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.

FMI: Hawaii ANG Page