Photo By Staff Sgt. Janae Aguirre | Airmen of the 139th Airlift Wing, Missouri Air National Guard, pose for a group photo...... read more read more
In an impressive demonstration of capability and resilience, two aircrews and a maintainer completed a max endurance operation on a C-130H Hercules aircraft that was the first of its kind for the 139th Airlift Wing. The mission, designed to test the crew's stamina, concluded after a 27-hour mission across the country including three fuel stops.
The crew was prepared to endure long waking hours and less sleep to ensure mission success. Each crew completed two legs of the flight, stopping for gas in California, North Dakota, and California again before heading back to St. Joseph.
Capt. Dave Reinert, with the 180th Airlift Squadron, Missouri Air National Guard, who spearheaded this mission discussed how the long flight provided a great opportunity for the crews to engage in team bonding.
“We bought a bunch of food so we could cook it and basically had a family dinner together,” said Reinert.
The C-130 Hercules is known for its versatility and ruggedness. It has served in countless missions, from combat zones to humanitarian aid drops.
“This particular mission highlights the fact that the 139th consistently executes the mission at a high level and provides combatant commanders a highly capable and dependable force provider to execute a myriad of mission sets,” said Col. Eric Rawlings, 139th Operations Group commander.
The crew took one maintainer with them to ensure any flight maintenance was taken care of.
“The crews were made up with personnel from the [139th] Operations Group, Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, and the [C-130H] Weapons Instructor Course,” said Col. Rawlings. “Not many wings out there can put that kind of experience and talent together on a day to day basis.”
The C-130 Hercules aircraft continues to outperform itself with every new test and be a reliable asset to the Air National Guard. With this mission, its crew demonstrated they were just as resilient as their aircraft.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2024 13:43 |
| Story ID: | 477562 |
| Location: | ST. JOSEPH, MISSOURI, US |
| Web Views: | 198 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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