It had not been an easy mission so far. The C-130 Hercules crew had confounded the antiaircraft gunners at the combat entry point by "hunkering down and slicing through"—maneuvers that defy convention in order to disrupt the gunner's aim. Minutes later, a timely dispensing of flares and rapidly changing altitude, speed, and direction had allowed the crew to defeat another threat by avoiding an insurgent's shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile.
The Hercules pilot knew the enemy fighter pilot now chasing him was already out of his comfort zone. His adversary was probably just about out of fuel—fighters always get short on fuel when they maneuver. Keeping him at low altitude in this mountain valley and at the speeds the C-130 normally flies, the pilot of that fast mover would probably get frustrated and leave. The transport pilot had to keep the fighter at arm's length for just a few minutes to survive the encounter.
After the fighter left, the Hercules pilot, with crew, cargo, and paratroopers intact, realized the specialized training he received and the coordination the crew had practiced really did work. Now all the crew had to do was hit the time on target for the airdrop, fly another ten minutes, make an assault landing, and return to friendly territory.
This mission is not actual combat, but very close to it. It is the graduation sortie of a grueling nine-day flying training course taught by the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, AATTC. The setting is the mountains of Arizona, but most of the events that take place on this flight could have happened in the mountains of Afghanistan or Iraq. Although close-in air-to-air engagements have not occurred since the Vietnam War, they certainly could in many other hot spots around the world. Crews have to be prepared.
"We are always told that we don't stand a chance against SAMs and fighters in a Hercules," says MSgt. Hector Garcia, a C-130 loadmaster with the 198th Airlift Squadron, the Puerto Rico Air National Guard unit based at Mu–oz ANGB in San Juan. "After taking this course, we see that we really do have a chance. We are not just a sitting duck."
Master's Degree
"We show airlift crews they can survive," says Col. Michael Pankau, AATTC commander. "We give them their master's degree in combat tactics. Red Flag is a doctorate-level exercise."
Red Flag, held regularly at Nellis AFB, Nevada, is the most realistic simulated war training exercise ever developed. "After our C-130s went to Red Flag in 1980 and got their butts kicked, the need for a tactics course for airlifters became painfully obvious," explains Pankau.
Test classes in 1982 and 1983 led to the first formal C-130 tactics courses a year later. Since then, more than 1,500 aircrews have been trained at AATTC, a joint Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, or AFRC, operation. The students come from every US Air Force major command, the Guard, and AFRC, as well as from the US Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
But the aircrew course is not limited to C-130, KC-130, C-17, and now C-130J crews from the United States. Eleven international countries have sent C-130, C-130J, C-160, G.222, and CASA 295 crews to AATTC. "The German Air Force considers this course a requirement for its crews to be fully combat qualified," says Lt. Col. Darrin Sloan, an AATTC instructor pilot who was the session commander for a recent class. "We are proud of that endorsement, which is a measure of respect."
The aircrew course is constantly changing because the nature of tactics is always evolving. "In the past, we used a scenario based on a conflict between Chad and Libya, but now we are using a scenario more in step with the situations in Afghanistan and Iraq," notes Lt. Col. Jose Rivera-Rivera, the center's chief of intelligence.
"We have instructors who go to the Middle East and work in the Combined Air Operations Center in Kuwait," says Maj. Eric Thompson, an instructor navigator. "They bring back what they learn, and we incorporate it into the training." Every detail is considered. For example, AATTC changed its in-house flight planning form to the flight planning form used in Iraq. "We strive for as much realism as possible," says Thompson.
Missouri Schoolhouse
The aircrew course runs from Saturday to Saturday. The first few days are spent at Rosecrans Memorial Airport in Saint Joseph, Missouri. "The crews going through the course are experienced. They are screened before they get here," notes Pankau, "and we get a summary of their flying skills to know what to emphasize during the course."
Typically, each class consists of three or four crews. Class 05-009 held in May featured three different C-130 models. The 198th Airlift Squadron crew operated a 1962-vintage C-130E; that aircraft shared the ramp with a 1980s-era Marine Corps KC-130T tanker and an early 1970s C-130H from the Belgian Air Force equipped with an upgraded digital cockpit. "We teach crews to use what they have," says Capt. Tom Kroh, an AATTC weapons instructor.
