The U.S. Air Force has announced that McChord Field’s runway officially reopened 17 June after being closed for repairs since February, marking the return of world’s greatest airlift team.
According to a statement released by the Air Force, McChord Field C-17 Globemaster IIIs and Airmen were relocated to other west coast bases while the runway was resurfaced.
At 10 a.m., a McChord C-17 returning from a temporary duty was the first to land on the new runway, to be followed by 17 more throughout the day, bringing the final installment of the equipment and Airmen back to McChord.
Despite being geographically separated, the Team McChord Airmen were still able to provide worldwide airlift support. With the reopening of the runway, they can now continue to complete their mission from their home station.
“This is the world’s greatest airlift team and they have crushed the mission while being stationed away from home,” said Col. Scovill Currin, 62nd Airlift Wing commander. “I am thrilled to have all these Airmen and C-17’s back where they belong, and I know they will continue to provide the best airlift support in the Air Force.”
Some of the Airmen and C-17s who had been temporarily assigned to other bases returned to Gray Army Air Field prior to the runway’s reopening.
“It has been a busy last few weeks coordinating the return of our Airmen and aircraft back to McChord,” said Col. Mark Fuhrmann, 62nd Operations Group commander. “There are a lot of moving parts, but our Airmen have executed this mission with efficiency, and we are all excited to be working out of one airfield once more.”
The new runway was completed within its projected time.