700th Airlift Squadron: practice makes perfect Published Sept. 10, 2011 By Senior Airman Spencer Gallien 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Michael Jordan, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Muhammad Ali were all known for being one of the best to grace their respective fields. Jordan's high-flying, acrobatic displays have become synonymous with greatness in basketball. Mozart's musical work is consistently played today, more than 200 years after his death. And, Ali's quote, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," is still used today to describe the legendary boxer's prowess in the ring. However, many people don't realize, each of these figures had to train in order to become the legendary figures they've become. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school varsity basketball team, and trained hard to become the basketball player that people rever today. Many of Mozart's greatest symphonies, operas, and concertos weren't created until the last few years of his life after years of practice. And Ali's training program became famous after photographer Flip Schulke's 1961 underwater training portrait was published. Here at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, there is another group that shares a similar dedication to greatness; the men and women of the 700th Airlift Squadron. "We're required to practice to be good at what we do," said Lt. Col. Tom Moffatt, 700 AS director of operations. "A basketball player practices his shot, a track-star runs to train; and for us to be good at combat, must practice combat operation." The 700 AS currently maintains eight C-130H Hercules aircraft capable of deploying in response to worldwide contingencies and emergencies. The aircrew members are tactically qualified to support air transportation for deployments, humanitarian airlift missions, and aeromedical evacuations. In order for each of the aircrew members to be fully-qualified to support worldwide contingencies, they constantly train throughout the year to perform their best. The most recent training mission was a three-and-a-half hour C-130 flight that dropped two consolidated delivery system bundles over Richard B. Russell Airport located just north of Rome, Ga. The typical C-130 training flight consists of at least two pilots, a flight navigator, a flight engineer, and at least two loadmasters. However, this mission consisted of 11 crewmembers training in order to maintain their flight certifications. During the flight, the crew performed various threat maneuvers and countermeasures, dropped more than 4,000 lbs of equipment, and landed the aircraft during blackout conditions with night vision goggle equipment. "The training allows for us to identify what we did right, and also what we did wrong," said Maj. Terence Green, 94th Operations Support Squadron instructor navigator. After every flight, the aircrew debriefs directly after landing in order to discuss, and learn from their mission. "We identified several strengths and several weaknesses that will all be tracked by our tactics officer," added Green. "We can then use this information for future flights to ensure that we are continually improving." Because of this training, and training like it, the 700 AS is prepared 365 days a year to deploy at a moment's notice. "We train because the job we do does not allow us a second chance," said Moffatt. "The combat deployment and sustainment mission we fulfill cannot be accomplished any other way." The C-130 mission performs intra-theatre airlift, which includes combat mission flights over high-risk areas where crews must remain vigilant to combat operations. "One of our goals is to drop CDS bundles, with equipment that couldn't be delivered any other way, to our forces on the ground," added Moffatt. "Our other priority is that we bring everyone home safely. When we accomplish that, we have accomplished our mission." Moffatt attributes their success to the training they accomplish every day. "What separates us (U.S. Air Force) from every other air force is the way we train," Moffatt said. "They have C-130s, they even have our books, but what sets us apart is how we train. Nobody trains as hard as we do."
