Travis officials conduct mass launch
http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123184182
Members of the 60th and 349th Air Mobility wings conducted the base's first mass launch of nine aircraft Dec. 21 at Travis Air Force Base. Base officials said the total force launch effort was an opportunity for operations, maintenance and support personnel to train together on a larger scale than normal. Travis AFB Airmen routinely launch three-ship KC-10 Extender formations, but this was the first time they launched three major weapon systems in rapid succession. Although not part of the nine-ship package, base officials said to make the event even more symbolic of the airpower that Travis AFB members generate on a daily basis, a Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, also stationed at Travis AFB, led the charge. This was followed by nine 60th and 349th AMW aircraft including six KC-10s, two C-17 Globemaster IIIs, a C-5 Galaxy, and a transient Air Force Reserve Command KC-135 Stratotanker from Grissom Air Reserve Base, Ind., completed the push.In less than 15 minutes, Travis AFB Airmen launched 11 aircraft with a gross weight exceeding 4.6 million pounds…. "The launch was the equivalent of the world's third largest tanker fleet, behind Russia and the United Kingdom, going airborne at the same time," said Lt. Col. Brian Lindsey, the 60th AMW director of staff. "In addition to that, the launch provided more airlift capability than 25 percent of the world's air forces." "From the ops side, we have never launched this many aircraft at once, and it has been more than 10 years since we launched a six-ship formation of KC-10s," said Col. Anthony Butters, the 60th Operations Group commander. "More than 300 currency/training events were accomplished by crewmembers, along with flight evaluations."…
