Thanx!
During my conundrum to post my question last night-
i was watching those on youtube or somewhere .
Pretty impressive !
They had rockets all over the thing so as to almost hover, for "air breaks" and for launch.

I did not work on the C-130s until the mid to late '80s and they were all special ops versions that were reconfigured and reengined...so not an expert on the regular "garbage haulers" (what we called the plain Jane versions). Great aircraft in my humble opinion. I did not fly aircrew a lot, but when I did, it was amazing with what the aircrew was able to do with that plane. It was like flying in a schoolbus with a giant engine...and seemed that all laws of physics were suspended as they came down hard and fast and slammed it into a tiny little, rough runway or took off from the same doing evasive maneuvers. These always made me a little sick as they where like the worst roller coaster ever...plus the A/C cut out during "emergency" maneuvers and it got really hot and the back end where I sat filled with the smell of burning rubber, exhaust (I guess) and urine (until someone threw up)...then that. It always felt like we were crashing to me. The back end was always the worst place to be during these maneuvers and the crew swore that they would make me throw up...but they never did.

We seemed to get some of the top pilots (or maybe they were just cowboys), but they told me that any landing was just a "controlled crash" and flew that way. The first time I flew (Can't remember if was Italy or Spain as we went to both that trip), they were practicing "Combat touch and go's" where we dropped rapidly from pretty high altitude, touched the runway (bounced a couple times and then climbed away as rapidly as possible to altitude while turning sharply to the right or left over the ocean to come back and do it again. Finally, one of the "regular crew" threw up and called up front and told them to stop because "someone was sick"...when we landed, the guys up front were all laughing when we got off and told me they were sorry to make me sick, but the Lt (who was a regular crewmember) then got off all green and admitted he was the one and I got the last laugh.

I did work on the F-4 early in my career and it did have chaff & flare dispensers similar in many ways to the photo of the C-130 version above. We had photoflash cartridges installed in the RF-4C that were like a giant flash bulb for the camera's...but the big flash made them very easy to shoot down as they flew right down on the deck at almost treetop level...so eventually, they just went to infrared and radar mapping systems at night and went with chaff/flare.

Those Navy aviation guys sure seem to take a lot of photos of themselves...pretending/wishing they were in the Air Force. But, I can really blame them.

I just want to know when the Navy started operating B2s

We were just joking. I don't think anyone who really served resents anyone else who did...or the service they were in.

I have never heard of a "field promotion" in the AF (maybe WW2 or Korea). I have also never heard of one for an officer in any service.

I did just read that they just gave A1C Spencer Stone, who was the guy (hero) who recently stopped the terrorist attack on the train bound for Paris, is being promoted from airman first class (E-3) to staff sergeant (E-5) for that. I was pretty annoyed by that...and I imagine a lot of guys in their 5th tour of getting shot at were as well. Just the medals he got put him far ahead of most for promotion.

There's an aerial range somewhere between L.A. and Phoenix and occasionally they like to play with chaff. For a while the meteorologists in Phoenix would freak out every time because it was a huge radar return that came out of nowhere and then dissipated quickly.

What I do know is this supposed C130 pilot had seen more action then a special forces soldier.
The part that REALLY caught my atn. was the story of doing the 600 knots and out smarting rockets.
I think he might have exaggerated that a little...
This will be EZ , i will just ask him "lets compare DD214 s " See what he says....
He says he was stationed in Guam ..I am not sure why he would fly a C130 from there when There were two real big Air Force bases in country.
Near water.
Not like Phu Cat or bear Cat. (which I think were AF bases If I remeber correct) which were way inland.
We did Fly into Cam Ranh bay once....
It was pretty unbelievable compared what we had been used to.
Anyway Thats all i know about that and i can prove it.