130th Airlift Wing Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

New Guard Air Chief Flying Into Role

At the end of July, newly promoted Brig. Gen. David Cochran assumed command of the West Virginia Air National Guard. He is the Assistant Adjutant General – Air and he is the second African American to hold that position in the state’s history.

Cochran is a graduate of the U.S Air Force Academy and went on to become a pilot. Originally from Virginia, he joined the West Virginia Air National Guard in 1998.

Cochran served the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg in numerous leadership capacities before taking over as the Assistant Adjutant General – Air for the entire state.

He spoke with Eric Douglas about his new position.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Douglas: Let’s talk about who you are, where you came from.

Brig. Gen. David Cochran, Assistant Adjutant General – Air for the West Virginia National Guard.

Cochran: I’m Brigadier General, recently promoted, David Cochran. I kind of consider myself a West Virginian because I’ve been working with the West Virginia National Guard for so long but I’m actually a Virginian. I grew up in central Virginia, Cumberland County, Virginia. Post high school, I joined the Air Force, went through the Air Force Academy, actually. And once I got my commission with the Air Force, I was lucky enough that they sent me to pilot training. I did about 10 years of active duty in the Air Force, and then I became a member of the West Virginia Air National Guard.

Douglas: You’ve flown 7,000-plus hours in cargo planes and heavy lift aircraft.

Cochran: Exactly. So my whole Air Force career has been in mobility type airplanes. So cargo aircraft. And I’ve been fortunate, mostly through the guard experience, that I’ve had a chance to fly a few different airplanes, which has been very exciting.

Douglas: Tell me about that. Tell me about some of those different planes you fly.

Cochran: When I started my active duty career, I finished pilot training and went to Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, home of the C-130. So I cut my teeth on the C-130, which is a tactical cargo transport platform. And of course, we were very busy through the ‘90s just as we are now. So throughout my career, we’ve been very busy with the business of airlift.

Once I got done with the C-130s and Little Rock, I went on to Andrews Air Force Base as an active duty pilot, and I flew a C-21, which most folks would recognize as a Learjet. So I did that and then post that tour, I converted to the guard, where we were flying C-130s, again, right here in West Virginia. And then of course at Martinsburg, where I joined the guard in West Virginia, we flew the C-130, went on to the gigantic C-5 aircraft and currently they’re flying the C-17 at Martinsburg.

Douglas: Let’s talk about your civilian career. As I understand it, you’re planning to continue with your civilian career as well.

Cochran: So the guard is made up, as you know, of citizen airmen and soldiers. The nation’s reserve component, the National Guard here in West Virginia, is no different. So the majority of our airmen, and our soldiers are citizen airmen and soldiers, which means they have some other career that they’re probably pursuing. And they’re doing their National Guard duty and service as a second activity. I’m no different. I am a drill status guardsman. My full-time job is with United Airlines. My part-time military duty is as the Assistant Adjutant General for Air here in West Virginia. So I have both and I pride myself on that, too, because I think all citizen airmen, especially in our West Virginia National Guard, need to have a visible reminder that they can achieve and do what they want to do and still make it to the highest level within the organization.

Douglas: You have flown into combat situations. Let’s talk about that just a little bit. Where have you been that people were less than happy to see you arriving?

Cochran: Well, my career started with the first Gulf War. I was in training at the time, so I missed it, but post-Gulf War we were right over there, and the supporting roles of all the stuff that went on there. And it really has continued. So I can go through the European conflict with Bosnia. Obviously, we went back into Iraq, into Afghanistan. So the West Virginia National Guard has been a part of all that. And so have I.

But some of the most rewarding things that we also get to do in the mobility side of the Air National Guard is the humanitarian missions. The earthquake in my young career. We were helping with Somalia and food relief. Of course, it’s a different environment now. But whether it be food relief efforts, disaster assistance, whether it be flooding from hurricanes, earthquakes, that type of response, that human humanitarian mission is a rewarding part of what we support in addition to the state mission that we have here. Because you know, West Virginia is always in need, during a rainy season, of guardsmen to come and support. So those are some of the more rewarding missions when you actually get to help your local community and participate and maybe a government or a state response effort for some type of humanitarian relief or effort.

Douglas: In the last several years, the guard has been extremely active in West Virginia. Do you see that kind of thing continuing?

