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Chief of staff announces changes in C-130 force

  • Published
WASHINGTON --  Air Force Reserve Command's C-130 tactical airlift units in New York and Georgia will change how they organize.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley announced these and other Total Force initiatives Oct. 31.

Airmen in the New York Air National Guard will form an associate unit to partner with the Air Force Reserve's 914th Airlift Wing at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y.

In Georgia, the 94th AW at Dobbins Air Reserve Base will change from a C-130 formal training unit to a combat-coded unit. The change in status means C-130 crews will deploy overseas on Air Expeditionary Force rotations.

"Because today's strategic landscape is dynamic and threatening, we have to ensure that, as a Total Air Force, we continuously search for and find innovative ways to leverage the limited resources we have available to increase our combat and homeland defense capabilities," said the general. "These initiatives will strengthen an already powerful partnership. I look forward to seeing the fruits of our collective efforts."

The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure commission directed the realignment at Niagara Falls.

Under that realignment, the 914th AW will remain responsible for its C-130H airlifters. The Air National Guard's 107th Wing will become an air reserve component associate unit, flying and maintaining aircraft with the Air Force Reserve unit. The ARC association at Niagara Falls is the second of its kind in the Air Force, but the first in combat delivery aircraft.

The Air Force Reserve has formed unit associations with the Regular Air Force for the past four decades. Associate units save money because they share resources and reduce duplication of effort. They provide contingency surge capability, preserve needed experience, and enhance retention and recruitment for the Total Force.

The conversion at Dobbins ARB will increase the Air Force's in-theater airlift capability. At the same time, it will reduce the frequency of deployments for other Total Force C-130 airlift units.

The Regular Air Force's Tactical Airlift Center of Excellence at Little Rock AFB, Ark., will not only absorb the domestic training done by the 94th AW but will also expand its C-130J training responsibilities, to include training international partners on the C-130J. (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)