Kentucky Air Guard, Ecuador share C-130 expertise

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Annaliese Billings
  • 123rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
LOUISVILLE, Ky. --  Airmen from the Kentucky Air National Guard and Ecuadorian Air Force conducted an aircrew subject matter expert exchange recently at Cotopaxi Air Base, Ecuador, as part of the National Guard Bureau’s State Partnership Program.

The event teamed Airmen from Kentucky’s 123rd Airlift Wing with Ecuador’s 11th Transportation Wing May 19-24, said U.S. Air Force Capt. Jason Sanderson, bilateral affairs officer in the Office of Security Cooperation.

“This event was our first aircrew-centric event with the Ecuadorian Air Force in over 10 years,” Sanderson said. “We completed several assessments as well as aircraft maintenance exchanges with regard to the Ecuadorian C-130 program.”

The State Partnership Program pairs National Guard units from the 54 states and territories with the militaries of foreign allies for mutual cooperation across a full range of military and civil affairs. The program is designed to facilitate open communication, highlight capabilities and increase future partnership engagements.

“It’s important that we participate in subject matter exchanges such as this one,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Kyle Stuckey, a Kentucky loadmaster. “It shows mutual support and respect for each other, maintains relations and provides important exchanges of information that can prove vital to C-130 Hercules operability.”

The exchange was particularly useful for Ecuadorian aircrews because the Kentucky Airmen have extensive experience flying legacy C-130 Hercules aircraft like the models employed by the Ecuadorian Air Force. The 123rd’s team included a former flight engineer and a former navigator — both positions that were eliminated in Kentucky with the transition to C-130J Super Hercules aircraft but which are still required to fly Ecuador’s airframes.

That kind of one-on-one interaction “meant a lot to the members of the Ecuadorian Air Force, and I hope to participate in future exchanges,” Stuckey noted.

The event also included briefings from the U.S. Embassy’s Air Force Section chief, the Foreign Military Sales Program manager and the operations officer for the U.S. Military Group-Ecuador.

“Ecuador uses the C-130 Hercules for lifts in various ways to include troop drops into remote regions of Ecuador’s diverse terrain, as well as hauling the enormous amounts of illicit drugs being seized by both U.S. and Ecuadorian forces in the Pacific,” Sanderson said.

“Overall the United States, Kentucky and Ecuador are seeking increased interoperability so we can all become more secure, stable and prosperous partners. The C-130 program and the Kentucky Air National Guard are vital to our success.”

The Kentucky Air National Guard has been partnered with Ecuador since 1996 and helped stand up C-130 Hercules operations there when Ecuador acquired H-model aircraft in 2024.