefs and extra special mission personnel. Most of the 436AW missions are "Classified" although general details might be discussed with civilians. I had to submit my journalist credentials and personal information before being invited to attend the deactivation ceremony as "Press."

Invitation By A SOLL II Flight Engineer

My invitation for this "mostly military and spouse" event came from Stoll II Flight Engineer Master Sgt. Pat Northam and his "adopted mother" Kaye Henrichson. To get permission to interview and take photos I had to submit my personal request for review. Capt. Olivia Nelson was my liaison for this process and my guide for the night's events. She secured permission from Lt. Col. Donald A. Gresham. Gresham is responsible for the 436 AW SOLL II programs which is assigned the President and the Secretary of Defense to execute sensitive missions and shot-notice contingency assignments. Whew! He is a Command Pilot with over 5,000 flying hours. Both Gresham and Northam will remain at Dover and Capt. Nelson along with her husband, Capt. Keith Nelson-a STOLL II navigator, are being transferred to Hulbert AFB near Ft. Walton, Fla.

Northam has been in the Air Force 21 years as of 4/3/04 and he started his service in Dover as a plane maintenance mechanic. After being trained as a Flight Engineer he was asked to be part of the special duty STOLL II program. Besides of the current situation he participated in operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Desert Com (after the 1st. Gulf War), Somalia, Just Cause (Panama), He says," That in Panama, just after American troops seized the airport, it was determined that we were able to land. We did and discharged our cargo." He will go back to the squadron as a flight engineer instructor.

Captain Olivia Nelson is not without combat zone experience either. She has been a Public Affairs Liaison in both Kandaliar, Afghanistan and Baghdad, Iraq in the current war on terrorism. She has been in the Air Force 4 ½ years.

Solemn and Quiet Accomplishment

Just before the 436 AW guide on (unit flag) was retired and the ceremony complete, after midnight on the 1st. of April when the Order of Deactivation became effective, Lt. Col. Gresham pronounced the honor and the classified glory of his command saying: "Only those in the Group know the special value that you have performed (for your country) much in the tasking of "air commandos". The crowd of about 100 was silent. Salute to the 436th AW SOLL II!!

Ironically, a midnight "fly-by" of a SOLL II C-5 Galaxy and subsequent landing and discharge of cargo as a "Rodeo Exhibition" had to be cancelled because of the fog. After all this was not going to be a covert operation in the national interest of America.

C-5 Stats

· FUEL: loads 56,000 gal or 6.5 rail tank cars

· TOTAL POWER: Equals 800 average American cars

· Capacities: 6 full "charter busses" or 2 fully assembled H-1 Huey helicopters, 2 M-1A1 Abrams tanks weighing 65 tons each, and on one mission carried 300 paratroopers!

· Components: One C-5 Galaxy contains: 103 miles of electric wire, 5 miles of control cable and 4 miles of hydraulic tubing.

· Paint: It takes about 120 gallons of paint to cover a C-5, adding about 2,600 lbs. to the plane when the paint is dry.

How do you get six Apache helicopters to fly in formation with their engines off? Put them inside a C-5 Galaxy! Two M1 main battle tanks weighing 135,400 pounds each; six M2/M3 Bradley Infantry Vehicles; or a quarter-million pounds of relief supplies – all can be carried by the C-5, one of the biggest aircraft ever made. There is no piece of army combat equipment the C-5 cannot carry, including a 74-ton mobile bridge. The Wright brothers could have made their miraculous first flight within the C-5’s cargo bay.

Yet despite its size, the C-5 is amazingly versatile. Even with a payload of 263,200 pounds, the latest version can fly non-stop for 2,500 miles at jet speeds. With aerial refueling, it has near-unlimited range. It can load outsized cargo from both ends at once (at truck-bed height or ground level), and its 28-wheel, high-flotation landing gear allows operation from unpaved airfields without ground-support equipment.

In 1973, C-5s essentially saved Israel, flying desperately needed supplies to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem during the Yom Kippur War. C-5s delivered more than 885,000 pounds of earthquake relief to Armenia in 1988. In 1989, C-5s delivered two million pounds of clean-up gear to the Alaska oil spill. And in Desert Storm they carried nearly half a million passengers, 15 mobile hospitals and, each day, over 200 tons of mail. The C-5 has proven itself big enough and tough enough to handle any heavy airlift mission.

Photo Courtesy Lockheed Martin; Data Source: Lockheed Martin