2nd AS Squadron

[BostonStrongWill]

Within GAF, many squadrons take to the skies daily to perform training, deployments, air to air combat and many other logistical tasks, one of these is the 2nd AS. The 2nd is the home of the C130 “Hercules”. We operate all variants of the C130 our home airfield, KPOB. Pope AFB is a strategic position which allows us as a squadron to perform many tasks daily in order to keep the rest of the Global Air Forces supported. This thread will be kept with the intention of sharing our best moments within the 2nd! We hope to see you all in the skies soon!

The 2nd performs many activities daily, whether they be long cargo runs from coast to coast, flying competitions, training sessions and other events that keep us all entertained. We fly as a part of the Global Air Forces which means we use the expert server to perform our duties. We also link up with many other organizations on other servers in order to provide services for air shows, and other group flights around the globe. We are also the most active squadron in GAF, with many active members daily!

Here are some pics of the past few days at KPOB!

If you’d like to check out some of our squadron pilots here are their tags!
@Richard_Murdock
@Capt_Jim
@jet_centric
@Jason102
@N1RG
@Twayne
Also check out the main Global Air Forces thread: IFAE GAF - Global Air Forces | Stay Home, Stay Safe. [Official Thread]

[Aviation3]

I’m glad to be a part of GAF! Those are some brilliant photos mate!

[BostonStrongWill]

Today, the 2nd had a fantastic day!
Early this morning, we picked up some Hurricane Hunters from our friends down at Kessler AFB, in Biloxi Mississippi. After our pickup we flew into the storm to gather data on it’s behavior, track and statistics. Afterwards, some members of our squadron participated in training before a few of us linked up for a formation approach back into KPOB.

[Capt_Jim]

[NBSYT]

I was climbing out of KIAH in the 747-400 on the expert server and saw Beefy2. 🏳️‍🌈

[BostonStrongWill]

Awesome! They are our counterparts in the C17’s, they perform similar activities as us. It’s always good to see some friends up in the air!

[NBSYT]

I’m BEEFY4 😅

[BostonStrongWill]

Well I didn’t see that lmao… good to see you!

[BostonStrongWill]

Another day in the books!
Today the 2ndAS had another great day, with many of our pilots performing duties around the country. Early this morning, relief materials were gathered from Georgia in order to supply some of the remote regions of the Outer Banks that were affected by Tropical storm Arthur. Air drops occurred over these regions in order o deliver these supplies. Later in the day, more relief materials were stockpiled at home base so they are ready to go next time we need them! Last but not least, throughout the day, many of our pilots participated in a flight across the country to Colorado in order to prepare for a fun weekend we have ahead of us!
Airdrops over the Outer Banks:

A tanker spotted at KPOB while landing to restock supplies:

A warm welcome into Colorado Springs provided by our commander:

@Jason102 and a flight of two on their way into Colorado Springs:

[Jason102]

Now thats sexy 😍😍

[BostonStrongWill]

Memorial Day! 🇺🇸
This week was another fantastic week for the 2nd. Starting on Monday and Tuesday, we began our move out to KCOS for the week. We intended to move out to KCOS for the purpose of refining our mountain flying skills and working in the western half of the United States. We moved many assets out to KCOS including our large cargo specific variant of the 130, the C130J-30 Little Rock livery. We also moved the USAF C130J “Moody AFB” livery to Colorado because the 130J is more maneuverable than the 130J-30. On Saturday, nearly all members participated in a long mountain circuit consisting of 90 minutes of mountain flying. This course was used to test our mountain flying skills, this flight also allowed all pilots that participated to complete their mountain flying training. Now, almost all of our pilots are capable of flying into the mountains and performing mountain Search and Rescues which will allow the 2nd to further it’s importance around the globe. As I type this, we are currently moving hundreds of thousands of pounds of cargo around the world to supply our allies and partners.
Two 130Js on their way to conquer the valleys of Colorado

130Js on their approach into KCOS

A C130J-30 leap frogs his way over a friend on their cross country flight to Colorado.

A synchronized westbound bank

[BostonStrongWill]

Normal Operations?
It’s been a while since I’ve last updated this thread. Here’s some things that have been going on for the past few days! We have been running cargo like madmen recently. It’s no easy feat delivering millions of pounds of cargo around the world. Luckily, our dedicated team is able to ship it worldwide! From short one hour hops supporting communities in need of medical supplies, to island hopping along the outer banks to deliver relief supplies to those affected by storms, we’re busy! Not to mention, we have pilots visiting Europe and Asia daily for much needed transport across the globe. Recently, @Twayne and @Capt_Jim have worked on an airtable to more efficiently track our routes, destinations and cargo. This sortable features a list of NATO air bases, allowing us to know where we can make safe pit stops.

