News

Milestone: Robins delivers 200th C-17 Globemaster to warfighter

  • Published
  • By Wayne Crenshaw
  • 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  On Tuesday Robins celebrated the completion of work on its 200th C-17 Globemaster III, but maintenance workers turned out to be too fast for the ceremony.

Brig. Gen. Lee Levy, commander of the 402nd Maintenance Wing, jokingly apologized the C-17 behind the podium wasn't the milestone aircraft, as was originally intended. As it turned out, workers completed the 200th plane a few days early and it had already been delivered to the 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Col. Kevin Kilb, 62nd commander , attended the ceremony. Levy apologized to Kilb for the plane having departed but said it was one apology he would always be happy to make.

"This workforce did such amazing work that your airplane went home early," Levy said to Kilb. "That airplane is now back in the fight, supporting our nation's defense all around the globe."

Under a contract with Boeing, the maker of the C-17, the 562nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron performs modifications and unscheduled depot-level maintenance on C-17s.
The 200th plane was modified with the Extended Range/On Board Inert Gas Generating System II, which involves over 55,000 man hours. The modification includes converting 16 wing dry bays into fuel tanks, extending the aircraft's range by approximately 1,000 miles.

Levy pointed out the range of the C-17 allows it to transport injured Soldiers directly from Iraq and Afghanistan to hospitals in the U.S. He recalled talking to an Army doctor who became "misty eyed" when discussing the C-17's ability to save the lives of warfighters.

Kilb pointed out C-17s from McChord are used for a variety of missions, including the relief efforts in Haiti.

"At my end of the mission chain, we have the honor of using this great machine to do so many things," Kilb said. "You have just as important part in that mission with what you are doing here. It is the people who maintain the machine who keep it mission ready."

Gustavo Urzua, vice president and program manager of Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III Sustainment Partnership also spoke at the ceremony. He said the company would be handing out caps to maintenance workers to commemorate the 200th plane.

"Thank you for all of your hard work," he said. "Without you, it would not be possible."