Members of Class 1101 at the Air Force Special Operations Training Center at Hurlburt Field, Fla., were the first students to participate in mission qualification training for the MC-130J. “This first class is a small group tryout designed to validate our syllabus of instruction for the remaining classes,” said Maj. Robert Deka, AFSOTC MC-130J training program manager. Center officials worked with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing, the Marine Corps, and the National Guard Bureau to launch this training, which has been in the making for about two years. “AFSOTC is setting the stage for the future of this platform, and the MC-130J is a huge addition to the AFSOC fleet, so we have to get it right,” said Col. Mark Alsid, training center commander. Air Force Special Operations Command intends to procure 37 MC-130Js to replace its aging MC-130E Combat Talons and MC-130P Combat Shadows. (Hurlburt report by Rachel Arroyo)
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…