COMMENTARY>>19th Airlift Wing activates its third active associate squadron

By Capt. Joe Knable
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. – The 345th Airlift Squadron was officially reactivated here Aug. 6, making it the third active associate squadron to fall under Little Rock Air Force Base’s 19th Airlift Wing.

As part of the Air Force’s Total Force Integration initiative, the 345th AS, commanded by Lt. Col. Craig L. Williams, will fully integrate 112 aircraft maintenance, operational and support personnel with the 403rd Maintenance Group and 815th Airlift squadron.

As an active associate unit to the Air Force Reserve Command’s 403rd Wing, the 345th AS’ active-duty personnel will work alongside their Reserve counterparts to maximize the capabilities of both missions while minimizing operational cost to taxpayers. The two squadrons will initially share eight and soon 10 Reserve C-130Js, the Air Force’s newest tactical airlift platform, said Colonel Williams.

“We have three goals: to create a new and outstanding squadron, to seamlessly integrate with the 403rd Wing, and then execute the mission for which we’ve trained so many hours,” Colonel Williams said upon assuming command here today.

Speaking to his Reserve partners, he said, “Our commitment to you is that as we work together to accomplish this challenge – this change in the Air Force mission – the men and women of the 345th AS will respect and appreciate your culture. We’re getting huge strides from your experience for sure. We’ll take care of your facilities and your airplanes while we strive to build our own unique squadron identity and continued legacy.”

The new commander was recently stationed at Little Rock AFB until 2006, where he was a 48th Airlift Squadron assistant director of operations and then worked in the 19th Airlift Wing Plans and Programs office. Before arriving at Keesler in January, he was the director of operations for the 37th Airlift Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where that unit transitioned from the venerable C-130E to the brand-new C-130J in approximately one year. Between hisassignments at Little Rock and Ramstein, he was assigned to Air Mobility Command, 19th AW’s parent command at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., where he started as the C-130J program manger and became the chief, Combat Delivery Branch for the C-130J, C-130 Avionics Modernization Program and C-27J.

His C-130J experience at AMC and Germany made him the ideal choice to lead the Air Force’s first C-130J active associate squadron, said Lt. Col. Pat Curtis, 19th Operations Group deputy commander, in an interview with a reporter.

“I’m intimately familiar with J-model operations,” said Colonel Williams in that interview.

The commander said he’s been building relationships since he arrived at Keesler. “This is a huge paradigm shift for them, welcoming the active duty into ‘their house’ ... Relationship building is the number one goal for total force integration units,” he said.

TFI is about “access to iron and experience,” said Colonel Curtis, speaking of the active-duty members, many of whom are new to the C-130J, working alongside the experienced reservists. It presents many new training opportunities. “There’s a lot of energy from the infusion of youth and experience,” he told the reporter.

“You’re building a much stronger baseline of experience to be injected back into the ‘J’ community,” Colonel Williams added.

The individual aircrews are often a mix between active duty and Reserve flyers, said the new commander. “It’s been mixed since day one – if you were walking around in (airman battle uniforms) without patches, you couldn’t tell the difference. We have the same checklists, training and standards. The mission completion is seamless,” he said.

The 30th Airlift Squadron works with the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 187th Airlift Squadron at Cheyenne Regional Airport, Wyo., and is the 19th AW’s first TFI squadron and the first active-duty associate unit to an Air National Guard unit, according to Wyoming National Guard Public Affairs. The squadron flies C-130Hs and employs 190 active-duty personnel.

The 52nd Airlift Squadron, partnered with the Reserve’s 302nd Airlift Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., was activated in October, making it the 19th AW’s second TFI squadron. The C-130H squadron is still in the building stage, but fully manned will have 173 active-duty personnel, said Colonel Curtis.

Every TFI unit is different, said Colonel Curtis. There are differences working with the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, who each have their own unique cultures, and the different geography in the different states presents different flying training opportunities. An additional benefit of TFI is to have this diversity of experience among the aircrews, he said.

The 345th has fewer personnel because the crew of the C-130J only requires two pilots and one loadmaster for a basic mission.

The legacy model C-130s also have navigators and flight engineers, positions made obsolete by the modern avionics of the C-130J. The C-130 AMP model eliminates the navigator position but retains the flight engineer.

The heritage of the 345th dates back to June 1949, when it was activated as the 345th Troop Carrier Squadron, flying C-46 Commandos and then C-119 Flying Boxcars out of Memphis, Tenn., according to squadron officials. In subsequent reactivations at various locations, the squadron flew aircraft including H-19 Chickasaw and H-21 Workhorse/Shawnee helicopters, C-123 Providers, and finally the C-130 Hercules for the first time in 1961. The squadron was last stationed at Yokota Air Base, Japan, where it was last inactivated July 1, 1993.

Members from the 403rd Wing public affairs office contributed to this article.