Cochran: That’s going to be enduring. That’s my role right now to make sure that we have citizen airmen and soldiers that are ready, capable and trained to support our stated mission and our national mission.

That’s always going to be a part of what we do and a perfect example is the state pandemic response effort, and that’s ongoing to today. So that’s always going to be, there’s always going to be some contingency or emergent crisis that’s going to require our guardsmen to do what we’ve trained to do.

Douglas: One of the things that was mentioned in the press release about your new role is that you’re the second African American to assume this position. First off, is that something that enters your mind, and I guess the second question would be, are you looking forward to a day when we don’t feel it’s necessary to mention that?

Cochran: I do. I do look forward to that day. And I normally don’t think about it unless it’s something that is brought to my attention. Diversity is important and inclusion important. And it’s one of the top priorities for the West Virginia National Guard, as well. And it’s a priority for me to make sure that we represent our population. There’s talent at every level, and through every culture. So my goal is to make sure that we are diverse, we are inclusive, and we are inspiring to everybody, because we want to have the best and the brightest of our youth today come and join us in the West Virginia National Guard.

Douglas: Tell me something that nobody else knows about you.

Cochran: No one knows this because it just recently happened. But they don’t know that I can actually cane a rocking chair.

Douglas: That’s a unique skill.

Cochran: I’m not sure how skilled I am at it. Time will tell how it lasts.

Douglas: So in all your spare time between flying for United and flying for the guard, now assuming command here, you’ve taken up caning rocking chairs?

Cochran: I took up caning a single chair, and I will probably not do anymore. But I say that to say I like working with my hands. If I can get into the garage, if I can pull out a tool, if I can do something that that gives me the satisfaction of a little mission completion, which sometimes you need that too because a lot of times when you’re doing things at a strategic level, it may take years to get something to fruition.

I do tend to pick up little projects. I still cut the grass. I don’t even make my son cut the grass. I get out and cut the grass because I like to do the little things to stay involved with using my hands and doing some things around the house and little projects working on cars. And not a lot of people know that.

Qatar Military Officials Set to Visit West Virginia

Updated on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 11:55 a.m.

West Virginia officials welcomed a military contingent from Qatar as part of a security and economic partnership Monday.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said in a statement the Qatar officials toured the West Virginia National Guard’s 130th Air Wing in Charleston.

The visit is part of the National Guard’s State Partnership Program. Gov. Jim Justice also will host the group at the state Capitol.

The statement says the partnership will help train Qatar security forces in preparation for hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament.

From Sen. Joe Manchin, after the meeting Monday: “I was so honored to finally welcome Brig Gen Yousef Al Kuwari, Col Mohamed Al Manai, Col Khalid Al Naimi, and Ms. Sarah El-Zeini to West Virginia today to discuss our new partnership and future economic opportunities for our state and Qatar. I worked with the Department of Defense and the West Virginia National Guard to secure our State Partnership Program with Qatar and this visit has been a long time in the works. I believe very strongly this partnership will blossom and lead to economic opportunities that will help diversify our economy and I look forward to working together.”

The statement says Qatar has invested $50,000 in Reconnecting McDowell. That project led by the American Federation of Teachers aim to improve opportunities in impoverished McDowell County.

Air National Guard Frequent Flyer to War Zones

As he stood inside a C-130 cargo plane on a tarmac at a West Virginia airport, Chief Master Sgt. Dave Boyles recalled the times he had been strapped in at his tail-window post watching rocket fire rip through the night skies of war-wracked Iraq and Afghanistan.

Boyles is a member of the 130th Airlift Wing of the National Guard, a branch of the military perhaps better known for its role in responding to natural disasters. Since 9/11 and the launch of President George W. Bush’s war on terrorism, however, Guard units have been deployed more often to combat zones — a trend that appears likely to continue as the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq drag on and the Pentagon struggles to reverse previous cuts to Army forces.

“We’ve had people gone every year since the global war on terrorism” began, said the 130th’s Capt. Holli Nelson.

In August, President Donald Trump announced that he would add another 3,500 troops to the 11,000 Americans already stationed in Afghanistan. That likely means the burden on National Guard units isn’t likely to abate anytime soon.

The 130th Airlift is one of the Air National Guard’s 90 wings, which are based in every state and U.S. territory. It comprises 300 full-time personnel and 1,000 part-time or traditional Guardsmen who can be activated and deployed on short notice, Nelson said. Six of the 130th Airlift Wing’s eight planes have deployed to southwestern Asia this year flying missions to Iraq and Afghanistan, she said.

