Sky carrier C-130 does it all

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

For Hawai'i Air National Guard pilot Greg "Woody" Woodrow, flying a C-130 transport is a full-time job.

A Hawai'i Air National Guard C-130 sits on the runway after completing a mission. The 204th Airlift Squadron handles overseas missions, cargo runs to Kwajalein and parachute drops over Schofield, among other things. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

In the span of three weeks in December, Woodrow and his C-130 shuttled cargo multiple times between Yokota and Kadena air bases in Japan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, stopped in Thailand, flew U.S. field crews out of Cambodia, retrieved the remains of American servicemen in Laos, flew more shuttle missions in Japan, and transited Wake Island on the way back to Hawai'i.

On the way here, two other Air Guard C-130s were headed out over the Pacific: one to Johnston Island on a weekly mission to deliver six pallets of fresh food, and another on a monthly cargo run to Kwajalein Island.

An average of once a week, meanwhile, the 204th Airlift Squadron drops paratroopers over the East Range of Schofield Barracks.

"It's a rare thing to actually have all the unit's aircraft here (at Hickam Air Force Base) at the same time," said Air Guard spokesman Maj. Chuck Anthony. "It's more often we have somebody deployed at any given time."

Woodrow said the C-130 is aptly named "Hercules."

"The plane's been around for 40 years, and a testament to its capabilities is there are no plans to replace it, just improve it," said Woodrow, who has flown C-130s for 10 years, the past year out of Hickam.

The 18 F-15A/B fighters of the Air Guard's 154th Wing often garner the attention for missions such as providing armed escort of commercial aircraft following Sept. 11 and flying over Iraq in support of Operation Southern Watch in 2000. But it's the C-130 that does the heavy lifting for the Air Force.

At the same time that F-15s from the 199th Fighter Squadron were in Iraq, C-130s from the 204th were transporting personnel and supplies over Bosnia and Croatia.

"Although the C-130s aren't sexy, we get phone calls all the time — 'Can you do this for us? Can you do that for us?' " Woodrow said.

Anthony said the airlift inventory of the U.S. Air Force includes 510 C-130s, 64 C-17s and 170 C-141s. The number of C-5s was not available.

Air Guard loadmasters Jarin Wong and Bill Kessenberger go over their checklist in back of a C-130. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

The 204th stood up in Hawai'i in 1994, but the Air Guard had a single C-130 as far back as 1984. Most military components around the country now include the transports because of their utility.

"It's the workhorse of the Air Force," Anthony said. "They are very reliable."

Three of the C-130s are 1990 versions, and the other two are 1993 aircraft. The C-130H had a 1998 price of about $30 million.

Each of the aircraft, with four turboprop engines, can carry 43,000 pounds of cargo. The transports can accommodate one 19-ton armored vehicle of the type expected to be delivered to the Army's 25th Infantry Division (Light) starting in 2007 as part of a fast-responding combat team being developed in Hawai'i.

Larger C-17 Globemaster III cargo carriers, the newest aircraft in the airlift fleet, may be based at Hickam in support of the planned Interim Brigade Combat Team. Each C-17 can carry four of the eight-wheeled Army vehicles.

The 204th has flown missions from central Europe to central Asia "and every place in between," Anthony said.

"We've flown missions all the way from here to Germany, and we've been to Puerto Rico a couple of times last year," Woodrow said.

One of the biggest contributions to the state was made when an Air Guard C-130 flew hundreds of relief sorties after hurricane Iniki struck in 1992, Woodrow said.

"A lot of our money comes from the federal government, so we do a lot of federal missions, but we also work for Gov. (Ben) Cayetano, and we do a lot of state missions."

The recent three-week mission by Woodrow's C-130 included flying field crews from Joint Task Force-Full Accounting out of Cambodia for Christmas, and stops in Savannakhet and Vientiane in Laos to retrieve remains for the repatriation of four American servicemen killed during the Vietnam War.

"The only thing that was left from one guy was his two gold teeth that they got from a Laotian farmer," Woodrow said.

Last week, one of the Air Guard C-130s ferried five Marines from Kane'ohe and a Navy corpsman on a night parachute drop over the Schofield Barracks East Range.

The paratroopers jumped in pairs during three passes of the C-130 between Wahiawa and Mililani Mauka from about 1,000 feet as part of the joint training mission that not only included Air Guard, Marine and Navy components, but also Army spotters on the ground.

On board the C-130, its crew was equally diverse. Maj. Bob Chow Hoy is another full-time pilot along with Woodrow. The crew list also included part-time pilot and 1st Lt. Kimo Lowe, who is a Honolulu firefighter along with Tech. Sgt. Jarin Wong, a C-130 loadmaster.

Navigator Capt. Kathryn Higgins is an eighth-grade teacher at Kapolei Middle School, but now is working full-time for the Guard, officials said.

Other part-timers included flight engineer Staff Sgt. Lester Hirano, a Honolulu housing inspector, and Tech. Sgt. Bill Kissenberger, another loadmaster on board the C-130 who has a civilian job working in missile defense for the Navy at Pearl Harbor.

In Hawai'i, 70 percent of the Air Guard's 2,500 personnel work part time.

"We would not be able to function without the dedication of our part-time airmen," Anthony said.

Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.