Altus Airmen fly dolphins

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Seidl
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Airmen from the 58th Airlift Squadron teamed up with U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet Systems to take four bottlenose dolphins home June 11-15.

Air Force Captains Judd Baker, Kristopher Herman, Carl Rotermund, Tech. Sgt. Douglas Campbell, and Staff Sgt. Daniel Carbon, along with attendants for the dolphins, moved the animals from Norfolk, Va. to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego.

Before the airlift mission, the crew joined another team in Milwaukee for the "Air & Water Show" at the Milwaukee Lakefront. There, the Airmen from the 58th Airlift Squadron provided air support for the United States Navy Parachute Team, the "Leap Frogs," and their performance over the Lakefront. They also flew a C-17 demonstration flight before flying down to Norfolk to pick up the next group of Navy passengers.

Home based at the Point Loma Sub Base, the four bottlenose dolphins were in Norfolk in support of exercise Frontier Sentinel. Frontier Sentinel is an annual training exercise consisting of approximately 2,500 personnel from Canadian and U.S. military forces and government civilian agencies. The focus of this year's Frontier Sentinel was maritime homeland defense, and the mine hunting dolphins were on the job to assist with underwater mine clearance around Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.

On board the C-17 from Altus, there were slight adjustments made for their special passengers.

"We requested that the cabin pressure be maintained at 6,000 ft. and that the cabin temperature be maintained at 55 - 60 degrees Fahrenheit. We also request a shallow takeoff and landing and to be easy on the brakes. This will keep the water in the animal transport containers and not on the deck of the aircraft," said Braden Duryee, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command spokesman.

"We took off from Norfolk and we used the whole runway for a nice, slow rolling takeoff. Under normal conditions we would do a standing or static takeoff, which has the motors already spooled up before takeoff and brake release; that creates more or a lurch, like popping the clutch on your car. Obviously we wanted to avoid that," said Captain Judd Baker, aircraft commander for the mission.

The dolphins spent the ride across the United States in specially designed cradles, open-topped tanks installed with water-circulating pumps. The tanks rested in a sling that reduced the shocks and turbulence of flight, and were filled with enough water to keep the animal comfortable.

"On every marine mammal airlift we have dolphin handlers, training staff, and veterinary staff. The marine mammals have personnel attending to them at all times for the entire transport. At minimum we will have one handler / trainer per dolphin, one technical representative, one transport coordinator and one veterinarian," said Duryee.

In-flight meals for these guests of the 58th AS were packed by their attendants.

"The animals consumed a small amount of fish during the flight. Their diet consisted of restaurant-quality Caplin and Herring. Each animal had their own fish cooler that we brought with them," said Duryee.

"We (the crew) ate lunch in Norfolk and dinner in San Diego. It worked out great and the Navy were great hosts," said Baker. "We thought it was great; we as instructors don't get an opportunity like this very frequently. It was neat to have an impact on the mission in a positive way. Everyone worked together as one team with one mission; to get these valuable members of U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet Systems home."