Air Force turns to old standby for Army re-supply

Published June 29, 2006
By Maj. David Kurle
455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan -- The U.S. military has turned to an old workhorse as the delivery method for supplies and humanitarian cargo needed to sustain Operation Enduring Freedom.

The C-130 Hercules has been around, in one form or another, since the 1950s. It is the aircraft of choice for inter-theater airlift in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army is conducting operations from areas located on some of the toughest terrain on the planet.

The last time "Herc" crews flew combat airdrops at this level was the Vietnam War.

"It's the perfect tool to use in this theater," said Lt. Col. Mike Feeley, a C-130 navigator deployed to the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron from the Delaware Air National Guard's 142nd Airlift Squadron. "We're flying short, inter-theater airlift missions to unimproved airstrips and small drop zones."

The 774th is an amalgam of Airmen from Air National Guard units in Texas, Delaware, Alaska, Tennessee, Rhode Island and Michigan, as well as two active-duty units from Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, and Yokota Air Base, Japan.

"The C-130 is not out here to support the Air Force," said Lt. Col. Blake Gettys, commander of the 744th EAS and a C-130 pilot. "It's here to support the Army, the troops on the ground."

"We have not worked so closely with the Army since Vietnam," he said.

Since early 2006, C-130 crews in the 774th EAS have airlifted and airdropped thousands of supplies, some of it falling from the sky in the form of container delivery system bundles weighing 1,200 to 2,300 pounds.

"Soldiers are operating from forward operating bases throughout Afghanistan that are not located near established roadways or airstrips because of the remoteness and ruggedness of the terrain," said Army Chief Warrant Officer Cortez Frazier, the senior airdrop technician for the Joint Logistics Command in Afghanistan.

"This necessitates the need for airdrops of crucial supplies, such as ammunition, food and water to the Soldiers fighting the war on terrorism and humanitarian civil assistance materials for use by Afghan civilians," he said.

Most C-130 crew members will agree that the terrain provides one of the biggest challenges to flying missions over Afghanistan.

"You've got to be on the top of your game here," Colonel Feeley said. "You use everything you've learned in the 130."

And C-130 crews have learned a lot in the past few years.

"Our unit was activated in March 2003, and we've been continuously going to operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom for three years," Colonel Feeley said. "As long as the Army's out in the field, the 130's going to be here."

The crews' combat experiences in recent years are coupled with the overall experience of aviators in the Guard units that make up the 774th EAS.

"That's one of the nice things the Guard offers is the experience level," said Colonel Gettys, a Guardsman from the Alaska Air National Guard's 144th AS. "We have people who have been around this airplane for 30 years."

This means most of the Guardsmen leave civilian jobs behind and volunteer for deployments overseas.

"We've got firemen, school teachers, just a wide variety of people," Colonel Gettys said, noting that more than eight airlines are represented among the unit's aircrews.

One of those leaving behind her life as a student is Staff Sgt. Kelly Ward, a C-130 loadmaster, also with the 144th AS from Alaska. Unlike many of her comrades, this is her first deployment to a combat zone.

"At the end of the day when you're tired, it's a good feeling knowing our guys got what they needed in the way of supplies," she said. "I'm glad I got to be a part of this mission. It's good experience and it's what we train for, so it's good to put our training to use."

And with each airdrop or cargo delivery, Sergeant Ward carries that experience forward with her to the next mission.

"I don't have to worry about sending any crew on any mission and wonder about mission success," Colonel Gettys said. "We do not cherry-pick crews for certain missions."

This is good news for Soldiers waiting for supplies on the ground.

"There will probably be a C-130 here that takes home the last Army Soldier," Colonel Feeley said.