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First active duty C-130J deploys to AOR

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Tania Bryan
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The 379th Air Expeditionary Wing welcomed the newest member of its fleet today as the first active duty C-130J deployed to the area of responsibility landed in Southwest Asia.

"We're not only the first active duty, C-130J deployment, it's also a record-setting event," said Lt. Col. Dan Tulley, 41st Airlift Squadron commander. "We stood up two squadrons, people and airplanes, and deployed in ten months."

The 41st AS moved to Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., from Pope AFB, N.C., last year. The unit stood up and converted to a new weapon system at the same time, and literally built the unit from the ground up--starting April 5, 2007, the colonel said.

The arrival of the aircraft also marks the creation of a new bond. The C-130Js from the 41st AS will combine with C-130Es from Little Rock's 61st AS and Pope's 2nd AS, as well as C-130Hs from the Air Force Reserve Command's 357th AS at Maxwell AFB, Ala., to form the 746th AS here. The squadron will reactivate in mid-February.

Combining the reserve and active duty squadrons into one cohesive unit, creates a unique opportunity for the crews to learn from one another. Taking four distinct squadrons that don't normally work together at their home stations, and uniting them in a deployed environment, may seem like a daunting task, but Colonel Tulley says the strengths each of them bring to the fight far surpasses any challenges they will have to overcome.

The C-130J entered the Herc family in 1999 to replace the aging C-130E. Although the J model has deployed to the AOR before, this deployment is significant because it's a total force effort, the colonel said.

"We get to play off of the strengths of each other," he said. "AFRC brings a lot of experience and between the different units; Maxwell, Pope and Little Rock, [working together] should be a great opportunity to share knowledge and expertise on handling a C-130 in combat."

We have already seen what the J model's capabilities are through defense training over the past ten months and now we are looking forward to testing the aircraft in combat, Colonel Tulley said.

"The J model has much longer legs and a much greater lift capacity because of the extra two pallet positions. It's also very reliable because it is brand new," Colonel Tulley said. "[The C-130J model] has been lucky enough to be among the first to get the benefit of being recapitalized."