What the J Can Do For You:

Maj. Julie Petrina, an ANG C-130J pilot, noted Monday at the AFA conference that the Maryland Guard had to educate mission planners in the theater about the C-130J’s capabilities. Compared to older E and H model Hercules, the C-130Js fly faster, can offload quicker, and the stretched versions (making up about half the force in-theater) can carry larger loads. The mission planners in Southwest Asia didn’t initially understand the J model capabilities, however, and would schedule them to fly slower missions with smaller-than-ideal loads. “They don’t understand our capability,” Petrina said. The education process is still ongoing.