SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (DVIDS) - From a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia thousands of miles away from his home base, Airman 1st Class David Schmitz is using his expertise as a C-17 Globemaster III loadmaster to get beans, bullets - and even M1A1 Abrams tanks - to warfighters on the front lines.

Deployed from the 4th Airlift Squadron at McChord Field, Schmitz supports combat airlift operations with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron. 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 Schmitz have had a busy year in 2010. C-17s and the airmen who fly and maintain them have supported humanitarian operations in Haiti and Pakistan, a surge of 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, and are part of a record-breaking year for airdrops in Afghanistan.

More recently, Schmitz was part of an airlift effort that brought the first M1A1 Abrams tanks to Afghanistan in late November. Deploying the tanks is accomplished by a combination of sealift and airlift assets. The tanks and associated equipment are taken by ship for the majority of the trip around the world, and airlifted the last portion of their journey into land-locked Afghanistan by Air Force C-17s crewed by airmen like Schmitz.

The C-17 - which operates with a crew of only three airmen, 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, Schmitz 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 Schmitz 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.