[Gerard M]

A new multi-national heavy airlift wing has been established, with their first brand new C-17 taking flight.

by Maj. Cristin Marposon
U.S. Air Forces in Europe Public Affairs

7/16/2009 - RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- Twelve nations saw their dreams of strategic airlift come true July 14 as the multinational Heavy Airlift Wing they've built from scratch in less than a year received the "keys" to its first C-17 Globemaster III.

"This is an unprecedented milestone for these 12 nations," said U.S. Air Force Col. John Zazworsky, who commands the HAW in a multinational capacity. "They've shared a common need for strategic airlift, yet they've each faced the financial obstacle of independently acquiring a heavy airlifter. Now, they collectively own an amazing machine that will serve them well."

During a ceremony at Boeing's final assembly facility in Long Beach, Calif., the colonel officially received the first of three C-17s to be acquired by the Strategic Airlift Capability Program's consortium. The consortium includes NATO member nations Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and the United States, as well as Partnership for Peace nations Finland and Sweden.

"Since September 2008 when the consortium's memorandum of understanding went into effect, we've tirelessly worked to build from scratch what's essentially a multinational air force -- without a real template of any kind," explained the colonel. "Our timeline has been aggressive, but we're prepared to safely fly SAC 01."

http://www.usafe.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123158912


A Nice looking plane to start off the fleet with.