By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Members of the Air National Guard 139th
Airlift Group anxiously await a decision by the Air Guard on whether it
receives the new C-130J model planes.
139th Commander, Colonel John Cluck,
says the wing is currently flying legacy aircraft, the C-130H, and there is no
future for such older aircraft.
“The importance of the J model is paramount,”
Cluck tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The 139th needs to continue to
survive. And with the support from the city of all the new structures out here
and all the new facilities, it’s only appropriate that we bring in the new
aircraft.”
Afterall, Cluck points out The Advanced Airlift
Tactics Training Center at the St. Joseph base trains pilots from across the
country on the new aircraft.
“We are teaching people to fly in aircraft that
we don’t even operate,” Cluck says. “So, we have to get the new one here so
that we can remain relevant in all things, not only the 139th
mission, but also the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center.”
Cluck says the base underwent a virtual
inspection earlier this month.
“And we did everything we could to improve our
status in that and I have not seen the results of the snapshot yet,” Cluck
says. “I look forward to getting those in the next couple of weeks and then,
hopefully, we can analyze that data. Hopefully, if we need to improve anywhere,
which I don’t think there were many places left to improve, we can get after
that and just keep fighting.”
Rosecrans Memorial Airport is undergoing a
stunning transformation with new runways, a new terminal soon to open, and a
new air traffic control tower being erected. The 139th itself has
been constructing new buildings north of its current location, preparing to
move from its headquarters constructed in the 1950s.
Cluck says the investments made through federal,
state, and local money makes a statement as Air Guard officials evaluate the
base.
“It shows them that we’re here to stay,”
according to Cluck. “We will have a world-class airport here in another couple
of months when the tower’s finished and the terminal building is finished. We
have two brand new runways. We’ll continue to invest in all things 139th
in the north site. This is the place to be. We are centrally located. We’re the
right Airforce base in the right city at the right time to really make a
difference.”
Cluck says improvements at the base should be
enough to convince the Air Guard to provide new C-130J model cargo planes to
the 139th to replace its aging C-130H models.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.
