Free Republic

August is a seminal month in the history of the airborne, and especially of the 82nd Airborne Division. Aug. 15, 1942, is the birth date of the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions. "Airborne" was already well under way before the magic date 67 years ago when the War Department formally ordered the formation of two divisions of jumpers and glidermen. Battalions of jumpers had been training at Fort Benning, Ga., since 1940, and the high command of the Army was eager to grow the airborne force. By March, a new infantry division, the 82nd, was activated for training at Camp...

While some might call him a good luck charm, Col. (res.) Avshalom says he's just your average Israel Air Force navigator. But last week, he led an IAF team to victory in the Air Mobility RODEO 2009 competition in the United States, taking home the Col. Joe M. Jackson Trophy for best C-130 air crew. RODEO, a biannual event that brings transport and mobility air crews from around the world together for several days of competitions, tests the teams' expertise in landing, locating drop zones and parachuting equipment. Last week, an Israeli C-130 Hercules transport aircraft flew to McChord Air...

MUNICH --- Most of the media coverage from EADS’ annual financial results conference held here March 10 focused on the fact that a legal clause allowing customers to pull out of the A400M program will kick in on April 1, and played up the fact that in this event EADS would have to repay governments 5.7 billion euros. But this is neither newsworthy – the cancellation clause was first revealed in a report released by the French Senate on Feb. 10 – nor accurate, as the cost to EADS in the event of cancellation would be far higher. The company...

  A C-130 was lumbering along when a cocky F-16 flashed by.The jet jockey decided to show off.The fighter jock told the C-130 pilot, 'watch this!' and promptly went into a barrel roll followed by a steep climb. He then finished with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The F-16 pilot asked the C-130 pilot what he thought of that?The C-130 pilot said, 'That was impressive, but watch this!' The C-130 droned along for about 5 minutes and then the C-130 Pilot came back on and said: 'What did you think of that?'Puzzled, the F-16 pilot asked, 'What...

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany — As the C-130E Hercules slowly rolled down the taxiway, fire trucks on both sides gave the big, gray aircraft a shower and dozens of airmen lining its path quickly saluted. It was a final farewell for an old plane with more than 44 years of service and a heroic legacy. The 86th Airlift Wing said goodbye to the plane, which earned an honorary Purple Heart during the Vietnam War. The aircraft, known only by its 63-7865 tail number, left Ramstein on Wednesday for its final resting place at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. Staff Sgt....

2/11/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- Coalition airpower integrated with coalition ground forces in Iraq and International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan during operations Feb. 10, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here. In Afghanistan, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs conducted shows of force over an enemy compound near Sangin and over a coalition-forces convoy in the vicinity of Tarin Kowt. The shows of force were conducted in order to deter enemy activities in the areas. The missions were declared successful by the on-scene joint terminal attack controller. In Bari Kowt, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles conducted...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Maj. Paul Anderson has probably seen more of Afghanistan than most people in the country, although he usually sees it from 6,400 metres above the ground. "That is the main and only highway between Kandahar and Kabul," he says, pointing at the tiny line of cars and trucks barely visible from the cockpit of his Hercules C-130 transport plane. The view out the window closely resembles a giant, coloured three-dimensional map. There is little to break up the monotony of sand and mountains except patches of green in some of the deeper valleys, the occasional silver thread...

Taliban militants have used a heat-seeking surface-to-air missile to attack a Western aircraft over Afghanistan for the first time. Click to enlarge Click to enlarge: how the attack was launched The attack with a weapon believed to have been smuggled across the border with Iran represents a worrying increase in the capability of the militants which Western commanders had long feared. The Daily Telegraph has learnt that the Taliban attempted to bring down an American C-130 Hercules aircraft flying over the south-western province of Nimroz on July 22. The crew reported that a missile system locked on to their aircraft...

<p>A military plane may have crashed Tuesday afternoon in southeast Kentucky, though there are conflicting reports about where or if the plane went down.</p> <p>Initial reports said that a C-130 Hercules had crashed in Knox County near Granny Rose Hollow at Highway 459 near the Whitley County line. Several reports were called in to police just after 4 p.m. that a large plane had been flying low in the area trailing smoke, clipped some trees, then went down.</p>

An RAF Hercules transport plane has been destroyed in southern Iraq after it was damaged in an "incident" on landing, the Ministry of Defence said. Two people suffered minor injuries in Monday's incident, after which the C130 plane was destroyed because of the potential risk involved in recovery. A military spokesman in Basra said there was no evidence of hostile action during the landing in Maysan province. The plane, based at RAF Lyneham, had been on a routine re-supply journey. It landed 20km north of Al-Amarah at about 2010 local time (1710GMT). The two people injured were taken to hospital,...

