By GARRICK FELDMAN
Leader executive editor
More foreign nations are being represented at Little Rock Air Force Base, the home of C-130 combat airlift. More than 40 nations have trained at the base, and as many as 322 foreign airmen are expected to complete their training here by the end of the year.
“Their numbers have grown dramatically,” said Arlo Taylor, a spokesman at Little Rock Air Force Base.
He attributed their rising number to the popularity of C-130s, especially the late-model C-130Js, which are more computerized and more maneuvarable.
Hundreds of C-130Js have been made in the last decade, with sales to Britain, Italy, Israel, India, Australia and other countries, which usually train at LRAFB.
“International training has continued to dramatically increase throughout the last five years,” says Lt. Col. Mark Livelsberger, 714th Training Squadron commander with the 314th Airlift Wing here.
LRAFB is the only C-130 training base for the Department of Defense. The 314th trains C-130 pilots, navigators, flight engineers and loadmasters from all branches of the U.S. military, as well as allied nations, in tactical-airlift and aerial delivery.
“In 2007, we trained 48 international students, and this year, there are 275 operators and maintainers programmed for training, and the projections for 2012 will continue to increase,” Livelsberger wrote recently in the Combat Airlifter, the weekly newspaper at Little Rock Air Force Base.
“The mission of the 314th Airlift Wing is to train the world’s best C-130 and C-21 combat airlifters to fly, fight and win,” according to Livelsberger. “This mission is achieved by our experienced maintainers and operators and aided by a strong partnership with our contractors and host wing. In fact, the rest of the world is aware of our excellence in building C-130 combat airlifters that they, too, want to be trained at Little Rock.
“You may have noticed there are more international students on the flightline, getting strapped into an aircraft for a training sortie, or visiting the dining facility, BX and commissary.”
“In fact,” he continued, “Little Rock Air Force Base has been the temporary home for some 42 different partner nations as they train to maintain and operate the most versatile aircraft in the inventory, the C-130 Hercules. We have and will continue to see increased training requirements as more countries purchase the newly produced C-130J aircraft.”
A field-studies program offers an introduction to the U.S. government, society, culture, democratic institutions and respect for common human-rights principles,” the colonel said. To highlight the local community, students take trips to downtown Little Rock to see the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Central High School and the USS Razorback. Other trips include Hot Springs National Park, Bathhouse Row and the Mountain Tower.
“We’ve also partnered with International Friendship Out-reach, a local Little Rock organization to foster community relations with our international students,” according to Livelsberger.
On weekends, international military students take overnight bus trips to Memphis to see Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, the National Sciences Museum and a tour of the Gibson guitar factory.
Foreign officers can also go to Washington, where they tour Arlington National Cemetery, the Pentagon, the National Archives and the Capitol building.
“The purpose of this tour is to give the students a deeper understanding and appreciation of the United States and to acquaint them with some of the functions of our national government and the salient aspects of governmental activities that exist in Washington,” Livelsberger wrote.
“While they’re here, international students develop an understanding of American society and culture, he said. “And what better place to get their training than at Little Rock Air Force Base, the foundation of America’s combat-airlift capability, where we train the world’s best C-130 combat airlifters?”
