FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 913th Airlift Group and 302nd Airlift Wing supported the Army’s 1st Battalion, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment’s Basic Airborne Course July 13-17 in Fort Benning, Georgia.
The mission was a Total Force effort of one C-130H and 15 Total Force crewmembers from the 327th Airlift Squadron, 50th Airlift Squadron and 913th Maintenance Squadron from Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas and one C-130H and nine Total Force crewmembers from the 731st Airlift Squadron, 302nd Operations Support Squadron and 302nd Maintenance Squadron from Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
The Little Rock crew, led by Maj. Claude Smith, 913th Operation Support Squadron chief of tactics, flew 20 sorties, 67 airdrop passes and dropped a total of 866 jumpers over the four-day period. In addition to supporting a class of 352 basic airborne students, eight C-130 loadmasters from the 913th AG received Personnel Airdrop re-currency training from Tech. Sgt. Nick Crawford, 327th AS evaluator loadmaster and noncommissioned officer of training.
"We had a very productive week with a fully integrated team of Reserve and active duty crewmembers doing what we do best-- operating the C-130H,” said Smith. “We can stand up a fully cohesive crew and tackle any mission the National Command Authority can throw our way."
The Colorado crew, led by Lt. Col. Michael Cole, 731st AS flight commander, flew 18 sorties, 78 airdrop passes and dropped a total of 894 jumpers over the four-day period.
“It was a great team effort throughout the week,” said Lt. Col. Frank Wilde, 302nd OSS commander, “the two crews complemented each other perfectly and dropped an airborne class of roughly 350 Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors five times each, for a total of almost 1,800 jumps.”
The 913th and 302nd have airlift and airdrop missions, but rarely get the chance to train and practices personnel airdrops.
“There are nuances to every kind of drop. There are container delivery systems, pallets and personell drops and they all go out a little different,” said Maj. Mark Withee, 913th AG director of inspections. “This was a great opportunity for our crews to hone their skills. With the number of personal drops being performed we had more opportunities in four days than we usually get in a year.”
This was the 913’s first trip to Lawson Army Airfield. As the unit becomes more mission capable, leaders hope to continue working with the Army on other missions that expand their scope, enhance readiness, and develop positive relationships.
“As our TFI [Total Force Integration] has matured, we’ve improved our ability to support other services. This mission has shown our ability to meet the Army’s needs, while also giving them an idea of who’ll be taking them on the ride to the fight.” Withee said.
Smith completely agrees, "As I have said since the beginning, there is no more ‘us and them,’ just ‘us.’ We are all in this together."
The 1-507th, located at Fort Benning, Georgia trains paratroopers, jumpmasters and pathfinders in order to provide the Department of Defense with Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to conduct airborne operations anywhere DOD-wide.