![]() ![]() Air Force) Dirt BoyzĮven the Air Force has to come back down to earth sometimes, and civil engineer airmen make sure that the roads, buildings and infrastructure airmen use during their terrestrial hours are in tip-top shape. LaVoie was a member of an all-female C-17 crew that flew a local mission in honor of Women’s History Month. Cassandra LaVoie, 3rd Airlift Squadron loadmaster, checks the movement restricting chains aboard a C-17 Globemaster III before flight March 5, 2018, at Dover Air Force Base, Del. That training is important, because Air Force cargo can involve anything from tanks to dolphins to hundreds of refugees fleeing wartorn Kabul. Loadmasters also learn how to conduct a cargo airdrop and oversee airborne troops jumping out the back of the plane. ![]() Even tying down the cargo takes skill and calculation, because depending on its weight and height that cargo may need additional restraints to keep it from coming loose in flight or on landing. A loadmaster’s job is to figure out how to load the cargo without upsetting the aircraft’s balance or surpassing its weight limit, which would make taking off, flying and landing a tricky business. There is a science to putting people and objects on Air Force cargo aircraft such as the C-130, C-17 and C-5. ![]() ![]() Who handles the cargo and passengers once they are on the airplane? Air Force loadmasters, of course. They also clean the lavatories on aircraft, so give a port dawg a big ‘thank you for your service’ next time you see one. Fork Force or no, the port dawgs are the elbow grease behind the U.S. Some have even proposed creating their own branch known as the Fork Force. Air transportation specialists also drive forklifts to put stuff on planes, and some drivers take immense pride in being the real backbone of the U.S. This reporter is not sure where the “dawgs” comes from exactly, but the “port” is likely short for “aerial port squadrons,” which many Port Dawgs belong to. They are the ones who “plan, schedule and process” passengers, cargo and baggage and load them onto military and contracted aircraft, according to the Air Force. ‘Port Dawgs’ is the nickname for airmen who work in the air transportation AFSC. military has a worldwide presence, but that presence would fall apart if not for the people who load stuff onto airplanes so it can get to Japan, Korea, the Persian Gulf, or anywhere else. Airmen in each Air Force Specialty Code (the service’s term for Military Occupational Specialty) take pride in what they do, to the point where there are a dazzling number of nicknames for each role, and non-Air Force folks may have no idea what they are talking about.Įveryone wants to be “joint” operations these days, and what is a better way to do that than to speak Air Force-ese? Below is a primer to get you started. The Air Force in particular has several highly-specialized jobs that play essential roles in keeping aircraft ready to fly. With its host of acronyms, ranks, ratings and buzzwords, the military has a language all its own, with plenty of localized jargon and dialects for each branch, occupation and even unit developing unique words to do their jobs. Air Force Senior Airman Nickolas Trowbridge, 99th Security Forces Squadron security forces journeyman, communicates through a hand-held radio, Aug. ![]()
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