C130 SUPPLEMENT | UNIT REVIEW The motto of the US National Guard is ‘Always Ready, ghters — F-86L Sabre interceptors — Always There’. Only four words, but living up to them disappeared from the skies above Savannah in 1962 and the 165th Air is easier said than done. One of the Air National Guard Transport Group began to receive the units to which this applies is the 165th Airlift Wing C-97F Stratofreighter. After ying the located at Savannah International Airport, Georgia. Stratofreighter for ve years the unit welcomed the C-124C Globemaster II in 1967. The rst C-130 came to Savannah in report: Henk de Ridder 1975. Its long history in the role makes the 165th one of the most experienced air ITH THE town of Savannah. The city is located transport wings within the Air DEMAND for air along the Savannah River near the shores National Guard. mobility among of the Atlantic Ocean, in the north-eastern the US military corner of Georgia. During the hot Role and mission and its allies southern summers, a sea breeze will cool The 165th AW stands ready for tactical showing no sign the air somewhat. And while strolling airlift missions and is commanded by Col Wof abating, the ‘Savannah Guard Dawgs’ through the beautiful, historic center, you Rainer ‘Speedy’ Gomez, a master navigator routinely nd themselves operating from realize that it is an attractive region in with 5,000 hours on types including the di erent countries across the globe. The which to live. Being a Guard member and B-52G Stratofortress and C-130E/H. The men and women of the 165th Airlift Wing working together towards the Guard’s wing’s C-130s provide air transport for (AW) are responsible for supporting, motto — there are surely worse places to airborne forces, delivering their maintaining and ying eight C-130H do that. equipment and supplies by air-drop or With its four Hercules airlifters in order that the unit can A 30-minute drive from downtown air-land, and provide strategic airlift of Allison T56-A-15 turboprops perform the missions it bids for, or is Savannah brings you to Savannah personnel, equipment and supplies. As an turning and tasked with. International Airport (IAP). Here, on the ANG unit, the 165th has a humanitarian burning, a 165th When Ray Charles was recording his north-eastern part of the air eld, the role. If called to duty by the state governor, AW C-130H-3 is readied for famous version of ‘Georgia On My Mind’ in 165th AW has ful lled its air transport role the 165th will supply air transport during a local sortie. 1960, he might have been thinking of the for more than 50 years. The unit’s last natural disasters such as oods, Henk de Ridder 66 www.combataircraft.net April 2016 UNIT REVIEW | C130 SUPPLEMENT earthquakes, and forest res. The unit also commander Col Hal Davis explained: ‘We plays a role in search and rescue y mostly two-ship tactical air-drop operations. In peacetime, the unit is under missions, for about two hours. Mostly we federal control and is ready to respond to practice low-level air-drops for a few runs, a call for any form of tactical airlift. some patrols and go back to base in less Operations are not limited to the state of than two hours. Active-duty units make Georgia or the United States; missions are longer missions with more crews on board carried out all over the world. so they change crew during the mission. Under the command of Lt Col Sheldon Landing on rough strips is another skill we B. Wilson since June 14, 2015, the wing’s often practice, and requires great skill from ying unit — the 158th Airlift Squadron the pilots. The 165th also performs a lot of (AS) — includes around 100 pilots, ight ‘Guard Lift’: when a unit is going on an engineers, navigators, and loadmasters. exercise somewhere in the US, the In 2014, the unit ew more than 2,000 equipment and maintenance gear is hours and the wing received its 10th Air moved by us. We do a lot of trips, not only Force Outstanding Unit Award during a in the US, but also outside the country. We ceremony in September that year. The have been to the Middle East 12 165th AW has distinguished itself times now.’ through numerous achievements. But perhaps the most outstanding one was ‘Bidding’ missions its receipt of the Air Mobility Command Davis explained to Combat Aircraft that Flying Hour Milestone Award for an the unit can ‘bid’ for a certain number of unprecedented 165,000-plus accident- missions: ‘The demand for air transport free hours, including 11,600 combat within the US Air Force is enormous. ying hours. Every quarter, an airlift