over the drop point, causing them to go slightly nose-down for a moment. This slowed the gravity-powered pallets’ travel down the ramp, and both went several hundred yards/meters long due to the delay. In spite of the deployment delay, both pallets dropped safely within the base perimeter, and were quickly recovered. Following the drop, both aircraft lined up in the Little Rock AFB pattern, and did a
As I mentioned in the previous chapter, Little Rock is one of the largest C-130 bases in the USAF, and the lines of Hercules transports seemed to go on for miles. In fact, there are almost eighty C-130s assigned here, to the four ASs of the 314th AW.
Along with the 314th, Little Rock AFB houses a special C-130 training unit, the USAF Combat Aerial Delivery School. This is a special post-graduate-level course designed to provide squadrons with pilots trained in the latest operational tactics and concepts for use with the Hercules. During our short stay at Little Rock, one of the C-17 crews gave the current class a familiarization briefing on the Globemaster, since the Hercules crews are going to see so much of the C-17 over the next few years. Then, after a quick run to the base Burger King for a snack, we headed back to our aircraft for the flight home.
Already, the weather was taking on an ominous look as we got aboard the P-20. The line of thunderstorms was now between us and Charleston, so at some point in our flight we would have to penetrate the spectacular- looking thunderheads. By 1930 hours/7:30 PM, we had launched out of Little Rock, and headed east towards home. As we settled onto our course at about 30,000 feet/9,144 meters altitude, the line of thunderheads was off to our right, about 50 miles/80 kilometers south of us. On the Guard channel of the radio, we could hear the sounds of numerous civilian airliners that were having a tough time penetrating the line of storms, and the spectacular cloud- to-cloud lightning was proof that we might have a bumpy ride ahead of us. The front was shifting to the north a bit now, and airline traffic all through the southeastern U.S. was being affected by the powerful storm cells.
As we approached the towering clouds, the flight crew switched on the weather/navigation radar in the nose of the aircraft, and began to look for a route through the storm. Finally, after deciding upon what looked like a “thin” spot in the storm line, we all tightened up our five-point restraint harnesses and hung on. Surprisingly, the ride was not as bad as had been expected. While rough, the turbulence was not nearly as bad as on some 737s that I have flown in over mountains. However, as we got into the heart of the storm, the clouds closed in, making it look like the inside of a cow outside. Suddenly, there appeared the intermittent flashing of lightning, making the cockpit look like the inside of a disco. Even more ominous was the appearance of Saint Elmo’s fire (a static electrical buildup on the airframe), causing a sickly blue-green glow on the cockpit window frames and edges of the wings. Then, just as suddenly as a lightning flash, we were out of the storm line less than 200 miles/322 kilometers out from Charleston AFB.
The heavy weather had also been bothering our friends from 1st Brigade up at Fort Bragg. Their pre-JRTC deployment training included a number of brigade-sized drops in preparation for the planned airborne entry into Fort Polk the following month. One of these had been scheduled for this evening, but a few things had gone wrong. When the storm line moved north into North Carolina, the brigade was already airborne in a group of 437th-supplied C-141B Starlifters and 23rd Wing C-130Es. The weather began to close in, and four of the big transports had to abort their drops and run for cover from the storm. The Starlifters, loaded with over 420 1st Brigade troopers (as well as one surprise guest), were diverted by the AMC tanker/airlift control center at Scott AFB, Illinois, back to Charleston AFB until the storms over North Carolina moved on. As it turned out, we were about to get a first-hand update on the brigade’s training activities, as well as an invitation.
As we got clearance from the air traffic controllers to line up for an approach, we heard about the divert of the four big transports with their load of paratroops. Since the skies over Charleston AFB were getting decidedly crowded, our crew called for a straight-in approach, and we arrived a few minutes after the Starlifters. After thanking the flight crew for a fine day (and night) of flying, we headed over to the hanger where the paratroops were being kept out of the weather. By now, the rain had passed, and the air was warm and humid after the passage of the storm line.
As we pulled up to the entrance, we saw the 437th AW commander, Brigadier General (he was an one-star selectee at the time) Steven Roser, as well as a tall and familiar figure standing outside. General Crocker, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division! Stunned at seeing John and me, he made a comment about our “being everywhere,” and explained what had happened.
He had been flying with 1 st Brigade when his aircraft had been diverted (along with the other three), as the weather closed in. Now, they were waiting to get back aboard for a drop later that night. As he told the story, a truck pulled up with water and MREs for the 420 troopers who were trying to get some rest inside the brightly lit hanger.
After about fifteen minutes of chatting, General Roser got a call over his radio that the weather was clearing, and that it soon would be time to reload C-141s for the ride back up to Fort Bragg. Bidding us a good evening, General Crocker invited John and me to join 1st Brigade on their JRTC deployment the following month. Then and there as we watched the four Starlifters taxi out for takeoff, we decided that we would.
For now, though, our visit to the 437th had come to an end. Though it had not been possible to take the long trans-Pacific flight that had been planned, the trip to Charleston had been well worth the visit. In fact, we probably saw more of day-to-day C-17/C-141 operations than we would have otherwise. The 437th is the Air Force’s premier heavy-airlift wing, and they are doing a fantastic job of getting the C-17 into service. Keep watching the news; you’re going to see a lot of them!
Fort Polk: The Joint Readiness Training Center
The folks in central Louisiana call it “the low country,” a mass of slow-running rivers and swamplands, with alligators, wild pigs, and horses, as well as nearly every kind of poisonous snake that can be found on the North American continent. Whatever you choose to call it, Fort Polk is as far away from modern civilization as you are going to find in America today. Over 50 miles/80 kilometers from the nearest interstate highway, this World War II-era base is home to the finest infantry training center in the world: the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC).
Probably more than a few of you reading this are thinking, “Yeah, Clancy, this is just another force-on-force training center like the U.S. Army National Training Center (NTC) or the USAF Red/Green Flag exercises at Nellis AFB, Nevada, except that it’s for light infantry forces.” Well, actually you would be partially correct. Yes, the JRTC is a force-on-force kind of training center, and it is for infantry forces. However, there is a lot more to JRTC than just a glorified NTC, and that is the story we will tell you about here.
JRTC originally started up at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, in 1987, and was moved to Fort Polk in 1993. Up until that time, Fort Polk had been home to the Cold War-era 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized). However, the end of that conflict and the reorganization/realignment of the Army resulted in the 5th moving to Fort Hood (where it was initially reflagged as the 2nd Armored Division, and later as the 4th Infantry Division [Mechanized]), and the decision to move JRTC from Fort Chaffee. Since that time, millions of dollars have been spent to turn JRTC into the most intense and realistic warfare training center in history. What makes JRTC different are the subtle nuances that are added to the training experience, as compared to NTC or Red/Green Flag. For example, NTC and the USAF “Flags” usually presume a high-intensity, “hot” war situation that has already broken out, without any real political context or rationale for the troops to understand. JRTC is capable of simulating not only “hot” war scenarios, but also low-intensity /insurgency conflicts, counterterrorism operations, and even peace and relief operations. The key