Here’s some more shots from cargo flying and last week’s event in the Colorado Mountains!
Hercs lined up on the ramp at KCOS

The team on their way out to the Mountains!

A few hercs ready to take back off after the challenging approach into KTEX, or Telluride airport.

A C130-J30 on its way to Japan after a stopover at PADK

Credit to @N1RG and myself for the pics

[Capt_Jim]

The Four Fans of Freedom continuously turn here at the 2d AS. Join GAF and ask to be a part of the best squadron in this VO!!

[Ur_Friendly_Approach]

May I ask what do the fighter squadrons do in GAF?

[BostonStrongWill]

Of course! I’ll link the main thread below so you can check out what it has to offer but I can give you a brief overview from my knowledge;

• Fighters are very useful in deployments, as they are how we keep the skies clear of enemies, they patrol, attack and defend
• They participate in many missions and sorties whether they be similar to real life ops or fictional missions
• Back at home they participate in many training missions with air refueling and maneuvers
• The attend other events and air shows (as almost all squadrons do in GAF
  Don’t forget, within GAF you may join multiple squadrons so you don’t have to limit yourself to one aircraft!
  Here’s the main thread; IFAE GAF - Global Air Forces | Stay Home, Stay Safe. [Official Thread]

[BostonStrongWill]

Operation Breakout

Cargo ops
The past few days have been super busy for the 2nd and GAF! The second has been continuing to haul cargo around the world. A duo of pilots was off to Australia to drop much needed cargo in the Southern Hemisphere. This flight required enormous trip planning and calculations to figure out optimal capacity while still holding enough fuel. As typical, continental United States cargo teams are working whenever possible.

Operation breakout
Early week, a mission was formulated through the commanders in the USAF division of GAF. This operation was titled breakout as we intended to breakout troops and forces caught on the ground. We had many aircraft participating in this mission from not only the second but from other squadrons around GAF.

The hercs, from the 2nd were in charge of delivering supplies to the area through LAPES. LAPES stands for Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System. Directly after the LAPES were performed, a MC130J took on the challenge of landing on a short strip to evacuate forces. The AC130 also played a large role by performing air to ground combat.

A10 warthogs, these aircraft were also tasked with delivering strikes to the enemy forces on the ground. This allowed for the safe evacuation of our forces.

F22s, these aircraft kept the skies clear for hercs to go down and perform their mission successfully.

KC10 tanker, the tanker played a large role in refueling any aircraft should they need it.

Not only did KEDW server as our base for the operation, but these operations bring GAF together which make for fantastic opportunities to perform other organized flights and events along with joint training missions.

Hurricane relief effort
Our forces are currently delivering cargo in order to make time for hurricane season. Hurricane season keeps us plenty busy, as it often requires us jumping around many locations in the southern US. Not only are we moving ourselves frequently, but we have to track the storms and deliver relief supplies via our hurricane hunter aircraft. We are currently tracking a tropical storm capable of causing significant damage to the southern coast. We will be posting updates as this comes along!

Anyways, now to the pictures

Taxiing out to the active runways at KEDW

Waiting for the F22s to depart

Two C130s heading into the restricted airspace

A C-130-J30 ascending after a LAPES run to let the MC130J recover our forces.

USAF forces taxiing back to the ramp after successful landings

Foggy approach into a mysterious Australian air base…

Written by 1st LT PR Officer Will Guthro, pics taken by myself and @Capt_Jim

[BostonStrongWill]

The week of 20.1 at Long Island

Hello all! This week was not only an active one for the second, but for the entirety of the IFC. The 2nd took a trip up to KFOK, or Gabreski airport in New York in order to hold training missions and cargo runs with other squadrons and divisions. We participated mostly with the 92nd out of KWRI in New Jersey. Within this mini operation, we were able to train together on different group flying techniques along with how to use some of the procedures brought about in the new update. We were able to practice these new procedures, vnav and yes, the magnificent 777. Aside from this, we’ve been running cargo nonstop to locations around the globe, with Alaska being this weeks top pick for cargo runs. We have been tasked with getting as much cargo as possible delivered prior to the bulk of hurricane season. Speaking of Hurricanes, we sent a few hurricane hunting aircraft to the Gulf of Mexico in order to track the storm over the weekend.

We would also like to congratulate the devs, mods and all the other staff that worked super hard to build this update, release it and manage the community along with server issues. This is a revolutionary update to the game and will never be forgotten!

One more announcement this week:
Congrats to:
@Twayne
@Capt_Jim
@N1RG
On their outstanding work that granted them the addition of new ribbons! These signify excellence in certain fields of work within GAF.