“This unit is the tip of the spear,” Boyles said. “It’s not just the planes that go. It’s everybody that goes. It’s the civil engineers. It’s the security forces. It’s maintenance. It’s the administrative parts.”

Altogether, 7,390 Guard airmen nationally were deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq last year, and 6,578 so far this year, said spokesman Sgt. Michael Houk.

A 2009 study by the Rand Corp. concluded that use of the National Guard and reserve units steadily increased after the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, and was expected to continue throughout the war on terrorism. The study noted that the military was taking steps to make deployments more predictable and limited as the guard’s role continued to expand.

The evolution from reserve unit to an active player in war zones first began with “total force” integration in the mid-1970s, a process by which the Air National Guard’s duties began to mirror those of the active Air Force, Boyles noted. He enlisted in the Air Force right out of high school, working in security, and later joined the Guard full time to become a loadmaster, responsible for the loading and transporting of air cargo.

“It’s been a wild ride,” he said, standing in the plane on the tarmac outside the 130th Airlift Wing’s base, which shares a runway with the commercial airport in Charleston. “You get shot at often,” Boyles said. “It tests your mettle.”

But Boyles, one of the 130th’s most-deployed airmen, said he has enjoyed every minute of his duty. The unit has had only one plane hit, and no casualties from either rockets or bullets, he said. Boyles is facing mandatory retirement in early November at age 60 after more than three decades as a loadmaster, but the tradition will continue: His son is now a firefighter in the Guard.

Boyle recounted some experiences that he still remembers vividly: training flights in Arizona canyons with tight 60-degree turns and heavy G forces, followed by steep climbs and deep dives over mountains; flying at night in the Middle East and western Asia without lights to avoid being shot at, and using goggles to see by starlight.

He recalled landing in the war-wracked Balkans during a lull in the shooting to deliver relief supplies; conducting air drops of food and supplies to U.S. combat bases; evacuating wounded soldiers; opening the plane doors through which paratroopers exited; and dropping information leaflets, soccer balls and candy to Afghan children.

In 1991, Boyles was on one of the first Guard planes to fly into an airfield in Kuwait that had been captured by the Iraqis, where night storms and clouds had them flying low. Noting that oil well fires were burning below, he remarked, “When we popped through the clouds it looked like … we opened up the gates of hell.”

Guard members also have continued their traditional duties as responders to natural disasters, sending more than 1,200 personnel to the recent Southern and Caribbean hurricanes and more than 300 to western wildfires, Houk said. Boyles’ domestic missions have included ferrying Hurricane Katrina evacuees from New Orleans to Atlanta and flying emergency personnel into West Virginia to deal with last year’s deadly flooding.

Boyle still lives in Hurricane, 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the air base.

West Virginia Guard Unit Flying to Puerto Rico

The West Virginia Air National Guard’s 130th Airlift Wing has sent a transport plane and crew from Charleston to support relief efforts in storm-damaged Puerto Rico.

According to the Air National Guard, the C-130 Hercules plane is transporting equipment from New York to Georgia before departing for the Caribbean island on Thursday.

Col. Randy Huffman, vice wing commander of the 130th Airlift Wing, says they’re helping in the efforts for American citizens in desperate need.

Additionally, the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg is also transporting supplies and has airmen in Puerto Rico and Georgia helping with airfield operations.

The U.S. territory’s governor said Tuesday the official death toll from Hurricane Maria increased to 34.

Gov. Ricardo Rossello also said he believes the hurricane that struck on Sept. 20 with winds over 150 mph caused $90 billion in damage across the island.

First Woman Brigadier General in West Virginia's History Named

The first female brigadier general in West Virginia’s history has officially been named.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports a ceremony was held Saturday to promote Brig. Gen. Paige B. Hunter to the senior rank at the 130th Airlift Wing at the McLaughlin Air National Guard Base in Charleston.

Hunter’s father, retired Brig. Gen. Bob Parish, and her husband, retired Lt. Col. Rick Hunter, pinned the stars onto her uniform.

Hunter thanked her family and the people that she worked with for helping her along the way.

She began her military career in 1983 when she was sworn in as a second lieutenant. From there, she worked her way up, serving in Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield and eventually earning the rank of colonel and now brigadier general.