Photo By Senior Airman Michael Swingen | The aircrew of a C-130 Hercules aircraft with the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air...... read more read more
Clouds crumbled away behind the C-130 Hercules from the Wyoming Air National Guard as it banked southwest, revealing a suddenness of sea. The chain of islands in the distance slowly grew upon the water as the aircraft approached Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Oahu, Hawaii. Descending almost 1,000 feet per minute in its final approach, the C-130 Hercules touched down on the flightline with a spray of dirt, sand and rubber dust that leapt from beneath the wheels. On board, the Airmen had traveled more than 3,300 miles from home.
The Wyoming Air National Guard had come to participate in Sentry Aloha 26-1, the latest iteration of Sentry Aloha, a recurring, large-scale training exercise in the Hawaiian Islands. From Jan. 14-28, Sentry Aloha 26-1 involved approximately 1,000 personnel and more than 40 aircraft from seven states, enhancing readiness, interoperability and integration across U.S. and partner air forces. The Wyoming Air National Guard used the exercise to become certified for future deployments as well.
The training included personnel airdrops with the 25th Air Support Operations Squadron and the 4th Marine Reconnaissance Battalion. On Jan. 21, a C-130 Hercules touched down at Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, loading up the parachute jumpers. The C-130 Hercules orbited the island. Soon the rear cargo door opened, letting in a wash of rushing air. The Airmen and the Marines, their flight suits rippling against their arms and shins, prepared to jump from 15,000 feet above ground.
Performing high-altitude, low-opening (HALO) and static-line operations, the parachute jumpers poured out the back of the C-130 Hercules in free fall. Lines streamed upward from their packs, blossoming into canopies across the dawn sky. The parachute jumpers steered themselves in wide arcs above the drop zone, descending until they finally floated across the tall grasses before landing in a bundle of nylon and cords.
The training allowed three navigators with the Wyoming Air National Guard to become certified in HALO personnel airdrops.
Other scenarios and training during Sentry Aloha 26-1 included maintenance and logistics teams responding to simulated fuel spills and contaminated aviation fuel. Communication teams restored network connectivity after a cyberattack. Vehicle maintenance resolved mechanical breakdowns. Medical teams evacuated personnel from downrange operations as well.
Adding a layer of complexity, Airmen conducted some of the training in full chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, or CBRN, gear. Even during an airdrop along the North Shore of Oahu, the aircrew wore CBRN gear. Their faces were sealed behind masks that fogged over with breath, while heavy rubber gloves gripped the control stick and turned the dials in the cockpit of the C-130 Hercules. After they returned to base and landed the aircraft, they walked across the flightline under the noonday sun while still in CBRN gear from head to toe.
“CBRN gear forces you to strip down the tasks of your job to the basics because it limits your mobility and dexterity,” Tech. Sgt. Jenna Holyfield, an aircrew flight equipment specialist with the Wyoming Air National Guard, said.
Along with other members of her team, Holyfield decontaminated Airmen during a simulated chemical attack. The aircrew at last reached the decontaminated site next to the hangar, where Holyfield instructed them to slowly peel off their CBRN gear and deposit it carefully in a barrel.
“When we were decontaminating the aircrew, it’s the difference between life and death in a real-world scenario,” Holyfield said. “It was a reminder that our job matters.” Intelligence teams provided situational awareness during Sentry Aloha 26-1. Chaplains sustained morale.
“This training is critical to our readiness, and our Airmen executed with precision and focus,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Silva Jr., the commander of operations during Sentry Aloha 26-1, said. “Their ability to train in a total force and joint force environment is what keeps us prepared for real-world challenges.”
Silva said the moment that stood out most came when the exercise faced an unexpected, real-world challenge.
“We lost all of our scheduled airlift,” Silva said. “We had planned for additional airlift support to assist with transporting a substantial amount of cargo and personnel, as well as to facilitate the movement of our equipment. But when that airlift support fell through, it forced us to completely revise our plans.”
Instead of slowing the operation, the loss of airlift forced Airmen from the Wyoming Air National Guard to adapt in real time.
“What impressed me most was how the team responded,” Silva said. “They were suddenly faced with the challenge of moving all of our cargo on their own and executing multiple maximum-effort airlifts to get our equipment into a simulated area of operations.”
Silva emphasized that the mission was completed without outside assistance.
“We did it organically,” he said. “We moved ourselves, established operations, and still executed the exercise as planned. That level of adaptability and problem-solving wasn’t anticipated, but our Airmen made it happen.”
For Silva, the experience highlighted the unit’s culture and commitment.
On Jan. 22, pilots from the Wyoming Air National Guard took part in a simulated combat exercise with Hawaii-based F-22 Raptor fighter jets and other visiting aircraft from the Wisconsin Air National Guard and the Louisiana Air National Guard.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Mary Greenwood, a public affairs specialist documenting the combat exercise, struggled to raise her arm due to high G-forces when the C-17 Globemaster III banked sharply during a defensive maneuver.
After a while, the rear cargo door of the aircraft opened midflight, revealing a sky terraced with white clouds, the sea below. Between them, two F-22A Raptor fighter jets, an F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, a KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft, and a C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft all flew in a VIC formation, a classic V-shaped military aircraft tactic, trailing the C-17 Globemaster III.
The C-130 Hercules from the Wyoming Air National Guard was the tip of the spear in the formation, wedging apart sky and sea as they flew.
“The training over the two weeks was a relentless effort,” Silva said. “Everyone was all in. Our Airmen ran multiple missions, adjusted on the fly, and refused to let obstacles stop them. That’s what readiness looks like.”
Sentry Aloha 26-1 concluded successfully, demonstrating the Wyoming Air National Guard’s ability to coordinate and respond effectively across multiple scenarios in a joint, multifaceted environment, equipping Airmen with the skill sets necessary to fly, fight and win.
| Date Taken: | 02.04.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 02.04.2026 16:54 |
| Story ID: | 557438 |
| Location: | CHEYENNE, WYOMING, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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