You are in sniper mode again Doors Off. I never said the C-17 was not a good buy, especially for strategic transport; but it is more limited in application than the C-130 for tactical operations throughout the regional archipelago due operating constraints regarding scruffy airfields.
Somebody might care to answer these questions:
How did/do Army Aviation get Blackhawks to and from East Timor, initially and now? (Perhaps C-17 operations there might now be acceptable).
And how did the RNZAF get their Iroquois there when they had to provide relief helo effort?