Wednesday afternoon marked a historic event at Camp Roberts as the first C-17 landed on their dirt airfield.
Shortly after Camp Roberts opened in 1941, an airfield was built on-site. Due to a lack of funding, that airfield wasn’t ever used to its full potential.
Colonel Brian Keels with the U.S. Army National Guard explained why being able to land a larger aircraft is a milestone event for the base.
“Being able to land a C-17 here - it’s a heavy-lift aircraft. So it allows us to bring in supplies and troops as well as get them in and out for state and local emergencies,” said Col. Keels.
Before now, only smaller aircraft like helicopters and C-130s landed on base. Wednesday’s landing means Camp Roberts now can bring in larger aircraft and better prepare for elements they will face during active duty.
“This LZ - landing zone has been here for many years. We have used it primarily for C-130 aircraft, which is about 1/3 of the size of the aircraft that just landed here, the C-17,” said Director of Operations for the California Air National Guard Jeremy Guenet, “a C-130 can do a lot of things but when you look at a C-17, it can do it in mass.”
“They need to land tactically in an airfield that’s not a paved runway,” said Col. Keels.
Guenet said this capability will benefit multiple branches of the military.
“We want this to be a long-term sustainable landing zone for all of the equipment in the army and airfare, and the navy and marines as well,” said Guenet.
While these C-17 landings are now possible, they won’t occur frequently. Guenet said it’s likely they will only happen a few times per year.
