CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The aerial port is the heart of any air mobility operation and now, through a velocity initiative inspired program, the 437th Aerial Port Squadron will beat faster and more efficiently.
The Aerial Port Expeditor program, or APEX, is a three-week course that trains APS Airmen in the ways of the loadmaster.
The APEX program provides the capability for aerial ports to on- and off-load all types of cargo without the presence of a loadmaster.
In the past, aerial porters had restrictions on what they could load onto an aircraft without a loadmaster being there. Nor could they operate some of the aircraft systems that aid in loading. Now, an APEX-trained "Port Dawg" can direct the loading procedures, allowing the aircraft to be loaded while the aircrew is still on crew rest.
"APEX qualified aerial porters act as a loadmaster, going through many of the same checklists a loadmaster would," said Tech. Sgt. Patricia McClure, 437 APS APEX instructor.
The APEX program is an enhancement to ground handling. The concept will significantly contribute to accomplishing the request by Gen. Duncan McNabb, Air Mobility Command commander, to "turn missions in two hours or less (where this makes sense)."
It will do so by allowing payload experts improved control of workload while facilitating the decrease of ground time and providing better use of crew duty, said Dale Cozart, 437 APS assistant operations officer.
Sixteen Charleston Airmen made up the first APEX course held from Sept. 18 to Oct. 6. Additional APEX courses for aerial porters from other air mobility bases will be held beginning Oct. 30 and continuing through 2007.
The students spent the first two weeks of training in the classroom learning about the new aircraft systems and loading procedures they'd be using and the last week was spent on the flightline putting what they learned into practice.
"When this plane's on the ground it's not doing its mission - delivering supplies and warfighters to the front lines," said Ed Garcia, Air Mobility Command APEX program manager. "To be able to load without a loadmaster shortens ground time and gets the aircraft off the ground faster."
Two APS instructors and two evaluators administer the course with help from Airmen from the Air Mobility Warfare Center at McGuire AFB, N.J., Loadmasters from the base standards and evaluations office helped with the training as well.
Charleston AFB was chosen as the place to train aerial porters on C-17 APEX procedures because of its well trained aerial port squadron and the amount of airlift cargo coming in and out of the port.
"After this training the students will have a skill set similar to a loadmaster," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Spain, Air Force Mobility Operation School APEX course director. "It's a cultural change for our command."
The APEX program is scheduled to be fully implemented at Charleston AFB by December, significantly decreasing ground time for aircraft. It will be implemented command-wide by September 2007.