Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- Members of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet load four bottlenose dolphins on an Altus Air Force Base C-17 Globemaster III June 14. The dolphins traveled from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- Members of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet prepare four bottlenose dolphins for flight on the Altus Air Force Base C-17 Globemaster III from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California June 14. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- Members of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet Systems prepare four bottlenose dolphins for flight on an Altus Air Force Base C-17 Globemaster III from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California June 14. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- Tech. Sergeant Douglas Campbell, a loadmaster from the 58th Airlift Squadron, directs members of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet as they prepare to fly four bottlenose dolphins from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California June 14. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Elizabeth A. Jache gives her bottlenose dolphin Koa, an in-flight snack of small fish during the flight on an Altus Air Force Base C-17 Globemaster III from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California June 14. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

ALTUS AFB, Okla.- U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Elizabeth A. Jache helps keep her bottlenose dolphin Koa, moist before the flight on an Altus Air Force Base C-17 Globemaster III from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego, California June 14. The dolphins were in Norfolk for two weeks participating in the multinational exercise called Frontier Sentinel. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Leandra D. Hernandez)

Altus Airmen fly dolphins

Published June 15, 2010
By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Seidl
97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Airmen from the 58th Airlift Squadron teamed up with U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Fleet Systems to take four bottlenose dolphins home June 11-15.

Air Force Captains Judd Baker, Kristopher Herman, Carl Rotermund, Tech. Sgt. Douglas Campbell and Staff Sgt. Daniel Carbon assisted in the movement of the dolphins, moved the animals from Norfolk, Va. to Point Loma Sub Base, San Diego.

Before the airlift mission, the crew joined another team in Milwaukee for the "Air & Water Show" at the Milwaukee Lakefront. From there, they flew to Norfolk VA, to pick up U.S. Navy passengers who were assisting in the movement.

The four bottlenose dolphins, originally based out of Point Loma Submarine Base in San Diego CA., were in Norfolk in support of exercise Frontier Sentinel. Frontier Sentinel is an annual training exercise consisting of almost 2,500 Canadian and U.S. Military Forces and government civilian agencies. The focus of this year's Frontier Sentinel was maritime homeland defense, and the mine hunting dolphins were on the job to assist with underwater mine clearance around Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base.

In order to transport the dolphins, slight adjustments were made on the Altus C-17 Globemaster III.

"We requested that the cabin pressure be maintained at 6,000 ft. and that the cabin temperature be maintained at 55 - 60 degrees Fahrenheit," said Braden Duryeem Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command spokesman. "We also requested a shallow takeoff and landing and to be easy on the brakes. This will keep the water in the animal transport containers and not on the deck of the aircraft."

Special care and considerations were also made to ensure the dolphin's flight we be comfortable as possible.

"We took off from Norfolk and we used the whole runway for a nice, slow rolling takeoff," Captain Jud Baker said. "Under normal conditions we would do a standing or static takeoff, which has the motors already spooled up before takeoff and brake release; that creates more or a lurch, like popping the clutch on your car. Obviously we wanted to avoid that."

The dolphins spent the ride across the United States in specially designed cradles, open-topped tanks installed with water-circulating pumps. The tanks rested in a sling that reduced the shocks and turbulence of flight.

"On every marine mammal airlift we have dolphin handlers, training staff, and veterinary staff," Mr. Dutyee said. "The marine mammals have personnel attending to them at all times for the entire transport. At minimum we will have one handler/trainer per dolphin, one technical representative, one transport coordinator and one veterinarian."