Colleagues: Your position is understood and appreciated.

The status of C-17 is indeed tenuous, but not by any means unrecoverable, especially when one considers the fact of no substantive, provable, publicly or internally available data whatsoever to support the demand for C-17 line termination.

We daresay this is a reality readily ascertained by references provided over the months and years by our associates both in industry and government.


To borrow a line from what is considered to be one of the best examples of advertising prose in the history of world, "The Penalty of Leadership" by Theodore McManus, "That which deserves to live, lives..."

Thank you again for your insightful comments and atypical journalism in this matter.

Myron D. Stokes
Managing Member
Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC

www.ccr.gov
www.emotionreports.com

As publisher of www.OC180NEWS.com, we do not take a position on the question of whether or not production of the C-17 should continue beyond the 223 planes already in the pipeline. We would like to provide independent consideration of this important question, but we have not been able to obtain any cooperation from the U.S. Air Force. We have made repeated attempts to get the Air Force to provide the details behind their conclusion that 223 planes is enough, and even though they have repeatedly promised us the information, they have not once followed through with either useful information or an interview opportunity. So, our mission here is not to question the decision of the Department of Defense, but rather only to track the process toward its conclusion. We stand by our headline because the May 28th statement of administration policy was Unprecedented and, in our view, a very serious blow to continued production of the C-17. Rightly or wrongly, it now appears the Obama Administration is ready and willing to use a Presidential veto, or the threat thereof, to end C-17 production. Last year at this time, although the Administration was clearly on record of wanting to end production, they only used the veto threat for the F-22, and not the C-17. Since that threat last year carried the day and the F-22 was not funded, we believe there is a very real possibility the threat of a veto for the C-17 could have the same result this year.

Colleagues: As you are no doubt aware, the efforts to terminate Boeing C-17 production continue, and we might add, for reasons hardly provable or legitimate.

We don't consider the most recent comments to be a "crushing blow" since the language has not changed, nor has any new data been added to support the SECDEF's position.

It is important however, to present more of a worldview as regards C-17's international status and the strong support from foreign nations -- confirmed by India's and the UAE's acquisition activities -- it enjoys.

Conversely, while C-17 is produced locally, it is hardly local, therefore necessitating the use of wholistic, systemic program/platform viability analytics.

The following excerpt from a recent release should update OC180 readers on the intensity of the issue, and the real, perhaps wholly uncomfortable reasons, for efforts to kill C-17.

Summary: "The drumbeat of anti-C-17 commentary in US, European, Indian, Pakistani and ME news mediums; a strike at Boeing Long Beach and the observably large leap in logic suggesting platform termination as a result, appear to be part of a well coordinated effort -- again -- to render as self-fulfilling prophecy SECDEF Gates' unfounded insistence on ending production of the world's most successful strategic/tactical airlifter. GHH notes that $60,000,000 ,with TransRecap processes, begets TWO C-17s; one new, one accessible."

Bloomfield Hills, MI, May 28, 2010 (PressReleasePoint-- UPDATE) -- Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC, a Defense Logistics Agency (DLA www.ccr.gov) entity based in Michigan, believes it is appropriate to address, yet again, the continuing attacks, misstatements and outright analytical/factual errors carried by multiple media outlets globally against Boeing C-17. These are largely based on comments by Secretary of Defense Dr. Robert Gates, elements of the USAF, and others demanding an end to its production.

Objective Reportage

"While GHH feels the bulk of reportage in certain media outlets commendably takes on a aura of objectivity regarding IAF plans to acquire C-17, that aura, they contend, collapses with pointed and all-caps references in some to the US President and SECDEF's stated desire to kill it; i.e., "Everyone agrees, except Obama and Gates. Maybe they know something others are not telling us... Why is India buying the C-17 when Barack Obama and Robert Gates want to junk it, asks Shantanu Guha Ray?"

"Since it is somewhat inarguable by virtue of unparalleled mission completion rates (verifiable through the US DoD) that Boeing C-17 is the best airlifter in the history of aviation, and possessed, as articulated by Boeing spokesman Jerry Drelling, of true strategic/tactical duality of mission capability, we'll address with specificity the concern mentioned in several versions of a report 'Maybe they (the President and SECDEF) know something others are not telling us.'

"'The direct answer is, and with all due respect to the President and Dr. Gates, no, they do not 'know something others are not telling us', says Myron D. Stokes. GHH Managing Member.

....

"GHH observes that since people continue to be influenced by the numbers game and those creating an atmosphere of perceived fiscal responsibility as regards C-5 vs C-17, these numbers ought to prove intriguing:

A.) USD81,000,000 for one REAMP/RERP C-5 = one still near half century old airlifter which has been notoriously unreliable throughout its service life (current: 56% mission completion rate;i.e., half the time it's flying, half the the time it's not) and is all but useless in the operational realities of asymmetric and conventional warfare scenarios existing concomitantly -- requiring rapid force projection of men and equipment directly to theater. C-5 requires significant airfield infrastructure, C-17 does not, as proven in Afghanistan, Iraq and multiple humanitarian/disaster missions.

B.) On the other hand, USD60,000,000 , when utilized in conjunction with a Congressionally approved Transformational Recapitalization defense platform acquisition process as outlined in the November 2004 issue of Defense AT&L, which allows the USAF to resell first generation C-17A models to the private sector for 140,000,000 (market value of C-17, as assessed by one of the most respected aviation consulting firms, is in the 90-140mil range) begets a new C-17 ( note: current "flyaway" costs to the AF are in the range of 200-230mil; closer to 200mil as processes of continuous improvement are expanded and economies of scale from multi-year orders are applied.) ordered from Boeing, and by State Department mandate, immediate access to the sold C-17A in times of national emergency, or as needed.

Result: A 21,000,000 per plane savings (actually more, since it is known that the C-5 retrofit cost stated by Lockheed-Martin, will again prove unreasonably low and rapidly invoking another breach of Nunn-McCurdy) and two C-17s; one new and one with at least half its service life remaining, possessing a combined capacity of 174 tons.'

"'Shall we talk again', says Stokes, about 'best use of available defense dollars' and leave out the over-invoking of President Eisenhower, a man of underestimated wisdom who was only referring to unreasonable waste in the defense industrial complex, and not actions that would cripple the country's ability to defend itself against enemies past, present and future... including China?'"

Go to full release: http://www.pressreleasepoint.com/boeing-analysis-indian-air-force-c17-order-not-risk-us-dod-seeking-limit-boeing-participation-2011-b

http://www.slideshare.net/GHHLLC2/indian-air-force-iaf-pending-order-for-10-boeing-c17s-not-at-risk-as-suggested-us-dod-actions-imply-nonboeing-future

The depth and objectivity of this analysis is nonetheless appreciated.

Myron D. Stokes
Managing Member
Global HeavyLift Holdings, LLC
http://www.emotionreports.com