Fervent hopes and a brief break in the weather brought no satisfaction to relatives and friends of three climbers missing on the dangerous north side of Mount Hood. The clear, cold morning turned foul by midday Saturday, before searchers on two sides of the mountain and helicopter crews retired for the night because of weather and darkness, finding no trace of the three men. The Hood River County sheriff's office, a lead agency in the search, said efforts would continue Sunday. On Saturday, a C-130 with infrared heat-seeking capability from the Nevada Air National Guard took to the skies over...

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 13, 2006 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has begun flight testing for the Advanced Tactical Laser (ATL) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD) program and has generated "first light" of ATL's high-energy chemical laser in ground tests, achieving two key milestones in the laser gunship development effort. During the "low-power" flight tests, which began Oct. 10 and conclude this fall, the ATL ACTD system will find and track ground targets at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. A low-power, solid-state laser will serve as a surrogate for ATL's high-power chemical laser. To prepare for the tests, the ATL...

Thick as thieves Wilson John Clandestine dealings between Pakistan and North Korea leave no room for doubt that their nuclear weapons programmes are closely entwined On June 7, 1998, a gun shot shattered the tranquillity of Islamabad's posh colony, referred to as E-7, which houses, among other notables, AQ Khan, known, rightly or wrongly, as the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb. The firing took place a few metres from away AQ Khan's residence. The dead woman was later identified as Kim Sa-nae, a member of the 20-strong North Korean nuclear scientists delegation living, as Pakistan media reports said, in...

Secret RAF sorties keep Iraq border troops on go By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent (Filed: 09/10/2006) RAF Hercules transport aircraft are flying secret missions into the heart of insurgent territory in Iraq to re-supply long range desert patrols. Up to three sorties a week are being flown into Maysan province. The large but agile aeroplanes land on hastily constructed airstrips to deliver food, fuel and ammunition to cavalry soldiers operating far from friendly bases. The missions have enabled troops from the Queen's Royal Hussars battlegroup to double the time spent watching the porous border with Iran for smugglers carrying bombs,...

by Staff Sgt. Ryan Hansen 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs 8/15/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- It may be surprising to hear that the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing has a Vietnam era Purple Heart recipient working at the wing. It is even more surprising to hear that the combat veteran is actually a C-130 Hercules deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. On the flight deck of aircraft 63-7865 is a plaque telling the story of one of the hardest working aircraft in the Air Force inventory. According to the certificate, on June 1, 1972, the aircraft was assigned to the 21st Tactical...

7/13/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- A C-130 Hercules crew assigned to the 738th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron provided critical support to an Army operating location in Afghanistan on July 6 by airdropping essential supplies before a potential enemy attack. Aircraft commander Capt. Travis Sjostedt and his crew just completed their last sortie during their 30-day forward deployment to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. But as the crew was preparing the aircraft to return to its main operating base, leaders at Bagram received a message from the theater's combined air operations center that a forward operating base in Afghanistan was short of...

6/29/2006 - ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- The beginning of an era for Robins Air Force Base and the warfighters of Air Force Special Operations Command was marked June 28 as the first-of-its-kind MC-130W was presented to Lt. Gen. Michael W. Wooley, AFSOC commander, in a ceremony here. "A lot of work went into this aircraft," said Maj. Gen. Michael A. Collings, Warner Robins Air Logistics Center commander. "Sweat, hard work and brains brought about this large initiative in support of the global war on terror. My challenge is that the need for these aircraft is today, and...

6/27/2006 - BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- The U.S. military has turned to an old workhorse as the delivery method for supplies and humanitarian cargo needed to sustain Operation Enduring Freedom. The C-130 Hercules has been around, in one form or another, since the 1950s. It is the aircraft of choice for inter-theater airlift in Afghanistan, where the U.S. Army is conducting operations from areas located on some of the toughest terrain on the planet. The last time "Herc" crews flew combat airdrops at this level was the Vietnam War. "It's the perfect tool to use in this theater,"...

IAF chief procurement officer: F35 will replace F16 The Israel Air Force plans is to buy over 100 Lockheed Martin F35s, costing at least $5 billion. Amnon Barzilai 21 Jun 06 10:15 The Israel Air Force (IAF) is completing its plan to replace its fleet of combat jets, transport planes, and helicopters, ahead of the IDF headquarters workshop for the formulation of its Keshet five-year plan. In an exclusive interview, IAF chief procurement officer Brig.-Gen. Zeev Snir told “Globes” that the key part of the plan was to procure the next-generation US combat jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Snir...

4/14/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- No one wishes for an aircraft to break -- especially flying crew chiefs. But, that’s when the mobile C-130 Hercules maintainers receive the most attention -- when something is wrong with the plane and they are far away from home. “Fortunately, C-130s are extremely reliable,” said Senior Master Sgt. Edward Rife, production supervisor for the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron. “They seldom break to the point where the aircraft can’t return to base. But, if that happens, the flying crew chiefs come to the rescue.” Sergeant Rife said most of the C-130s used in Southwest...