Air Guard's 137th heads for war role
BY BARBARA HOBEROCK World Capitol Bureau
Mar 23, 2003
7/10/08 at 7:36 AM
The group will provide maintenance and other
support for the C-130 Hercules aircraft.
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Members of
the Oklahoma Air National Guard's
137th Airlift Wing headed for a role in
the war in Iraq following ceremonies
late Saturday at the Will Rogers Air
National Guard Base.
More than 200 were deployed,
bringing the total deployment of state
National Guard and Air National
Guard members to more than 3,500,
Oklahoma Air National Guard Brig.
Gen. LaRita Aragon said.
Members of the 137th Logistics
Group will provide maintenance and
other support for the C-130 Hercules
aircraft. Most are from Oklahoma
City, but some members of the 137th
come from Texas and Arkansas, Aragon said.
"They are being presidentially mobilized," Aragon said. "It is for a year.
They can be extended once they are
there."
Any extension is not expected to
exceed more than two years, according to the Air National Guard.
The unit will support several C-130H aircraft and members of the
185th Airlift Squadron, who left the
Guard base last week.
"The unit will provide tactical and
intratheater airlift support for the U.S.
Central Command," according to the
Air National Guard. "The C-130H is
capable of operating night vision missions from rough, dirt strips and is
the prime transport for air dropping
troops and equipment into hostile areas."
The C-130H has a wingspan of
about 132 feet and a range of 5,200
miles. Its maximum weight is 155,000
pounds.
Aragon said she could not disclose
where the unit went once it left Oklahoma City.
The 138th Fighter Wing in Tulsa recently returned from a mission in the
region, Aragon said. The unit should
not be eligible for deployment for another year, she said.
The 138th was assigned to Opera
tion Southern Watch, enforcing the
southern "no-fly" zone over Iraq.
Ardmore units: Officials also said
Saturday that two Ardmore-based National Guard units will soon leave for
overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
About 300 members of the 345th
Corps Support Battalion and the
1245th Transportation Company were
activated recently, said Col. Pat Scully,
a spokesman for the Oklahoma National Guard.
The units specialize in transportation of cargo, equipment and supplies.
Scully would not specify when they
would be leaving.
Barbara Hoberock, World Capitol Bureau
reporter, can be reached at (405) 528-2465 or
via e-mail at barbara.hoberock@tulsaworld.com.