The first two days of the course are spent in the lecture hall in the AATTC schoolhouse, a 12,500-square-foot building constructed in 1996. The crews receive academic instruction on topics such as worldwide airlift operations, low-level dynamics, visual illusions, aircraft structures, tactical formations, and infrared defensive systems.
"The crews need to have the mindset that this is one step from combat," says Maj. Gerald DePastino, an instructor navigator. "They also need to prepare the aircraft to go into combat." Preparations include taping the galley drawers shut, taping down the aircraft technical publications, and securing the crew parachutes, as these items become projectiles when a crew is maneuvering aggressively to avoid an incoming threat.
Preparation also includes installing a clear observer's bubble in the C-130's emergency hatch on the roof of the flight deck. This blister is only large enough to accommodate the head of the second loadmaster on an augmented crew. The bubble is cramped and hot, and the odd sensory inputs from looking out of it often induce nausea. But the bubble is invaluable in combat, as it gives the loadmaster serving as an observer a 360-degree view of the airspace around the aircraft.
The first C-130J crew was trained in 2002. "The C-130J crews also use the bubble," says Lt. Col. Roger Olson, AATTC's assistant director of operations. "We encourage the C-130J crews to bring an additional loadmaster precisely to provide visual coverage around the aircraft. The aircraft's onboard systems work well, and the visual scan adds another layer of awareness."
The other loadmaster also becomes an observer, strapping in and looking out the paratroop door window on the right side of the airlifter. Newer C-130s have a folding stool on the paratroop doors for the loadmaster. On older aircraft, loadmasters often come up with an improvised harness. They need it—the ride gets bumpy.
Crawl, Walk, Run
"The basic philosophy of this course is to crawl, walk, then run," says DePastino. "The ultimate goal is to survive and carry out the mission."
Crews are given a time limit on mission planning that gets shorter as the course progresses. The limit gets crews to break up the planning tasks at first. As they become more proficient in planning and better at working together, they have less time to prepare. The time limit is also a reflection of combat, where time is often not a luxury.
"We tell the crews to use every tool in their toolbox," says Capt. Greg Stewart, another instructor pilot. "We remind them to use the terrain as much as possible to hide behind or to drag the aircraft's shadow through patches of vegetation to avoid being seen by fighters. A single ship maneuvering and using terrain adds up to a significant advantage."
"We don't want to overload the crews on the first day," continues DePastino. "So the first mission just exposes them to antiaircraft artillery." AAA firing is simulated with a center technician using a signal mirror as the crew flies a low-level route over the relatively flat Missouri terrain. The crew has to maneuver aggressively to make the AAA shooter work to create both a lead and an elevation firing solution. AAA and man-portable missiles usually work together, so it is important for the crew to release flares.
On all training flights, one of the instructors is either standing behind or strapped in behind the pilot. He is looking for how well the crew navigates the route and maintains altitude and how timely they are reaching the drop zone. "We will mess with the crews during the flight by creating emergencies or changing the threats," says DePastino. "Mainly, we want them to learn to exchange information."
The second flight adds formation flight and communications practice with an escort fighter, usually an AFRC A-10 from Whiteman AFB, Missouri. "The A-10s are comfortable at our altitudes, with energy closer to that of a C-130 in the turns," says Kroh. "Like the C-130s, the A-10s fly low and slow. They also have the guns. They make good wingmen."
In addition to avoiding AAA, the crews also get their first exposure to Smokey SAMs and practice in avoiding them. The GTR-18A training rockets, made of cardboard and Styrofoam, make a convincing simulation of current man-portable air defense systems. "The Smokey SAMs are giant bottle rockets, basically," says MSgt. Rick Karlslyst, AATTC's resident Rocket Man. "But they sure get a crew's attention when we launch one."
