Herk Crews Revel in Afghan Environment

According to C-130 flight engineer, SSgt. Jim Meyer, the “versatile” and “dynamic” Hercules is in its element in Afghanistan because Herk crews “can get in and out of places no one else can.” In the view of the Illinois Air National Guardsman deployed to Bagram AB, Afghanistan, “With the assault landings, low-level flying, and dirt airstrips, the flying here is made for a C-130.” The Bagram C-130 force averages more than 30 combat sorties a day, with taskings sometimes changing in mid-mission. “It can be chaos, but you get used to the chaos and control what you can control,” said Lt. Col. T.J. Roberts (unknown unit). As for Capt. Blake Greenfield, deployed from Arkansas, “From airdrop to resupplying troops on dirt landing zones to flying through mountainous terrain—for the C-130 community, this is what you want to do.” (Bagram report by SSgt. Rachel Martinez)