Cannon AFB In the News...

From the Air Force Association’s Daily Report— an e-mail newsletter that hits my in-box every week day morning without fail — three items about Cannon Airplane Patch:

Home On The (Melrose) Range: Just a few months after the base transitioned to Air Force Special Operations Command, air commando officials at Cannon AFB, N.M. are preparing to ramp up training at one of the facility's key assets-the nearby Melrose Bombing and Gunnery Range. One of the big reasons why AFSOC decided to open their western base of operations in the High Plains of eastern New Mexico is the sheer space the range has to offer-about 60,000 acres of Air Force property, 8,800 of which are dedicated impact areas for day or night gunnery and bombing practice. AFSOC expects by April to unleash its AC-130 gunships on the range as a regular patrons. During a tour of the range last week Lt. Col. Toby Corey, director of operations for the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron, said Cannon planned to open two dedicated gunship impact training areas this spring. The two areas-named "Spirit" and "Jockey" in honor of two gunships lost in the Gulf War and Operation Restore Hope, respectively-will be filled with about 26 targets. During his final flight before retiring, Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, former AFSOC commander, helped demonstrate the "proof of concept" for the two areas by flying the AC-130 that shot the first live rounds. Since the air commandos will have priority use on the range space, Corey said that AFSOC plans to begin regular temporary duty training rotations with gunship crews, and will soon include training with special tactics airmen.

-Marc V. Schanz

Cross Training at Melrose: While AFSOC's 27th Special Operations Wing would have priority access to the open training space on Melrose (see above), the air commandos won't be alone according to Lt. Col. Toby Corey, ops boss for the 27th Special Operations Support Squadron. In addition to hosting special tactics training from AFSOC units based at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the 27th SOW will be able to work closely with the nearby 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB, N.M. The 58th SOW, an Air Education and Training Command unit, is the schoolhouse for AFSOC's helicopter and MC-130 crews and has picked up the training role for the new CV-22. "They are familiar with the environment and the terrain and it will a benefit to have them nearby," Corey said. The short distance for both the Kirtland and Cannon SOF units to the training range also means shorter missions-meaning both the schoolhouse and the wing will get more chances to train.

First On the Ramp: The last F-16 will fly off the ramp at Cannon AFB, N.M. by the end of the month, according to Col. Tim Leahy, the commander of the 27th Special Operations Wing, the new boss at Cannon. The base is undergoing modification and construction of new facilities to support its new Air Force Special Operations Command missions. The first full AFSOC squadron scheduled to take up residence is the 73rd Special Operations Squadron, which flies the MC-130W Combat Spear. While only one of the aircraft was on the ramp as of early December, the squadron is planning to move 12 aircraft out to New Mexico by the end of February; the Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia has been modifying standard C-130H models into the special ops version. In the summertime, AFSOC's dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle squadron-the 3rd SOS-will be picking up and moving down from Creech AFB, Nev. Currently construction is proceeding on pads and ground stations for Predator operators at Cannon, as well as conversion of simulation facilities and squadron operations office space.

I’ve noticed there are usually two C-130s on the ramp whenever I go out to the base lately. (You’ll note I didn’t put the “A” or the “M” prefix on “C-130,” since I cannot tell which variant is which from my perspective on the perimeter road.) I also watched an AFSOC C-130 shooting touch ’n’ goes while out at the base a couple of weeks ago… slowing down to a crawl and managing to take in two such passes on the active runway before I ran out of road. My salient observation of this exercise? A/MC-130s are a whole helluva lot quieter than F-16s; an order of magnitude quieter. On take-off, anyway. It’s quite a different story once they start playing around out at the Melrose range. BIG boomers, then!

I'm looking forward to seeing the Ospreys in this part of the world, too.

(Photo credit: Official USAF photo of an AC-130 on the Cannon AFB ramp.)