Air National Guard C-130s rotated to the Aviation Detachment at Powidz AB, Poland, for the first time to begin exercises with the Polish air force this month, according to an Air Force release. Three C-130Hs from the Illinois ANG’s 182nd Airlift Wing based in Peoria along with some 50 pilots, maintainers, and support personnel, deployed to Poland on Oct. 10, wing spokesman TSgt. Todd Pendleton told Air Force Magazine. Until now, C-130Js from Ramstein AB, Germany, have supported the bulk of AvDet airlift rotations. “As Poland’s state partner, the Illinois ANG airmen continue to deepen established relationships and build partner capacity between US and Polish forces,” said Lt. Col. Jack Harman, commander of the 52nd Operations Group Det. 1, which oversees the AvDet. “NATO’s interoperability is key to the strength of the Alliance,” he said. Illinois C-130s will wrap-up their three-week rotation to Powidz on Nov. 1, said Pendleton. (See also Looking East from the September 2014 issue of Air Force Magazine.)
Gene Smith, Former POW and AFA Chair, Dies at 91
Jan. 19, 2026
Lt. Col. Richard “Gene” Smith, who overcame five and a half years as a prisoner of war in the notorious Hanoi Hilton from 1967 until 1973, died Jan. 16. He was one day short of his 91st birthday.
