Don’t Think The COD Is Glamorous Or Cool? Think Again If You Like Getting Your Mail Or That Critical Part Aboard A Deployed Carrier
During 2015, Fleet Logistics Support Squadron THREE ZERO (VRC-30) Providers Detachment 1 Hustlers completed a nine and a half month-long deployment supporting the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) with embarked Carrier Air Wing SEVENTEEN (CVW-17) and Carrier Strike Group One (CSG-1). The Hustlers also chased the French carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) around during several months of joint operations in the northern Arabian Gulf. All five of the Providers detachments operate the Grumman C-2A(R) Greyhound. Thanks to YouTuber PropBroChill17 for uploading these two HD videos that let us watch VRC-30 Det 1 work.
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The Hustlers flew out of Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka, India, the Maldives, Malaysia, Brunei, Australia, and Guam in order to support the deployed fleet. The Hustlers were awarded the 2015 CVW-17 Golden Wrench Award for Maintenance Excellence. They achieved a 96 percent sortie completion rate while operating at a high operational tempo. They transported 5,581 passengers, 754 Distinguished Visitors (DVs), 116,100 pounds of mail, and 858,030 pounds of cargo, while executing 22 life-saving medical evacuations. What the Hustlers do is often overlooked by the casual observer, but just ask a snipe or an air wing admin how important mail from home or that spare part that’ll get a jet back in the air is. It all gets there via the decidedly unglamorous but absolutely essential COD.
Here’s a BONUS video of a Hustlers C-2A(R) Greyhound operating from the French carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) and her comparatively petite flight deck. This is rare footage indeed. Enjoy!
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