--- title: "2 Air Force cargo planes report for boot camp duty" description: "New recruits will get hands-on training in air base basics with the retired C-130s now at Lackland Air Force Base." date: "2026-09-08" modified: "2026-09-08" authors: - name: "Matt White" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/matt-white.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/cargo-planes-air-force-boot-camp/" categories: - "Air Force" - "Field Guide" - "Military Branches" - "Military Life" - "News" --- # 2 Air Force cargo planes report for boot camp duty ![Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathaniel Brown, 322nd Training Squadron master military training instructor, poses in front of a C-130H cargo aircraft at Kelly Field, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, Aug. 24, 2026. Brown, who served as a crew chief prior to his selection as a Military Training Instructor via the developmental special duty program, marshalled the C-130 crew as they parked after landing at Kelly Field.” (U.S. Air Force photo by Marcus Robins)]() *Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nathaniel Brown, a military training instructor at Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, used his skills as a former crew chief to marshall a C-130H onto the parking ramp at Kelly Field, Texas, to become a boot camp training plane. Air Force photo by Marcus Robins.* A hulking Air Force C-130 touched down at Kelly Field, Texas, late last month for the final time in its three-decade flying career. Though aging, the plane arrived at the home of the Air Force’s basic training with a history of notable heritage flights. In 2026, the plane dropped [parachute teams of Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets, and Air Force special ops troops]() over Normandy, France, as part of a D-Day commemoration flying over Omaha Beach. In 2024, it made a similar heritage flight, dropping paratroopers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne over [Eindhoven, Netherlands](), to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. Beyond those recent high-profile flights, the plane, which entered service in 1998, spent most of its career in West Virginia and Montana Air National Guard units, flying hundreds of less glamorous but real-world mobility missions to and from war zones and deployed units in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. With its arrival at Lackland Air Force Base, adjacent to Kelly Field, the plane’s days commemorating past missions came to an end. But in a post-flying role, the cargo plane will now be one of [two C-130s the Air Force will use as a hands-on training plane]() for newly recruited airmen in boot camp, which the Air Force calls Basic Military Training, or BMT. The two C-130s will not fly as part of BMT, but will be the training beds on which new recruits learn and practice basic skills needed to keep planes flying at remote airbases. “By introducing the airframes into the training environment, BMT provides trainees with exposure to airfield operations and the operational Air Force long before they reach their first duty stations,” Air Force [officials said in a release](). “Trainees will learn skills to include cargo loading, aircraft refueling, and aircraft marshaling.” ![A U.S. Army Soldier belonging to the 82nd Airborne Division looks out the window of a Lockheed Martin C-130H before conducting cross static line jumps for Falcon Leap 24 at Eindhoven Airport, Eindhoven, Netherlands, on September 19, 2024. Falcon Leap 24 (FALE 24) is a Royal Dutch Military led, multinational, joint technical airborne exercise designed to enhance interoperability of participating NATO airborne forces and aircrews in personnel and equipment parachuting operations in Arnhem, Netherlands from 9-20 September 2024. Falcon Leap is NATO's largest technical airborne exercise which will also include ceremonies commemorating the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Samuel Signor)]() *An Army paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division prepares to jump over Eindhoven, Netherlands, in 2024, as part of the 80th anniversary of Operation Market Garden. The paratroopers jumped from a C-130H now at Lackland Air Force Base for use in basic training. Army photo by Spc. Samuel Signor.* Future airmen will train on both the C-130s and a retired F-16 at the 737th Training Group’s Air Base Training Range. The [retired F-16 arrived at Lackland last summer. Airmen]() in BMT use the jet to learn and practice fighter-specific skills like loading bombs and missiles. As the two C-130s landed on Aug. 25, they were met, appropriately, by a campaign-hatted BMT drill instructor, whom the Air Force calls a Military Training Instructor, or MTI. Tech. Sgt. Nathaniel Brown, a master MTI with the 322nd Training Squadron, met the planes as they taxied off the base’s runway as a marshaller, guiding one into its assigned parking spot. Prior to duty as an MTI, Brown served as an aircraft crew chief who routinely marshaled their planes before and after flights. ## Author Matt White is a senior editor at Task & Purpose*.* He writes on news, people and events that affect the lives of those in the Army, Air Force and Space Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. He also helps direct and edit coverage across Task & Purpose’s newsroom. He has written widely on military aviation and mishaps, service members with unique stories, and special operations including [combat search and rescue](). Got a story to tell? You can reach Matt at [matthew.white@taskandpurpose.com]() ### Author social links [Facebook]()