Old Makes Way For New On Oahu
Since 1984, the C-130 Hercules has been a familiar sight over
the southern shores of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Flown by the
204th Airlift Squadron, part of the 154th Wing of Hawaii's Air
National Guard, the planes have brought supplies to typhoon and
volcano victims. The planes have also helped train crews for
military airlift operations throughout the world.
Today, only one C-130 is in operational duty on the flight line
of Hickam AFB. There were once five.
The tides of change have perhaps swept slowly over Hawaii, but
change is coming soon. Early next year, the 204th will receive its
first C-17 Globemaster III, of eight scheduled for shared duty
between the Air Guard 204th and the active-duty Air Force's 535th
Airlift Squadron. Soon there will no longer be C-130s at Hickam,
period.
"We're losing a great airplane," said 204th Operations Director
Lt. Col. Scott Kimsey to the Honolulu Advertiser newspaper. "The
good news is we're getting another."
Kimsey, like many other
members of the 204th, will be retrained to fly and maintain the
mighty Globemaster. Others, such as former C-130 navigators and
flight engineers, are being reassigned to other duties as those
positions are obsolete in the much more advanced C-17. Some are
simply retiring.
The switch to the larger, turbofan-powered C-17 is necessary in
the Pentagon's efforts to better mobilize units in the Pacific. The
simple fact is the C-17 can haul more, fly it farther, and much
faster, than the turboprop C-130.
With the change in equipment, there will also be a change in
operations -- and attitudes. Under the Pentagon's plan to share
operations of the C-17, the 204th ANG unit will become an
"associate unit" to the Air Force's 535th.
"It's a unique operation," said Air Force spokesman Maj. Paul
Wright, "the first of its type anywhere in the Air Force. We'll
have some problems, but the Guard and active duty have worked
together a lot in recent years, and that is what has convinced us
we can make it work."
The older airmen of the Guard, most of whom work only part-time
in the military and are used to some degree of autonomy, will now
be answering to younger, full-time, perhaps more 'by-the-book'
members of the USAF. This means that the former C-130 crewmembers
will need to adjust to a much more regimented operational
environment.
According to Kimsey, every flight hour aboard the C-17 will be
closely monitored, with Guard missions weighed against those of the
Air Force. The most essential mission will get the aircraft it
needs. The former C-130 crews onboard C-17s will not be able to fly
"under the radar" as easily as before, foregoing some
independence.
"The C-130 has more of a bush pilot feel to it," Kimsey
said.
The one remaining C-130 at Hickam will remain on the flight line
until February 2006, when the first Globemaster is scheduled
to arrive. Until that time, tail number 1058 will be kept ready to
fly for civil defense emergencies.