As the Great Falls community celebrates Memorial Day this weekend with ceremonies, camping and cookouts, about 150 airmen are en route to Africa for a few months.

The group left in waves with mostly cargo and a few airmen departing Friday on the unit’s C-130s and the bulk of the airmen left Saturday morning.

At 5 a.m. May 23, airmen were loading their bags, equipment and supplies into the back of a few C-130s.

Families and other unit members gathered in the flight operations building to see off the first group of airmen as the sun rose.

The deployment isn’t expected to affect the 120th Airlift Wing’s conversion to the new C-130J aircraft set to begin this fall.

120th preparing for deployment, aircraft conversion

The airmen are headed to the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility. AFRICOM is responsible for all U.S. military operations, exercises, and security cooperation on the African continent, its island nations and surrounding waters, except Egypt, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

For Lt. Col. Ben Tougas, it will be his ninth deployment.

Tougas is the expeditionary squadron commander for the deployment.

The airmen will be supporting U.S. allies in crisis response and intertheater logistics, the C-130 navigator said.

Tougas has been in the Guard for 20 years and he said deploying gives them a sense of pride as they’ve dedicated their lives to the mission and service.

Guard members from units across the country are augmenting the group, he said, and a lot of young airmen on their first deployment.

It’s a sacrifice, Tougas said, leaving their families at home but the airmen are dedicated to their mission and service.

Deploying as they prepare for the conversion to the new C-130J model, which requires training and construction on base, is a challenge, Tougas said, but they’ll “adapt and overcome as needed.”

Gen. Buel Dickson, the assistant adjutant general for the Air National Guard in Montana, told The Electric in 2023 that the new planes will ensure the unit’s longevity for at least 15 years with a single airframe.

He said that the conversion will reduce some positions within the air and maintenance crews, but those airmen will be moved to other positions within the unit.

It will be the first time in MANG’s history that they have an entire fleet of new airplanes, Dickson said in 2023, and the new planes will integrate better with the Air Force when the unit deploys and for domestic operations.

The new planes have different engines and avionics than the model the unit is currently flying so crews will go for training at Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas, Dickson said.

One of the positions that transitions to the new aircraft without too many changes is loadmaster.

Senior Master Sgt. Steven Jager is one of those loadmasters and said they’ll stay engaged during their deployment to be prepared for that shift.

He’s been with the Guard for 23 years and was previously in avionics, going through several aircraft conversions at the 120th, first the F-16 to the F-15s, then retrained as a loadmaster on the C-130.

This will be Jager’s six deployment and each comes with its own challenges.

He’s looking forward to watching some of the younger airmen he’s trained and mentored showcase their skills while deployed.

But it can be tough on the families and he’ll be leaving behind his wife and two sons, ages 13 and 7.

The family is accustomed to deployments and they’ve talked about it quite a bit going into this trip, but it can still be tough on the families so he’s grateful for the support from the wing while airmen are deployed.

When he first deployed, technology wasn’t as great and they had limited phone calls with lags each time someone spoke. Now, they can communicate by cell phone and email to keep in touch with the family asking how their day was, Jager said, and “it’s always great to get a care package.”

The kids keep busy during the summer, but he does miss some things, so it’s their tradition to plan a big trip for the end of each deployment for them all to look forward to.