You didn't have the right crew. I was stationed at Beale doing Mission Programming for the SR-71. We would ride KC-135's when we deployed to Kadena, with a stop at Hickam. I was friends with a couple of the flight crews and got to ride in the jump seat on deployements with them.
We would be sitting on the ground at Beale helping the Navigator and Boom Operator make a list of problems to turn in upon landing at Hickam. Of course some of the stuff would require parts to be flown in from Beale -- which would neccesitate crew rest and an overnight stay at Hickam. and miracualously we would all just happen to have our golf clubs, etc with us. :-)
I only had 1 breakdown and it was on a C-5 and in Dover. It was the most boring 36 hour stop. But I was happy to do it. We had just begun startup and one of the engines caught fire.
The C-5 is flying in style compared to our 10-20 hour missions on the EC-130 and RC-135.