C-130 loadmasters on a rotational deployment to Powidz AB, Poland, trained with their Polish counterparts to show the Poles how to load their C-130s for humanitarian relief missions in Iraq, according to an Aug. 18 release. “We want to be on the same page,” said Polish air force Sgt. Hieronim Chabras, 33rd Transportation Air Base C-130E loadmaster. “It is good to go over this training together before a mission like this,” he said. The Air Force has been airdropping food and aid supplies to refugees in Iraq fleeing the savagery of Islamist terrorists. “Mass container delivery airdrops are one of the most effective ways to deliver combat and non-combat supplies and equipment,” said SrA. Chelsea Sirmans, a joint airdrop inspector with the 86th Operational Support Squadron. Sirmans is one of the airmen deployed to Powidz from Ramstein AB, Germany. “It’s how we get the bullets, beans, and bandages to the people who need them most, as quickly as possible,” she said. The Poles fly older C-130E airplanes, while the Ramstein airmen operate newer C-130Js.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
