Aerial refuelers coming to Robins

Blog Editor Note: According to Jody Gal in neighboring Calhoun GA, 379.825 MHz has been used as a boom freq during exercises that involve random AR that are not on a published tracks. This was also a one of my spectrum hole freqs until recently.

by Wayne Crenshaw, 78th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Numerous organizations here have spent the past month preparing for the arrival of five KC-135 Stratotankers, which will temporarily be stationed at Robins during an upcoming exercise.

The aerial refuelers are part of a detachment from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., set to operate here Aug. 7-20. The detachment includes 75 personnel who will be staying in base lodging.

According to a McConnell release, the complex exercise scenario will include 1,100 ground participants and more than 22 aircraft in support of Joint Chiefs of Staff and National Command Authority directives.

"The multifaceted exercise challenges the inherent flexibility, reliability and force multiplier capabilities of our tanker and airlifter forces," the release said.

Tony McVay, the 78th Air Base Wing chief of plans and programs, said several organizations at Robins are involved in preparing for the detachment's arrival and supporting it during the exercise.

The 116th Air Control Wing will assist with maintenance and ground equipment for the aircraft.

The 78th Operations Support Squadron will provide support to include refueling, the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron will provide forklifts and other equipment support, and the 78th Communications Directorate will provide computers and printers. Additionally, the 78th Civil Engineer Group is providing the building the detachment will be using.

Lt. Col. Pamela Freeland, chief of Special Operations Air Refueling at McConnell, said she has been pleased with the support the unit has received from Robins.

"There have been a lot of organizations at Robins which have been contributing to getting us operating," she said. "It's going to be a very robust exercise involving a lot of participants."

The KC-135s are a vital part of U.S. military operations, providing its core aerial refueling capability. Each of the planes can carry 100 tons of fuel.

U-2 to provide imagery support in Haiti

A U-2 taxies down the flightline Jan. 27, 2010 at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in preparation for takeoff to Robins Air Force Base, Ga. The U-2 will provide critical imagery support in the ongoing humanitarian relief mission in Haiti. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Craig Cisek)

by Tech. Sgt. Luke Johnson
9th Reconnaissance Wing Public Affairs

1/28/2010 - BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- A U-2 launched from Beale Air Force Base Jan. 27 to provide critical imagery support in the ongoing humanitarian relief mission in Haiti.

The aircraft, temporarily flown out of Robins AFB, Ga., will be used to gather high-quality imagery, broad area shots, which will eliminate the need to patch together smaller images gathered by other intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets currently operating in the Haiti.

"The capabilities of the U-2, with the optical bar camera provide superior imagery that is unsurpassed in many of the reconnaissance platforms flying today," said Maj. Lans Courtney from the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron. "It's also going to fill in the pieces that were not found earlier by other platforms."

The images provided by the U-2 will give decision makers on the ground a broad picture when deciding on how to get help to those who need it the most.

"Some of the imagery we will be providing will be able to show them what roads will be usable so that they can find what areas are accessible on the ground via vehicles," Major Courtney said. "Also, they will be able to prioritize to see what type of areas have been hit the hardest and hopefully this will expedite how quickly they can get in and out of the worst areas in Haiti."

Routinely flown at altitudes nearing 70,000 feet, the U-2 is a single-seat, single-engine, high-altitude, ISR aircraft, which provides signals, imagery and electronic measurements and signature intelligence. The U-2 is capable of gathering a variety of imagery which can be stored or sent to ground exploitation centers.

"Having the pilot in the cockpit of the U-2 provides some capabilities that might not be available in other platforms, one of which being able to flex the mission on the fly," the major said. For instance, if there are individuals on the ground that we can talk to real time that request imagery that is time-critical or time-sensitive, we might be able to accommodate those requests immediately and provide imagery as quickly as possible."

Major Courtney emphasized the mission is not solely about the U-2 pilot.

"I think its key and important that a lot of different individuals from Beale have all come together to support the humanitarian efforts in Haiti, to include the maintenance group, the intelligence squadrons as well as all the support assets and individuals that went to Georgia in preparation for the arrival of the U-2 and subsequent humanitarian missions over Haiti," he said.

C-27J training operations center opens

by Wayne Crenshaw, 78th Air Base Wing

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Air Force, Army and community officials celebrated the opening of a new cargo plane schoolhouse Dec. 9, here.

The C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft Schoolhouse will be used to train pilots of the C-27J, the new cargo plane used to reduce the need for ground convoys in dangerous areas.

After years of development by the Army, the C-27J Spartan program has shifted to the Air Force, but will be a joint program and both Army and Air Force pilots and loadmasters will attend the school.

The school has already been in operation at Robins Air Force Base since Sept. 9, when the first of two C-27J planes arrived here, but the school will be under development through 2011. Still to be added are a operational flight trainer and a fuselage trainer. A mockup cockpit has already been installed.

"This aircraft will provide the capability to fly in Afghanistan where they do not have the infrastructure to handle our larger aircraft," said Army Col. Anthony Potts, the project manager for aviation systems. "It will have the capability to get supplies not within 50 miles of our forces but within the last tactical mile."

The school had already been operating on a temporary basis in Waco, Texas, but transferred here Sept. 9 with the arrival of the first plane. That allowed the first graduating class of the school to be recognized at the ceremony.

The program calls for a minimum of 38 aircraft, but Army Maj. Gen. William T. Nesbitt, the adjutant general of Georgia, said at the ceremony that he believes that number will eventually rise to 78. The aircraft will be stationed at Air National Guard bases.

He said after the ceremony that that the aircraft will definitely save lives if the program's potential is fully realized.

"It will (save lives) if we field an adequate number of aircraft, but right now I don't think 38 is enough," he said. Development of the school is a $1.8 million project, which includes $300,000 from the state of Georgia, $125,000 from the city of Warner Robins and the Houston County Development Authority, and $50,000 from the Macon-Bibb Development Authority.

Robins AFB CP Callsign Change

From Mike Riffle and the NOTAMS:

COMMAND POST FREQUENCY 311.0 AND 321.0 CALL SIGN "BLACK KNIGHT CONTROL." RAYMOND19 CALL SIGN WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE FOR USE. 25 MAR 00:01 UNTIL 11 MAY 00:01