(SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill.) - Getting the cargo needed for servicemembers serving on the front lines in places like Afghanistan is among the top priorities of airmen flying C-17 Globemaster IIIs from the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia. Among those airmen is Master Sgt. Michael Patton - a C-17 loadmaster.

Patton is deployed from the 4th Airlift Squadron at McChord Field, and his hometown is The Dalles, Ore. He supports combat airlift and airdrop operations with the 816th EAS. The C-17s and aircrews assigned to the 816th EAS support operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

C-17 airmen like Patton had a busy year in 2010. C-17s and the airmen who fly and maintain them supported a surge of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan were part of a record-breaking year for airdrops in Afghanistan.

For example, through Nov. 30, deployed mobility airmen helped airdrop more than 52.6 million pounds of cargo for Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Air Forces Central statistics show. Additionally, mobility airmen like Patton helped airlift more than 265,000 tons of cargo in intra-theater sorties in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in 2010 through Nov. 30.

The C-17 - which operates with a crew of a pilot, co-pilot and loadmaster - has a maximum payload capacity of 170,900 pounds and its maximum gross takeoff weight is 585,000 pounds, according to its Air Force fact sheet. With a payload of 169,000 pounds and an initial cruise altitude of 28,000 feet, the C-17 has an unrefueled range of approximately 2,400 nautical miles. Its cruise speed is approximately 450 knots.

To support all those combat airlift missions on the C-17, Patton has to have training and knowledge in a lot of areas. According to his official Air Force job description for the 1A2X1 career field, loadmasters like Patton accomplish loading and off-loading aircraft functions and perform pre-flight and post-flight of aircraft and aircraft systems. They also perform loadmaster aircrew functions, compute weight and balance and other mission specific qualification duties, and provide for safety and comfort of passengers and troops, and security of cargo, mail and baggage during flight.

Loadmasters like Patton are skilled in a variety of abilities, the job description states. For example, in determining quantity of cargo and passengers or troops to be loaded and proper placement in aircraft, loadmasters compute load and cargo distribution. They also compute weight and balance, and determine the amount of weight to be placed in each compartment or at each station. To do this they consider factors such as fuel load, aircraft structural limits and emergency equipment required.

C-17 loadmasters also accomplish the initial pre-flight of aircraft according to flight manuals. They pre-flight specific aircraft systems such as restraint rail and airdrop equipment. They also pre-flight aerospace ground equipment and apply external power to the aircraft. Additionally, they perform in-flight and special mission specific duties as required.

In the deployed environment, loadmasters like Patton are trained to conduct cargo and personnel airdrops according to directives. They are trained to attach extraction parachutes to cargo and platforms and inspect cargo and platforms, extraction systems and connect static lines. They also check tie-downs, parachutes, containers, suspension systems and extraction systems to ensure proper cargo extraction or release.