The Ranch
The second half of the course takes place at Libby Army Airfield at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. AATTC occupies an 8,000-square-foot facility known as the Ranch, which has mission planning rooms, an operations area, and maintenance and aerial port shops.
After crews arrive in Arizona, they fly a low-level awareness training flight to familiarize themselves with the area and with mountain flying. As before every sortie, the crews receive an intelligence briefing.
AATTC also hosts the C-130 Intelligence Formal Training Unit, or IFTU. "IFTU students brief the crews on the scenario threats affecting the missions during the aircrew training course," notes Rivera-Rivera. "They fly along with all the crews to experience the aircrew interaction and how crew members use the threat information they provide. This experience is invaluable in their ability to support air mobility operations more adequately."
The IFTU students who brief the aircrews are recent graduates of the intelligence technical school. The technical school teaches how to support fighter operations because the fighter's mission is the most threat-intense. "We tailor the training from the technical school to support airlift operations," Rivera-Rivera adds. "We want the IFTU students to be credible. We don't want them embarrassing themselves by telling a C-130 pilot to perform a six-g maneuver to escape a SAM." AATTC has trained more than 1,400 intelligence officers and enlisted personnel since 1989.
"This was the first time I flew in such demanding flight conditions and had to learn to survive enemy threats at the same time," said SMSgt. Roberto Escambi, the flight engineer for the 198th AS crew. "At 300-foot altitudes or in crossing ridgelines, we have little or no margin for error. Looking at the instruments while the world spins around is not easy."
"We have an instructor debrief at the end of every day to make sure crews are progressing as they should," notes Sloan. The daily debrief is a very detailed, critical evaluation of the crews—what they did right and what they did wrong. The instructor discusses the weaknesses that the instructor who will fly with a crew the next day needs to create a situation for. "For the next sortie, we may adjust things to work on skills—we may simulate killing off the navigator, for instance, to see how the pilot and copilot react."
The center's permanent staff of thirty-five includes seven Guard and four AFRC pilots and six Guard and three Reserve navigators along with one Reserve loadmaster. "I'm a bit of an anomaly in that I have spent twenty years in the Air Guard flying C-130s," says Pankau. "In addition to experience in the C-130, the rest of the instructors also have special operations experience or even fighter backgrounds. One of my senior officers was an enlisted crew member on WC-130s chasing hurricanes." About one-third of the staff travels to Arizona for each course.
The center staff also includes instructors for the other training courses (see sidebar), as well as staff for mission areas such as intelligence, aerial port, audiovisual, and maintenance. The five staff maintainers include one powerplant technician and four crew chiefs to help the unit maintainers. Before each session, the participating units are asked to bring technicians for systems such as hydraulics and avionics so that each maintenance specialty for the entire class can be covered.
Graduation Exercise
"The crews apply the academics they learned on Saturday in the early sorties," notes DePastino. "For the last scenario, everything learned during the course is applied."
The capstone mission is a dissimilar defensive maneuvering sortie in which crews have to avoid AAA and SAMs and face a fighter, all the while communicating with an airborne warning and control aircraft. Of course, the instructors change the scenario while airborne to create even more challenges. In addition, the crews have to hit the drop zone on time, make an assault landing on a dirt strip, and then meet a hard time on target back at the Ranch. After the crews land, a mass debrief is held.
A C-130 crew from the 189th AS at Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, acted as the airborne warning and control aircraft. "We had a ton of communications today—pages and pages of message traffic," DePastino adds. "The crews have to figure out what information they actually need. They may not need some of the information immediately, but they will need it five minutes later."
Normally, an Air National Guard F-16 unit provides the adversary. Scheduling issues resulted in a contract bandit for Class 05-009. The bandit, C. B. Sinclair, an experienced fighter pilot who flies for a company called Advanced Training Systems Integration, flew an ex-Israeli Air Force A-4N against the C-130s in mock battle.
"I was unable to get off any heater shots [heat-seeking missiles], and I was jammed up by all three air-craft," Sinclair comments. "I did get off some glancing gun shots, but no missiles. Fighters don't want to slow down to airlifter airspeeds. It's tough picking up a C-130 flying at 300 feet, particularly if it is camouflaged properly against the terrain."
