The Arkansas Air National Guard is close to completely taking over a new mission that has prompted growth in its number of personnel and aircraft over the past two years.
The National Guard's 189th Airlift Wing, located at Little Rock Air Force Base, has trained instructors on the C-130H -- aircraft designed to airdrop troops and equipment into hostile areas -- since 1986. In October 2013, the U.S. Air Force added to the 189th's responsibilities, tasking it with training all C-130H flight crews, from the U.S. and partner nations, and bumping up the number of airmen it trains annually from about 350 to about 800.
Col. Dom Sarnataro, commander of the 189th Operations Group, said the new mission has "completely changed" how the unit operates.
"We had been taking on very experienced crew members and making them an instructor. You have a very knowledgeable person to teach," Sarnataro said. "Now we're opening it up to everybody, so we're taking a wide range of students, from folks who really have never even seen a C-130 to folks who have been flying for quite a while.
"It's changed almost everything we do -- every part. It's been a challenge."
To handle the increase, the state's Air National Guard gained 150 personnel in June 2014, said Master Sgt. Christopher Durney, spokesman for the 189th. Sarnataro said the number of C-130s the unit flew also increased -- from 9 to 12. Then the heavy workload caused the unit to borrow six more aircraft from other units, doubling what its total had been before 2013.
The federal mission also means more guardsmen are working longer hours. Most of the unit's personnel are full-time employees, making it unique among National Guard units, Sarnataro said. Usually only about 30 percent of a unit's members are full-time guardsmen, he said.
The 189th is facing its busiest year in fiscal 2016. It still has the help of the 314th Airlift Wing, an active-duty unit at Little Rock Air Force Base that turned over the mission to the 189th.
Sarnataro said the active-duty airmen who augment the 189th's training are still "vital" as the number of crew members the unit is expected to train remains high.
The Air Force has asked the 189th to train 900 C-130H crew members in fiscal 2016.
"We couldn't do it without them," Sarnataro said. "They are flying with us; they are instructors; they are training in every crew position we have."
However, the future is uncertain for the 62nd Airlift Squadron, the unit of the 314th that continues to train crews on the C-130H.
The H-model is aging, and the active-duty Air Force is doing away with the older aircraft and replacing them with the newer, faster C-130J. Because of this, fewer crews will need to be trained over time -- meaning the 189th will be able to decrease its number of aircraft from 18 to 12 and handle the workload independently.
"We anticipate it coming down to a point where we can do it all," Sarnataro said.
Leaders of the 314th, which now mostly trains flight crews on the newer C-130 J-model, said the C-130H training will fully be handed off to the 189th in the next year.
"We expect to see a gradual drawdown of personnel from the [62nd Airlift Squadron]," 314th leaders said in written statement.
Leadership is evaluating whether the unit will be deactivated, they said.
During training, American and international service members -- from the National Guard, active-duty Air Force, Air Force Reserve or special operations forces -- first receive classroom training from the 314th and then use a flight simulator. Once they're ready to fly, the C-130J crew members remain with the 314th, and those learning to fly the C-130H go to the 189th.
Instruction lasts two weeks for the most experienced crew members and up to six months for those new to the aircraft.
Though the active-duty Air Force is transitioning away from the C-130H, Sarnataro expects the unit to train on the aircraft for "quite awhile," he said.
Most of the H-model aircraft will remain with National Guard units.
"This is our future," Sarnataro said. "They're good airplanes; they're going to be around for awhile; and they're going to need someone to train folks to fly those airplanes to go to combat. And this is where it's going to be done. It's done nowhere else.
"If you're going to fly the C-130 H-model, you're going to do it at Little Rock."
Metro on 08/17/2015