Aircrews of USAF C-130 Hercules tactical transports making stops at Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, do so with engines running because it’s a high threat area. Air Force photojournalist MSgt. Orville Desjarlais reports that the 140-degree blast from the aircraft’s engines compounds the location’s triple digit temperature as the lone USAF aerial porter, TSgt. Philip Lester, quickly moves cargo and passengers off and on the Hercs. Lester has some help from another airman—firefighter SSgt. Walter Shutler—and the US Army soldiers he has been indoctrinating in aircraft cargo procedures.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.