After the mass debrief, the 198th AS crew summed up the extended week. "We have access to a lot of book information on tactics, but it is hard to get hands-on experience," says Maj. Antonio Figuroa, the aircraft commander. "This course combines both book learning and practice. We get to learn from our mistakes. When we see a situation again in combat, it isn't the first time we've encountered it."
"We see the entire crew utilized," navigator Maj. Amin Said notes. "We learn the mindset: What do we want to do next? What is the pilot doing? We make threat calls and immediately react. We learn to appreciate everybody else's duties. We also find out exactly how much we depend on each other."
Copilot Lt. Kevin Caldwell adds an essential truth: "The more times we see a Smokey SAM, the better, quicker, and calmer we react to it. We shaved four or five seconds off our reaction time by the end of the week. The time we save between recognizing the threat and reacting to it is literally the difference between life and death."
After the mass debrief, each aircrew and IFTU class completes one final task before going home. They are given ceiling panels from the Ranch to decorate. Most graduating crews just draw their squadron patch and sign their names. Some panels commemorate an unusual event or poke fun at the training, such as the IFTU class with a student who could not handle low-level maneuvering. That class is represented by a toy crew figure in a flight suit on a stretcher holding an airsickness bag. Taken together, the panels make an interesting art gallery. The sheer number of the panels shows how successful AATTC has become.
As Said says, "You have to wonder why this course isn't standard training for everybody."
Aircrew Training And Much More
The Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center, now in its third decade, has expanded its curriculum over the last ten years to include training beyond teaching transport crews threat avoidance and maneuver tactics. "We are always looking for new missions," says Col. Michael Pankau, AATTC commander. "We do a lot of niche market-type training."
The C-130-specific Munitions Training Course, added in 1994, offers academic and practical instruction in loading and unloading the ALE-40 and ALE-47 chaff and flare system. This course also offers training with Smokey SAMs and AAA simulators.
Five years ago, AATTC started the Mobility Electronic Combat Officer Course to teach electronic combat officers how to effectively incorporate the varied elements of electronic warfare—radio frequencies and threat system characteristics, for instance—into mission planning, a crucial element in a transport crew's ability to survive in combat.
In 2003, AATTC became the first Mobility Air Force unit to receive the sophisticated Visual Threat Recognition and Avoidance Trainer, or VTRAT. This computer-based system simulates threats ranging from rocket-propelled grenade rounds to light and heavy antiaircraft artillery, or AAA, and radar-guided surface-to-air missiles. AATTC has already trained more than 1,000 students.
"We have had crews deploy and then come back and say that real 23mm AAA looks exactly like what they saw on the screen," says Maj. Paul Pfankuch, one of the VTRAT instructors. "Antiaircraft tracer rounds range in size from ping-pong balls to footballs. Observers in a transport need to recognize instantly the difference in the signature of a rocket-propelled grenade and AAA, as they have different methods of reacting to them."
Much of what happens in tactical air mobility today happens at night—an airlifter can make a big target during daylight hours. Because missions take place at night, support activities now also take place in the dark. In 2004, AATTC started a Night Vision Ground Personnel Course which gives students academic training on night vision goggles, as well as provides hands-on training on driving vehicles and marshalling, loading, maintaining, and fueling aircraft while wearing NVGs.
In addition to its teaching tasks, AATTC also serves as a tactical airlift laboratory. "We are looking at new C-130 flare testing," says Capt. Tom Kroh, an AATTC weapons officer. "The current C-130 flare program was developed by two of our instructors along with the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, Air Mobility Command, and a consulting firm. We develop new tactics, test them, and then evaluate what worked and what didn't."
The center's staff is currently involved in testing the new Virtual Electronic Combat Training System, or VECTS, a laptop computer that will be carried aboard an airlifter to stimulate an aircraft's electronic warfare system. VECTS, which is tied to the satellite-based global positioning system, will give crews the ability to practice avoiding simulated threats on any training flight anywhere without the need for special training ranges.
Jeff Rhodes is the associate editor of Code One.
