Last C-130s leave Oklahoma

[GaryRobinson]

Last C-130s leave Oklahoma

By Sean Murphy - The Associated Press

Posted : Friday Sep 21, 2007 6:16:12 EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY — The last three C-130 Hercules military cargo planes flew out of Will Rogers Air National Guard Base on Thursday en route to their new home in Pennsylvania.

The planes, which have conducted hundreds of missions since arriving at Will Rogers directly from the factory in 1979, now will become part of the Air Force Reserve Command’s 911 Airlift Wing in Pittsburgh.

The Oklahoma Air National Guard’s 137th Airlift Wing now will change its mission and begin flying KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes. Their mission will become a joint operation with the Air Force Reserve’s 507th Refueling Wing at Tinker Air Force Base.

“I have mixed emotions about it,†said Capt. Tony Lackman, a C-130 pilot who has flown dozens of missions with the massive cargo planes. “One side of it is sad to see them go, but the other side is that I’m excited about the new mission and the KC-135.â€

Pilots and mechanics with the 137th Airlift Wing will train at Altus Air Force Base for their new mission with the KC-135, which are used to refuel other planes midflight.

Outfitted with a rear loading ramp and door, the C-130 can carry everything from a utility helicopter and six-wheeled armored vehicles to pallets of cargo or about 100 troops.

The C-130s have been used for hundreds of military and humanitarian missions, including relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, dropping hay to starving cattle in New Mexico and the Oklahoma Panhandle and military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The planes also have been used in conjunction with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to help spot and destroy outdoor marijuana operations.

“The most unique thing about it is its ability to take off and land on short, unimproved runways, like dirt fields,†Lackman said. “It has very short takeoff and landing capabilities, and it can handle a very rugged environment.â€

[herkeng]

Well, it has come to pass:( . I remember flying with the Okies in Germany, Als Garage and in Panama. I always had alot of fun with them. From smashing up go carts at sembach, playing golf at horoko and trying to find some shade in the sand box. These folks were great. They got alot of grief about their planes but they allways seemed to get the job done. Never ever say anything bad about a OKC bird in front of Margo! Got to be picked up by their unit on many deployments when I was a \"Bum\" for Dallas and the treated me as one of their own. They were a class act. I am truely sad to see them leaving the Herk business.

I was at the bureau trying to get the folks set up in their new training on the 135 prior to my retirement. I would get the requests from the BETMS and start plugging them into a timeline for their conversion. It was a bummer to see familiar names going away, off into tankerland. No offence to my Boomer friends.

God luck to all my 137th buds

You\'ll kick ass in the 135

Herkeng