Tag Archives: KC-130J Super Hercules

One o’ Clock Jump and Sledge Field

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The whole nine yards including palm trees, Marston matting, Grumman carrier fighters, and high-octane nose art.

Radar-equipped F6F-3N/5N Hellcat night fighters of “The Bat Eyes” of Marine Night Fighter Squadron (VMFN) 541 on Peleliu Island (now in Palau), 1944.

Note that great nose art

VMF(N)-541 was established on 15 February 1944 at MCAS Cherry Point and flew F6F-5Ns throughout its entire 26 months of existence. The squadron’s inaugural deployment, seen above at Peleliu– which passed through Spanish, German, Japanese, and American custody in 1543, 1899, 1914, and 1944 respectively– with the USMC inheriting the airfield there on D+1 of the Allied invasion (on 16 September 1944). By the end of September, Grasshoppers of VMO-1 and Corsairs of VMF-114 were operating there, with the night fighters of VMF(N)-541 arriving shortly after.

The Bat Eyes would go on to earn the Marine Corps’s only aerial victory in the Palaus operation on 31 October while operating from Peleliu on a series of night bombing strikes and air patrols before moving up to the Philippines in December 1944, where they proved adept at chasing down speedy Japanese Nakajima Ki-43 “Oscar” night fighters which were too fast for Army P-61 Black Widows.

As for the old Marine (former Japanese) airstrip on Peleliu, now dubbed Sledge Field, fixed-winged USMC aircraft recently returned for the first time since its recertification in June.

240622-M-JC323-1354. A U.S. Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft with the 1st Marine Air Wing lands on a newly designated airstrip on Peleliu, Republic of Palau, June 22, 2024. For the first time since its recertification in June, a military fixed-wing aircraft has touched down on the historic Peleliu airstrip, marking a significant and triumphant return to this iconic World War II site. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Hannah Hollerud)

As noted by the USMC PAO:

This landmark event was made possible by the tireless efforts of the Marine Corps Engineer Detachment Palau (MCED-P) 24.1, comprised of engineers from the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group.

The MCED-P has been diligently rehabilitating the WWII-era Japanese airfield on Peleliu, a mission-critical to enhancing U.S. military strategic capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region. The successful landing marks the culmination of months of dedicated work by the Marine engineers.

The runway was named in honor of Eugene Sledge, a private first class with the 1st Marine Division during the Battle of Peleliu and author of the well-known book “With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa,” which provides a vivid account of the historic battle and used by many to explain what happened during the historic battle.

Jack Frost Biting More Than Your Nose

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The recently reformed (and very understrength, with only six combat battalions/squadrons compared to 12 in the 82nd ABN) 11th Airborne Divison, now nicknamed the “Arctic Angels” due to their location in Alaska, recently got some snow on their wings with a little help from the Marines.

Official caption: “Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 11th Airborne Division conducted jumps from a Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules during airborne operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The training was designed to ensure mission readiness in an Arctic environment.” Photos by Air Force Airman Raina Dale, and Senior Airman Julia Lebens.

Meanwhile, the COLA for Alaska is being reduced, because F the troops, especially the ones in pricy Alaska, particularly when the Army is tanking its recruitment and retention numbers, right?

This brings us to this, very valid, article:

U.S. Military Can’t Sustain Arctic Operations, ‘Let Alone Dominate,’ Experts Say

This over at The Warhorse:

“We don’t have the capability to sustain forces up there,” says Ryan Burke, an affiliate professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Center for Arctic Security and Resilience. “We don’t have the infrastructure, we don’t have the know-how, we don’t have the institutional knowledge. We don’t have any of what we need to be present, let alone to actually dominate the damn thing.”

As interest in the region grows, the military has begun to make some changes. In 2022, Eielson Air Force Base, just over 100 miles south of the Arctic Circle, stood up a full complement of F-35s. Marine units now rotate through cold-weather training with their Norwegian counterparts, and during the past several years, U.S. forces have participated in trainings like Arctic Edge or Arctic Challenge, a Nordic-led joint military exercise. The military points to efforts like this as evidence of its commitment to Arctic operations.

But much of the necessary communication systems, general infrastructure, and sustained presence and training needed to understand and operate in such a complex environment has yet to materialize. The lofty visions promised in recent strategies don’t always match the realities on the ground.

“The Army has a strategy, the Navy has a strategy, the Air Force has a strategy,” Burke says. “Congratulations. We can’t do any of it.”

More here.