Category Archives: 153rd Airlift Wing

As members of the military, it is a time-honored tradition…

A conversation with Tech. Sgt. Mike Palmer, one of the 153rd Airlift Wing’s outstanding recruiters. We talk about his success, why the Wyoming Air National Guard is a great place to be a recruiter and how to make the transition from active to guard.  

The Wyoming National Guard is opening its doors to the…

The dining facility at the 153rd Airlift Wing re-opened after…

Saturday, members of the 153rd Airlift Wing participated in a…

When disaster strikes a small town, the National Guard is critical in its service to local first responders augmenting civilian life flight capabilities and providing immediate life saving care. Recently the Wyoming and Colorado National Guard participated in “Alpine Guard” a mass casualty exercise simulating the response to a major tornado in the small town of Fort Morgan, Colorado.

Imagine being 17 years old. You somehow find yourself in…

On Feb. 14, members of the Wyoming National Guard’s 84th…

The airlift mission is something the 153rd Airlift Wing has…

During the week of Jan. 15- 19, emergency medical responders…

An insightful and personal interview with the new 153rd Airlift Wing Commander, Col. Justin Walrath.

Listen to the new Superintendent of Recruiting and Retention, Master Sgt. Chandra Gillott share about her passion for recruiting, it’s challenges, and some of the great opportunities for new airmen in the 153rd Airlift Wing.

The Wyoming Air National Guard opens their facilities to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard after their hangar was severely damaged by hurricane Maria.

Approximately 100 airmen assigned to the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Airlift Wing deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations over the weekend.

Senior Master Sgt. Thomas Turner is a firefighter with Cheyenne Fire Rescue. During the week, he responds to fire calls and provides emergency medical assistance to the city’s residents. On drill weekend, he responds to the needs of the airmen and families of the 153rd Airlift Wing as a first sergeant.

Wyoming Air National Guard force support squadron airmen from the 153rd Airlift Wing teamed up with their 90th Missile Wing active duty counterparts to complete a week of training Aug. 7 – 11 here.
A few of the classes taught during the week included building shelters, setting up field kitchens, and search and rescue. The goal was to get the active duty FSS personnel ready for their deployment later this year by learning from WyANG airmen who recently returned from a deployment.

This is by far the coolest video you will watch today, tomorrow and the rest of the week. We promise.

Members of the Wyoming Air National Guard’s 187th Airlift and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadrons spent an afternoon here Aug. 9 to fine-tune their land and water survival skills. The 153rd Aircrew Flight Equipment instructors put the airmen through several scenarios to ensure if the aircrews did find themselves in an open water situation or other hostile environments, they would have the know-how to survive.

Ever wonder what it is like to be a navigator on a C-130, flying high above Wyoming? Take an inside look with one of the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard’s navigators, 1st Lt. Damian Hoffmann, as he plans for an air drop mission.

Throughout history, defeating a military adversary was primarily accomplished on a battlefield. We sketch a picture in our mind of military members adorned with muskets and rifles, sweat pouring down their forehead, uniform garnished in blood spatters and mud streaks as they hide in a foxhole or forge toward enemy lines, evading fire.

It hasn’t been done before May 24th’s live fire training in Casper, Wyoming, but plans are already in the works for the Camp Guernsey Fire Department and the Wyoming Air Guard’s Fire Department to train together again.

The pilot transmits a distress call to the tower to relay that his aircraft is heavily damaged. He manages a hard landing but his aircraft has lost all system power and veered off the taxiway into heavy mud. A scenario similar to this is what activates the 153rd Maintenance Group Crash Damage or Disabled Aircraft Recovery team

As traditional Air National Guard members, it can be difficult to find projects that afford the opportunity to master a trade. Recently, the ideal project landed in the laps of the civil engineer squadron thanks to a community partnership.

When you think of recruiters, a few images come to mind. Top on the list is an image of a staff sergeant or technical sergeant visiting a school during lunch or an assembly and presenting a slideshow of fun looking jobs. You may also recall recruiters handing out tri-folds during fairs or parades.

I pulled up to the parking lot of the Torrington police station which is about eighty miles northeast of Cheyenne near the Nebraska border. It is an understated brown building which shares its location with city hall. Over the glass doors in block letters reads “police station.” Officer Rebekah Miller is waiting for me in front of the doors to the station.

Upon meeting a new command chief, airmen are often unsure of what to expect and generally have questions. What kind of leader will the new chief be? What changes can we expect? As the 153rd Airlift Wing Command Chief, Chief Master Sgt. Darren Nogle is the voice of the enlisted force within the wing, and it is vital airmen have an understanding of Nogle, his command philosophies and what the future holds with him as their command chief.

Kenneth Murphy, a Korean War veteran, visited the 153rd Airlift Wing Dec. 3, to attend a ceremony thought to be in honor of his grandson, Tech. Sgt. Bryce Bishop, 187th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

A Wyoming Air National Guard T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer aircraft received a major facelift during a recent renovation.

On Nov. 1, 1996, the 242nd Air Traffic Control Flight in Spokane, Washington, was transferred and re-designated to the Wyoming Air National Guard as the 243rd Air Traffic Control Squadron.

Driving while impaired is not a permissible activity. However, 153rd Airlift Wing student flight trainees got to do this – drive a motorized vehicle, under close supervision, while under the influence of alcohol. Or at least that is what the beer goggles they wore simulated as they drove through a course dotted with orange cones.

Pilots, navigators, flight engineers and loadmasters from the 153rd Airlift Wing participated in combat and water survival refresher training at Curt Gowdy State Park, about 20 miles west of Cheyenne, Sept. 11.

Looking through pictures of Wyoming Air National Guard aircraft over the last ten years, one picture stands out. An eight year old image of a single C-130H Hercules aircraft with eight-bladed propellers parked on the ramp at dusk, foretelling the modernization of the C-130 fleet.

Wyoming Air National Guard airmen along with former unit members celebrated the 153rd Airlift Wing’s 70th anniversary this weekend. About 100 retirees attended the event.

A task force of various government agency members arrived in Saratoga Wednesday and Thursday to help local officials prevent those waters from finding a way into town. Making up a portion of that task force are members of the Wyoming National Guard.

All eight of the C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft assigned to the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard, took to the air for a historic event May 14.

When I heard the words ‘nine-one-one’ growing up, I associated them to calling first responders for help. After Sept. 11, 2001, those words morphed into ‘nine-eleven’ and took on a new meaning for me; terrorism, destruction, loss and heartbreak.

Both Col. Paul Lyman and David Herder commissioned over 20 years ago through Reserve Officer Training Corps programs and became navigators on the C-130 aircraft piloted by the Wyoming Air National Guard. Today, they have combined over 7,300 flying hours and 40 years of military service, most with the Wyoming Air National Guard.

Wyoming Air National Guard’s 153rd Security Forces Squadron conducted an active shooter scenario Dec. 18 at the Cheyenne Air National Guard base.

Aug. 17, 2014, a C-130H equipped with a Modular Airborne Firefighting System landed without functioning nose gear at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Almost 14 months later, on Oct. 13 that C-130H, tail number 1533, returned to its home at the Wyoming Air National Guard.