The 373rd Training Squadron at Robins AFB, Ga., recently received a retired C-130H that will be used for hands-on teaching of the thousands of students who roll through the school each year. Previously, the squadron, one of many field training detachments assigned to Air Education Training Command’s 982nd Training Group, used aircraft going through depot maintenance at Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex for training, but scheduling often was a challenge so the school had to send students off-site for training. The addition of the C-130H trainer is expected to save about $700,000 per year, said SMSgt. Shawn Davis, 373rd Det. 6 chief. “The ground trainer is a win-win for multiple organizations as it provides cost-effective maintenance training opportunities for our civilian mechanics and military expeditionary depot maintenance personnel,” said Jim Russell, 560th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron director, in a release. Davis said the C-130H also is likely to increase enrollment, specifically in the school’s hydraulics, avionics, and engine courses.
Since President Donald Trump first unveiled his “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative in late January, much of the focus for it has been focused on space—how the Pentagon may deploy dozens, if not hundreds, of sensors and interceptors into orbit to protect the continental U.S. from missile barrages. But the Air…