Ramstein Airmen show C-130 capabilities to Polish military

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Nathan Lipscomb
  • 435th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
POWDIZ AIR BASE, Poland (AFNS) --  As the U.S. and Polish celebrate 90 years of diplomatic relations this year, members of the two countries' air forces strengthened their bonds by way of the C-130 Hercules in late January here.

Members of the 86th Airlift Wing from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, visited Powdiz Air Base by way of Warsaw to show off the aircraft's capabilities to Polish military members.

Poland is expected to receive five C-130E models from the U.S. Air Force in the near future. The new airframe is expected to expand Poland's cargo and troop moving capabilities while allowing seamless cooperation between the two countries in contingency operations anywhere in the world. 

The C-130 will be the biggest of the country's aircraft, said Polish Brig. Gen. Tadeusz Mikutel, the 33rd Air Base commander.

During the visit, members of the 86th AW demonstrated low-level flying, mission planning, standard maintenance and loading procedures, and had a chance to exchange ideas with the Polish military.

"One of the things we are able to do while we are here is to be able to partner and work with the Polish Air Force to demonstrate some of the capabilities of the C-130's that they will soon have in their inventory," said Brig. Gen. William J. Bender, the 86th AW commander. "I hope that we will continue to have a great working relationship between our Air Force and the Polish air force."

While addressing the local Polish media, General Bender reassured the press and the Polish air force that they will be receiving a quality aircraft despite the E models age.

"The models the Polish air force will be getting will have some modifications, and many components will be changed, so now you are looking at year 2000 technology instead of 1960 technology," General Bender said. "It has great capabilities that I believe the Polish air force should be excited to have."

C-130 trained members of the Polish air force had the chance to watch and discuss what their U.S. Air Force counterparts do in their every day jobs on the C-130.

"They have received the same training that we have as members of the U.S. Air Force," said Tech. Sgt. Jay Mitchell. "With the demonstrations here, they get to see how things work outside of the classroom environment."

Through the training and teamwork, the U.S. and Polish air forces will continue to strengthen the bonds they have helped establish through the C-130.

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