Air Force One at times. John Terberg, the program’s Supplier Management director, said one of his favorite moments was when President Clinton described how the aircraft safely took him to and from war-torn Bosnia in the mid-1990s. Terberg describes the airlifter as “a tank built with Mercedes-level quality.” In addition to serving U.S. forces and those of allied nations in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and other major conflicts since the 1990s, the C-17 has ferried thousands of people away from disasters, including major earthquakes and typhoons. It also carried one of the world’s best-known orcas, Keiko, in 1998 when the whale was returned to the open ocean. “You see the airplane on TV, you see its importance in the world. There’s a great sense of pride attached to that, to see how important it can be in saving human lives,” said Tony Murray, a senior manager of Production Operations. “It never gets old seeing that airplane fly, especially when you know you’ve touched each one that was built.” The final C-17 assembled in Long Beach is expected to be finished by the end of summer this year. Some of the involved employees are retiring, some will transition to jobs in the C-17 support and sustainment program, while others are transferring to other programs within Boeing. A few still are unsure of what they will do next. But nearly all will leave with fond feelings for their time on the program. Lynne Jungers, the program’s customer engagement specialist, said she is making sure she visits the production floor every day now, as she’ll miss seeing the activity there. Dave Marendino, a Production Operations senior manager who has spent his entire Boeing career on the program, said he and a few other Photos: (Clockwise from top) Electrician Kathie Trujillo installs wiring inside the forward section of a C-17 fuselage; Final Assembly employees stand inside the cavernous cargo area of a C-17, visible when the aircraft’s huge rear door is open; Richard Crocker, a structure mechanic, installs a panel near the main landing gear. 34 Boeing Frontiers “I love my job, I love what I do. But they say all good things must come to an end.” —Kathie Trujillo, electrician “I’ll be surfing out at Huntington Beach (Calif.) and see it fly overhead on a training mission, and I know I worked on it. There is a great sense of pride out there among the people building the aircraft.” —Cary Lacayo, Aircraft Maintenance technician and team lead
Frontiers March 2015 Issue
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