Montana Air Guard trades old Hercules for new C-130J

The Montana Air National Guard’s 120th Airlift Wing flew its last tactical training mission with the C-130H Hercules on Oct. 3, closing out 12 years with the transport aircraft as the wing prepares to switch to the newer C-130J Super Hercules.

Two C-130Hs flew a two-ship tactical formation over Montana before returning to Great Falls, where firefighters greeted them with a traditional water salute. Col. Jason Green, the wing commander, flew as an aircraft commander on the final flight.

“The C-130H has been central to our mission for more than a decade, and its legacy is defined by the Airmen and the missions that made these aircraft such an important part of the 120th,” said Col. Jason Green, commander of the 120th Airlift Wing.

The wing switched from fighters to tactical airlift in 2013, when F-15 Eagles still sat on its ramp. Lt. Col. Casey Lalonde, now commander of the 120th Operations Support Squadron, left for pilot training that year and came back to C-130s. He was the first pilot to go all the way through C-130 training for the wing.

“It’s a little bittersweet, but it’s been an extraordinary mission for us,” said Lt. Col. Casey Lalonde.

Since 2013, Montana airmen have used the C-130H to move troops, equipment and cargo and to carry out airdrops in Montana and overseas. The wing flew four major combat deployments, including sustained operations in Southwest Asia, and operated across the Pacific and Europe. Its airmen traveled to more than 50 countries and served on all seven continents.

The final flight’s two-ship formation is standard training for the wing. Lalonde described it as the “bread and butter” of its tactical operations.

The aircraft are now scattering. The 120th originally operated eight C-130Hs. Three remained at Great Falls after the last tactical flight and are scheduled to leave the wing by the end of October.

One, tail number 7325, has gone to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, where it will serve as a ground training aircraft for U.S. Air Force basic military training.

“Everybody that goes through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base now will actually be training on a Montana C-130, which is kind of cool,” Lalonde said.

Other former Montana C-130Hs have been transferred to partner nations or will be used as training aircraft elsewhere. The wing did not say which countries received them.

The first C-130J for the 120th is expected to arrive next year. The newer model keeps the familiar Hercules shape but adds new communications, satellite connectivity and improved situational awareness tools. It also carries more cargo and flies faster, farther and higher than the H model, the wing said.

“It really is fundamentally a different aircraft in a lot of different ways,” Lalonde said.

The C-130H is the latest in a long line of aircraft flown by Montana’s Air Guard, which has operated the P-51 Mustang, F-86 Sabre, F-106 Delta Dart, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-15 Eagle.