JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. –
When the President of the United States announced in December 2009 that there would be a shift in focus to Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Joint Base Charleston was on the short list of base's to support the mission.
The 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center and Air Mobility Command, co-located at Scott AFB, Ill., evaluated several bases which could potentially support the stage in the U.S. for the surge in Afghanistan, said Lt. Col. Jack McNall, 437th Airlift Wing Stage Operations manager and director of operations of the 317th Airlift Squadron at Joint Base Charleston.
The Palmetto Stage, much like the stage established during Operation Unified Response, has been set up to help manage the transient aircrews and aircraft who are working to ensure troops and the needed supplies are arriving in Afghanistan as soon as possible.
"They picked [Joint Base Charleston] because of its location, previous experience, ability to service and maintain the additional airplane traffic, but mostly because of the superior people we have on this base who provide the support for the mission," said Colonel McNall.
The Palmetto Stage is set up as a flying hub, much like that of a commercial airline. This type of operation allows for the aircraft and cargo to keep moving while the aircrews change, said Colonel McNall.
Generally, when an aircraft leaves Charleston on a mission for Afghanistan, an aircrew will fly their entire duty day, which can be anywhere from 16 to 24 hours, go into crew rest for a designated amount of time and then continue onto their final destination.
Because of the urgency to get troops and cargo into Afghanistan, the stage is managing the aircrews differently.
"During the airplane's brief time on the ground here, the flying aircrew 'relays' the C-17 to a fresh aircrew [who] continues flying the mission to our European hub, where there is another quick crew change and then the plane continues to its downrange destination," said Colonel McNall. "The stage allows the aircrews their rest, but with fresh crews waiting at Charleston to take over the mission, the C-17 can continue on and get down range much faster and more efficiently."
Aircrews who are flying missions in support of the surge in Afghanistan currently have a standard return time of 15 days, meaning 15 days is how long they are out on a mission.
The stage was established and up and running in early 2010 and according to Colonel McNall, "[the stage] is prepared to remain in place for as long as it takes to complete the mission."
The Palmetto Stage is made up of aircrews and additional aircraft from throughout AMC who are waiting to take over the missions along with the Airmen to manage those assets, the colonel said.
"In actuality, all of Joint Base Charleston makes up the stage," he said. "It takes an incredible amount of support and team work from all of the base agencies to make the stage really work. All of Joint Base Charleston gets credit for the success of our stage.
"The surge has definitely created an increased amount of missions, but it's nothing that Team Charleston can't handle."