Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. -- U.S. Air Force Reserve Col. Christopher Lay, 913th Airlift Group commander, Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., declared the 327th Airlift Squadron fully operational capable (FOC) on Saturday, December 2, 2017. The announcement was met with a round of applause and was made with obvious pride and satisfaction.
Airmen of the 327 AS and 913 AG have worked towards FOC status since forming a classic association with the 19th Airlift Wing in December 2015 and transitioning from the C-130H model aircraft to the C-130J.
“The time, energy and effort that has been put towards this goal has been phenomenal. This achievement solidifies the building up of the classic association we entered into two years ago and is the result of your hard work and dedication, but this success isn’t ours alone. The 19th Airlift Wing has been with us every step of the way, and I would like to thank our active duty host unit for their continued support,” Lay said. “We got here together, and we will now go forward together.”
As an FOC unit, the 327 AS is now capable of fulfilling both Air Force Reserve Command and Air Mobility Command missions. The 913 AG is the only C-130J classic associate unit in the Air Force Reserve Command.
“All of the training over the past two years has led to this point and the FOC classification has cemented our relationship with the 19th Airlift Wing. We will continue training aircrews for future Total Force Integration deployments, opportunities and all the requirements that go with them,” said Lt. Col. Scott Lawson, operations officer, 327 AS. “Ultimately, we will be ready to employ aircrews down rage for combatant commanders.”
Before reaching FOC, the 327 AS capabilities had to be built up and leadership had to ensure all training requirements were completed.
“We needed 85 percent of our billets filled with mission-ready Airmen who had demonstrated proficiency in 49 flying competencies and over 20 ground mission deployment readiness requirements,” Lawson said.
The biggest challenge, according to Lawson, was hiring the right balance of knowledge across the spectrum. “The ongoing pilot shortage is a challenge for us. As a Reserve unit, we have a lot of highly experienced members, but need to ensure we are growing our younger aircrew members in C130J community to carry on the mission as we go forward and plan for the future.”
As the 327 AS moves forward with missions, other squadrons within the Group continue working towards attaining FOC status.