Night moves--night flying increases at 934th Airlift Wing

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Darrell Habisch
  • 934th Airlift Wing
Minneapolis-St. Paul --  In acknowledgement to the demands of a new age in airlift, six birds of the 934th Airlift Wing participated in demanding night tactical training missions January 9-10. With an approaching Aerospace Expeditionary Force deployment in mind, the missions were designed to be as realistic as possible to what aircrews and support personnel will encounter while in the field. 

Training has gradually migrated to night flying tactical missions, according to Col. Allan Swartzmiller, 934th Operations Group commander. "Transporting people and materiel in a conflict zone is often better performed at night to help mitigate the threat," he said. That translates to more than seventy-five percent of aircrew training requirements now involving some aspect of night flying. "Many of our newer assigned folks have not been a part of an AEF deployment yet and these large-scale, night missions give them a dose of reality." 

The missions began in the afternoon with a classified intelligence briefing describing a real world scenario, replete with route, anticipated threats and weapons available to enemy combatants. The flight was described in detail, beginning with a four-ship formation, followed quickly by a two-ship formation. Aircrews were to wear night vision goggles while flying, turning the dark countryside and sky into a bright, green-tinged florescent landscape. 

According to plan, the C-130's flew to Ray S. Miller Army Air Field, an Army National Guard dirt airstrip only thirty-five hundred feet long and sixty feet wide, covered with snow and ice at Camp Ripley, Little Falls, Minn. There, aircrews and personnel, all wearing night vision goggles, practiced assault landing and engine-running on and off-loading.
But what to do in a hostile zone when a forklift isn't available or can't off-load precious cargo? This calls for combat off-loads, which involve opening the rear of the C-130, releasing the restraining ties on the cargo pallets and revving up the engines with the brakes firmly applied. "Releasing the brakes releases a massive amount of energy," explained Swartzmiller. When the aircraft jumps forward, the loose pallets of cargo slide neatly out the door and to the ground, allowing the aircraft to quickly depart the area. This method works well with equipment, whole foods, crates of MRE's and any cargo of substance. "I wouldn't want to guarantee anything fragile using combat off-load," he said.
The formations continued to Duluth before returning to Minneapolis. Along the way, the crews practiced cargo airdrops using special 50 pound bags of sand attached to a parachute. With the coordination of the entire flight crew, the airdrop loads hit their target within the Camp Ripley Range.
The flight path was a circuitous route, with definitive waypoints chosen along the way. Each waypoint had to be reached at a specific time before turning to the next point. The arrival of each formation at different waypoints was timed to the second. This precision is needed in a hostile environment, as many different countries and many different air forces may be operating out of the same airfield, according to Swartzmiller. "You may have a very small window of opportunity at that airfield," he explained. "We have to arrive on time and work together." 

Planning for the mission began in August 2008 with an eye to maximizing the training opportunity. Aircrew must be fully qualified every six months in numerous training events to be able to fly and deploy. This two-night training mission completed almost 30 percent of a pilot's requirements; 65 percent of a navigator's and 100 percent of a flight engineer's and loadmaster's, according to Swartzmiller. 

Flying night missions involve more than just the aircrews; it requires the efforts of numerous support personnel working together. Dozens of air reserve technicians and traditional reservists shuffled their duty hours to provide ground support both at home station and Camp Ripley. "Kudos to the Maintenance Group, Mission Support Group, Aerial Port Squadron and all the hardworking folks that put this together. Almost all aspects of the training mission were completed flawlessly," commented Swartzmiller. 

Flawless performance depends heavily on solid people and equipment. A malfunctioning engine would surely ground an aircraft and put a serious kink in the training plans, but according to Senior Master Sgt. Phil Kvamme, propulsion flight chief, "Everything went smoothly. We split our work schedule up to cover the missions and we had no problems. We were ready for this."
As were the folks at Aerospace Ground Equipment, according to Master Sgt. Mike Pierce AGE craftsman. "We had thirty or so pieces of equipment supporting the aircraft on the flight line," he said. "Plenty of heaters, generators, air compressors, stands and more. This is what we train for. We're ready for operations like this." 

Colonel Swartzmiller complimented everyone involved, including the folks from "Services who made everyone's meals; fuels; the hydraulics and electric shops; crash, fire and rescue personnel who did a terrific job and everyone who made this such a success."
The need for night flights will increase in the future, Swartzmiller said. "We would like to do a large-scale night exercise like this twice a year to keep everyone current and qualified."