圖文 / Julian Shen
南卡羅來納州的古城查爾斯頓，該城位於南卡州的海岸線上，除了近代的旅遊觀光外，在美國歷史上也曾在不少重大事件中身處於其中心。這次參訪的基地為 Joint Base Charleston ，開放參觀的部分主要是以空軍為主，但因為身處的地理位置，也有著其他軍種在查爾斯頓城的各處維持與進行不同的任務需求。目前該聯合基地，除上述空軍外，還有海軍（包括數個核潛艦的訓練單位），海軍陸戰隊的醫療團隊，海岸巡邏隊的母港，甚至連陸軍都有在該基地的駐紮單位。除了軍方本身的聯合運用外，該基地還有與同城國際機場共用跑道，滑行區等各種相關設施，另外還有 波音 公司的 787 民航機生產線也在不遠處，算是一個相當繁忙的共管，共用的設施。
由於卡羅萊納州的數個基地通常會交互輪流開放，但因為過往兩年疫情影響，很意外地今年在卡羅萊納州的航展均落腳在南卡，且前後還正好僅相差一周，對於本地居民來說，算是在疫情逐漸好轉的情況下，一個可以舉家出遊的好機會。
這次聯合基地的開放雖然是以空軍基地為主，但因聯合基地的關係，請來了美國海軍的藍天使飛行展演隊，藍天使去年從初期的黃蜂戰機換裝為超級黃蜂戰機後，已經算是正式的踏入第二年的固定表演行程。另外鄰近的 Shaw AFB 也派出了 F-16 Demo Team 一同協助基地開放的航展表演。
駐紮在本基地的單位為第 628 空軍基地聯隊，旗下附有第 437 空運聯隊，而這個空運聯隊所使用的主要機種是空軍的噴射運輸機 C-17 空中霸主 III ，該聯隊也是 C-17 於近三十年前首度正式服役時，第一個接收的單位。除此之外，該聯隊還有同時擔負在各航展時以 C-17 運輸機進行不同的飛行展演。C-17 空中霸主 III 在過往數十年於全球各地除戰時運輸外，也常常會在各種緊急情況，人道救援時投入支援。在美國總統出訪時，也會協助載運各種需要的地面車輛或是安全人員。許多政府官員出訪，如果不是使用客機型的機種出遊時，也有時會採用 C-17 運輸機內裝專用的乘客夾艙，像是去年也曾支援載運美國國會議員前往訪問台灣的任務。
本次的基地開放除上述各機種，團隊外，也有許多民間的表演團隊一同參加，並且在地面靜態展示的各種軍機中，還看到了波音公司的 Dream Lifter 特殊改裝運輸機，並排在該基地的主力機種與由美國東岸北邊另外一個運輸機基地派來的 C-5 銀河號運輸機旁邊，數種大型運輸機一字排開頗為壯觀說。
本次基地參訪特別感謝該基地的公關部門協助與禮遇，在此特地感謝為本次基地開放的各單位人員，您們辛苦了。
A Joint Base in a Historic Town
Charleston, is located on the South Carolina coastline and has been at the center of many major events in U.S. history, in addition to being a tourist destination in modern times. This visit to Joint Base Charleston is mainly for the Air Force, but because of its location, there are other military branches that maintain and conduct different missions in this Joint Base. At present, in addition to the Air Force, the Joint Base also houses the Navy (including several nuclear submarine training units), the Marine Corps medical team, the Coast Guard’s home port, and even the Army. In addition to the military’s own joint use, the base also shares runways and taxiways with the international airport in the same city, and has a Boeing 787 aircraft production line not far away, making it a very busy co-located and shared facility.
As several bases in the Carolinas usually open on a rotating basis, but due to the epidemic in the past two years, it was a surprise that this year’s both airshows in the Carolinas were held in South Carolina, and there was only a one-week apart between the two, which was a good opportunity for local residents to take a family trip as the epidemic gradually improved.
Although the opening of the joint base was mainly for the Air Force base, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Demo Team were invited to participate in the show because of the joint base, and the Blue Angels have officially entered their second year of regular performance after replacing their Legacy Hornet with Super Hornet last year. In addition, the neighboring Shaw Air Force Base also sent an F-16 Demo Team to assist with the base’s open airshow.
The 628th Air Force Base Wing, with the 437th Airlift Wing, is the first unit to receive the C-17 Global Master III, the Air Force’s main jet cargo aircraft, when it first entered service nearly 30 years ago. The C-17 Global Master III has been used for decades around the world for not only wartime transport, but also in emergency and humanitarian situations. When the President of the United States travels, the C-17 also assists in transporting various ground vehicles and security personnel as needed. Many government officials also sometimes use the C-17 aircraft with a dedicated passenger compartment if they are not using passenger aircraft, such as last year’s mission to support a U.S. Congressman’s visit to Taiwan.
Among the various military aircraft on static display on the ground, we also saw Boeing’s DreamLifter specially modified transport aircraft lined up next to the base’s main aircraft and the C-5 Galaxy aircraft sent from another air force base north of the U.S. East Coast.
We would like to thank the public affairs department of the base for their assistance and hospitality.
