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AMC C-130 loadmaster teaches aircrew combat tactics in Missouri; serves in Total Force position

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  He's one of only a few active duty Airmen stationed at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base in St. Joseph, Mo., but he wouldn't have it any other way.

Master Sgt. John Gorsuch, a member of Headquarters Air Mobility Command's Air Operations Squadron Detachment 5, serves as an instructor in the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center at St. Joseph. He's also a C-130 loadmaster trained in every aspect of the job where in his current position he passes on his experience and knowledge to students in airlift career fields from across the U.S. military and the globe.

A 16-year veteran of the Air Force, Sergeant Gorsuch said his job in the AATTC can be broken down into three areas -- as detachment superintendent, tactics developer and an instructor.

"As a detachment superintendent, I help with the professional development of the officer and enlisted personnel in the detachment," Sergeant Gorsuch said.

The loadmaster added how the detachment has a diverse group of individuals. "They have experience encompassing intelligence analysis and instruction and tactics development," Sergeant Gorsuch said. "My role as a tactics developer is to work directly for and with AMC, Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard to manage tactics improvement proposals for all mobility aircraft, oversee tactics development and evaluations and act as a subject matter expert for the C-130."

Sergeant Gorsuch, a native of Baltimore, Md., said he loves how his job affects the success of the Total Force of active, Guard and Reserve Airmen, as well as of those people in the joint and allied air forces community.

"My roles as a classroom and aircraft instructor at AATTC has my presenting information to AMC, Guard, Reserve, Air Force special operations, Marine Corps and allied aircrews," Sergeant Gorsuch said. "I love the ability to be part of a Total Force team dedicated to exploiting the enemy's weaknesses while building our strengths through superior tactics and training."

The master sergeant also said he loves his job because he knows how much the C-130 and AMC as a whole are important to the worldwide airlift community.

"The C-130 is the up-close and personal arm of this support chain -- often exposing itself and crew to direct hostilities to provide a responsive level of support and becoming intermingled with the warfighter it is tasked to support," Sergeant Gorsuch said.

"AMC brings the Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine to the fight in the most timely and
effective manner possible," he said. "The mobility Airman and the C-130 support both their direct engagement with the enemy and provide them with timely sustainment on a scale unmatched anywhere in the world. To add to this capability, any aircrew in AMC can switch from executing a combat mission to humanitarian missions in the blink of an eye."

The mission of the AATTC is to "provide current academic and combat flying training tactics to airlift aircrews of the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve, active duty Air Force, sister services and allied nations," the center's fact sheet states. The training offered by the AATTC "enhances aircrew survivability and mission success in a combat environment." AATTC also functions as a clearing house for gathering and disseminating airlift tactics information by means of an annual tactics symposium. Its most recent symposium was in June 2010.