conference is A typical 165th AW mission di ers organized which o ers hundreds of somewhat from those own by active- missions. Every airlift unit can bid on duty units, as operations group o ered missions. Think of transport for a 67 165TH AIRLIFT WING April 2016 www.combataircraft.net C130 SUPPLEMENT | UNIT REVIEW ghter squadron to ‘Red Flag’ or the very reliable. Once in the Netherlands, transportation of troops for a crews practiced the tactical airlift missions deployment. One of the nest missions and tactical air-drops. The memorial the 165th could lay its hands on was to o ered a good practice for air-drops in a take part in the 70th commemoration of di erent surrounding. During this Operation ‘Market Garden’ in the deployment the crews learned how to Netherlands. Two airplanes went over to handle the typical European weather Eindhoven air base, together with two circumstances. The day of the ceremony from the Kentucky ANG. When it was started with heavy fog and barely any con rmed that this mission was assigned visibility. When the sun started to do its to the 165th AW, the personnel of Air work and the fog slowly disappeared, the Mobility Command’s Tanker Airlift Control C-130s nally got the chance to drop the Center [AMC-TACC] started working on paratroopers. The ‘Market Garden’ the mission. This included the making of memorial turned out to be a very good the ight plan. opportunity for the 165th to practice a ‘Often the ight plan changes due to mass para-drop with other units under weather conditions. Di erent routes over challenging weather conditions.’ the Atlantic Ocean are worked out. The C-130 can y all alone over the ocean, Joining the Guard unlike ghters, which y in groups Of the more than 1,150 people working accompanied by a tanker for air refueling. for the 165th AW, approximately 40 per The C-130H does not have air-refueling cent are in full-time service and 60 per capability and has to ‘hop’ over. The four cent are traditional Guardsmen who Allison T56-A-15 turboprop engines are come in two days per month for ‘drill 68 weekend’ and then periodically throughout the year, according to mission requirements. Before entering a Guard unit, most of the personnel will have served in an active-duty unit. Nowadays, the active-duty US Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command and the Air Left: A C-130H National Guard are all part of the same crew typically team, the Total Force, but administratively consists of a they all remain di erent. If an active-duty pilot, co-pilot, ight engineer, member wants to join the ANG, he or she navigator and, must rst separate from active-duty and depending on can then be hired into the Guard in their the mission, one or two state of choice. loadmasters. Once a member of the Guard, an Henk de Ridder airman can stay in that unit as long as Above: Col Hal they like, although depending upon the Davis of the opportunities for advancement some will 165th AW. USAF www.combataircraft.net April 2016 UNIT REVIEW | C-130 SUPPLEMENT 69 Top: The unit’s eight aircraft all wear a red tail stripe bearing the ‘Savannah’ legend. transfer to other state Guard units, or been made to improve the performance 40 people aboard a second loadmaster Meanwhile, complete assignments at the National of the H-model, and the 165th AW is required.’ the emblem of the ‘Savannah Guard Bureau in Washington DC, in order began to receive the C-130H3 in 2015. As of December 2015 the 165th was Guard Dawgs’ to further their professional Compared to the H2, the H3 includes a operating four ‘new’ C-130H2.5/H3s, all of can be found development. Working in the ANG is partial ‘glass’ cockpit, laser gyros for the which are former Air Force Reserve near the cockpit — the head of different from the active-duty Air Force in inertial navigation units, GPS receivers, Command and ANG aircraft from an Irish bulldog the sense that Guard members are not AN/APN-241 radar, night vision Colorado, Illinois, and West Virginia, and in front of two forced to move to another assignment capability, instrument lightning, and an four C-130H2s dating from Fiscal Year crossed bones. USAF/MSgt every two to three years. They can stay in integrated radar and missile warning 1980. Transition training of the pilots and Charles Delano the same state’s Guard unit for their system. The H3 also has an up-to-date crew to the H3 model takes about two to Above: A whole career if they want to. generator control unit (GCU), which three days, and is undertaken by the Georgia provides a more stable source of power.