On to the pictures.
A C-130 and KC10 flight planning on the ramp at KFOK

DEUCE3 on his trip to Alaska

A synchronized bank on Long Island… isn’t this a beaut?

Stay tuned for a MASSIVE announcement coming over the next few days
Written by Captain Will G, pics provided by @N1RG and myself.

[BostonStrongWill]

Firefighters?
You heard that right. The 2nd is adopting the new job of firefighting forest fires! This new mission type will just be one more job on a long list of tasks for the 2nd. We will be using MAFFS or Modular Airborne firefighting systems in order to control and prevent the spread of wildfires. The MAFFS units are located at KCOS in Colorado Springs, which means a 3 hour trip for our pilots to head out to Colorado. We’ve had 3 pilots already head out to grab these units, and we have more pilots scheduled to fly out in the next few days. Once fires become top priority, we will devote time and effort to making trips out west to control the spread of wildfires in the summer months. Until then, we plan on picking up these massive units and flying training missions. We will need to make pickups of fire retardant when it comes time to fight the fires. Thankfully, our operations team in the 2nd is one of the best, and can efficiently source materials and pickup locations all around the globe.

IRL MAFFS

Now for a large announcement!
The 2nd has made an instagram! If you want more day to day updates on our activities, head to this link to check it out! https://www.instagram.com/p/CBZboaogw6P/?igshid=1nzl08udurzbz

While on the Instagram, you may see a trailer for a bit of a video we’re making. This is one of our biggest projects to show you all the best moments of the 2nd and the other squadrons in GAF. Be on the lookout for this as it’s going to be finished next week!
Best wishes to all from Captain Will Guthro, and the rest of the 2nd

[BostonStrongWill]

Back in action

Firefighting operations
Last week we wrapped up our trip to KDMA out near Tucson, Arizona. This was overall an awesome trip for our team because it focused on many aspects of flying. We were able to fly almost cross country with heavy loads of cargo, which were our MAFFS (Modular airborne firefighting system) fire suppression units. These units are how we disperse our fire retardant on and around the blaze to halt its movement. Many of the pilots from the 2nd were tasked with training to become MAFFS certified. It was truly awesome to see some of the squadron members deepen their knowledge on the C130 and its abilities. Aside from training, many cargo runs were needed in order to supply the MAFFS system, we had a short 1 hour hop to KRIV near Palm Springs and Los Angeles to pick up these goods.

Ordinary operations
Aside from the fire aspect of things, the 2nd laid low these past couple weeks. We were able to continue carrying cargo so that’s good!

Promotions
This week we would like to congratulate our now 1st LT Daniel Rilshi! Daniel has been a key and a consistent role to our squadrons operations. Daniel always comes in when we need him and for some special events. Congrats Daniel!

Sneak peak to our next blog post where I’ll talk about how we’ve carried 300,000 LBS of cargo in two days!
Now for the pictures 😎
Spotter plane and C130 departing for The Bighorn Fire

In air action!

Why is this blue? I don’t know but the window view is pretty cool.

-Go check our Instagram which I’ve talked about in the prior post
-Be on the lookout for new posts and blogs!
Have a good week all and we look forward to seeing you in the skies ✈️
Written by Captain Will Guthro

[BostonStrongWill]

Training Time
The 2nd AS is back in full force this week. We’ve been going nonstop (as I’m writing this We’re headed to Guam). We have participated in many missions and operations this week around the globe which will better prepare us and our allied forces for future events.

This week, the 2nd participated in a joint training mission with the 92nd ARS and the A10s from Shaw AFB. This training mission consisted of air to ground combat between the A10s, while C130s made airdrops to nearby airports. 1 C130 was also tasked with rescuing troops stranded at the airbase. The KC10s backed us all up by providing refueling capabilities should we need them. This mission helped us all practice useful skills and formation flying… pictures on that below!

Around the World
If you follow our instagram, you’ll probably know that we’re on an around the world trip. We are about halfway through this adventure, with our pilots in between Malaysia and Guam as we speak. A more detailed post about this to come later!

Our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCFQxkChGFP/?igshid=p8ixng0jrnf3
92nd ARS Instagram: https://instagram.com/virtual92ndars?igshid=1njpsyfo64c3d

Thanks all for reading, now to the pictures for this week!
Wingtip view while on a local flight patrolling the North Carolinian Skies!

Our A10s and C130s following a KC10

A super secret KC10 event hosted by the 92nd consisting of an Elephant Walk followed by a formation flight to the Jedi Transition!

A C130 turning onto final at Butterworth (yes that’s it’s actual name) AFB in Malaysia.

Written by Captain/PR Officer Will Guthro
Thanks to @PilotMatt for some of the incredible photos!