No. 36 Squadron's C-17A Globemaster III has played a key role in the early stages of Exercise Diamond Storm in the Northern Territory by facilitating training integration of Air Mobility Group assets for the Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC).
Recently the C-17A has flown into austere environments including Bradshaw Field Training Area and Nackeroo for exercise tasking, as well as to provide much needed resupply and support to deployed personnel in these remote areas.
The C-17A Detachment Commander, Flight Lieutentant (FLTLT) Tim Smith, commented on how this is not a typical role of the C-17A when flying from the aircraft's home base in Amberley, QLD.
"It's a different day in the office to land the massive C-17 at Bradshaw, and we will be doing this a lot throughout the exercise; to deliver necessary logistics, personnel and to achieve exercise objectives," FLTLT Smith said.
"We are landing on dirt strips that Airfield Engineers from No. 65 Squadron have prepared for us, at 3,500 feet in length it is right on the minimum prescribed for C-17A operations."
"We rarely get to land on dirt runways, and as a robust a versatile airlifter, the C-17 is capable of doing this without too much effort; and it's unreal to land such a big aircraft in Top End's red dirt."
Exercise Diamond Storm is the culmination of three phases of training over six months for high skilled and purposely selected aircrew and operator personnel.
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