DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Nine members of the 512th Airlift Control Flight aided in delivering Russian radar equipment to this year's Red Flag-Alaska Sept. 11 - 21. 

For 33 years, RF-A, a series of Pacific Air Force exercises for U.S. forces, has provided training for military aircrew in a mock-war, combat-replicated environment. These exercises are conducted on the Pacific Alaskan Range Complex with air operations flown out of Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force Bases, Ala. 

The team of Liberty Wing Airmen were split into two groups. One faction was located in Kyev, Ukraine, preparing and loading the radar apparatus to be shipped; the other company was in Alaska to unload the equipment, said Master Sgt. Sean Pyne, 512th ALCF loadmaster for the RF-A mission. 

The 512th ALCF component of RF-A was responsible for weighing the radar equipment, loading and unloading, and supplying regulation expertise for the three C-5s used to transport the massive loads. They were based out of Tennessee, New York and California. 

"A single load encompassed the entire length of the C-5, which is 145 feet long," said Sergeant Pyne. "We were also at the maximum capacity weight for take-off [769,000 pounds]." 

The airlifted load not only pushed the aircraft's limits in size and weight, it also clocked an increase in work-hours for the loadmasters. 

"An average load takes one to one-and-a-half hours," said Staff Sgt. Jeremy Hanlon, 512th Operations Group command post and former loadmaster for RF-A. "For this mission, each load averaged four to five hours. We had to use a lot of shoring, [wood planks used to increase or decrease the pitch while loading items into the aircraft because the equipment was so large." 

The 512th ALCF members who participated in this mission are: Senior Master Sgt. Scott Wilson, Master Sgts. Adam Black, David Ginter and Sean Pyne, Tech. Sgts. Bud Gillespie, Rich Greco and Valerie Harwood and Staff Sgts. Jeremy Hanlon and Julitssa Ortiz.