The Air Force still operates MC-130P Combat Shadow special-mission airplanes. The two MC-130Ps at Hurlburt Field, Fla., that we reported on last month on the eve of their retirements were the final Combat Shadows serving in the Active Duty component, but not the Air Force’s last MC-130Ps in service. The California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield continues to operate four MC-130Ps. Wing spokesman 1st Lt. Roderick Bersamina confirmed to Air Force Magazine that the wing intends to keep flying them “for the next few years.” They remain “workhorses” for the unit, he said. SSgt. Tyler Placie, a spokesman for Hurlburt’s 1st Special Operations Wing, acknowledged the wing last month issued a release with misleading information on its last two MC-130Ps. “The correct statement is that they [were] the last Active Duty MC-130Ps,” he said, noting that the wing would correct its release. We’ve revised our original entry to reflect all of this.
Air Force Gen. Jacqueline D. Van Ovost—a trailblazer and one of the first 10 women to reach a four-star rank across the U.S. military—retired and passed control of U.S. Transportation Command to Air Force Gen. Randall Reed on Oct. 4, finishing an eventful tenure at TRANSCOM.