908th units put advanced airlift lessons into practice

  • Published
  • By 908th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
  • 908th Airlift Wing
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  The effort needed to sharpen the unit's airlift mission capabilities is a never-ending process for members of the 908th Airlift Wing. The dedication to continue to maintain and improve those capabilities despite the possibility of losing that mission is a tribute to the dedication and professionalism of Alabama's only Air Force Reserve unit.

Flying a Tactical Air Control weekend is not unusual for the Airmen of the 357th Airlift Squadron, but recently, members took advantage of the added benefits of teaching, planning and flying based solely on procedures taught at Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center (AATTC), located at Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, Saint Joseph, Mo.

It was a welcome opportunity to sharpen combat skills for new aircrew members.

The training was the creation of C-130 evaluator pilot Lt. Col. Kenneth Holston. He and instructor pilot Capt. Derek Shehee worked many hours planning the weekend. The first two days consisted of academics in the morning and a four-hour tactical flight and airdrops in the evening.

The last day was preparation and planning for a three-hour flight and airdrops where everything already covered was put into practice.

"The academics were taught by our own Instructors (pilots, navigators, engineers and loadmasters) who are former AATTC graduates," said flight engineer superintendent Chief Master Sgt. Brent Solomon. "The instruction was designed to touch on airlift combat tactics the instructors had learned at AATTC and what is presently being used in forward areas."

The weekend was more than an operational challenge. In addition to extensive planning by several members of the operations group, it was the second straight working weekend for many members, as the wing's unit training assembly had occurred the weekend prior.
Solomon said none of the training would have been possible if it hadn't been for the support of maintenance and aerial port personnel.

"Our maintenance team worked two shifts through the weekend, providing four aircraft a day (three flyers and a spare)," he said, "and our aerial port personnel built and recovered combat offload pallets and airdrop loads. It was a total team effort."

Solomon said the weekend was another chapter in the wing's long history of being the "best of the best.

"Our Airmen continue to strive for excellence in our mission of executing tactical airlift in support of national objectives anywhere in the world ... no matter what," he said.