120th Airlift Wing nearing completion of first J-model conversion facility
The new petroleum, oil and lubricants, or POL, facility is nearing completion at the 120th Airlift Wing of the Montana Air National Guard.
It’s the first new construction dedicated to the C-130J model aircraft the wing is converting to from its current C-130H models.
The unit was selected in 2023 for eight C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.
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The 120th transitioned from fighter jets to the C-130, the first of which arrived in Great Falls in 2014.
The unit had been flying the 1970s model of the C-130 until 2021, when the unit received eight newer H models brining the average age of the planes to 1992-1993, Col. Trace Thomas, 120th commander, told City Commissioners during the summer of 2021.
In 2023, MANG’s fleet of H models were upgraded from four-blade to eight-blade propellers.
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The $33 million facility is going through final testing and is expected to be fully operational in September.
The project was coordinated by the Army Corps of Engineers and contracted to MEB Construction Group.
Once the wing transitions to the new POL facility, the current facility, which is the last underground system in the Air Force, according to wing officials, will be demolished.
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During an Aug. 7 ceremony, Col. Jason Green, 120th commander, said the wing was scheduled to complete about $400 million in military construction over the next few years as part of the C-130J model conversion.
“The authorization and development plan for the new POL complex does predate plans to convert to the C-130J Super Hercules from the C-130H Hercules. However, without infrastructure modernization efforts such as this, the 120th Airlift Wing would not meet the mission readiness and operational efficiency standards for the C-130J airframe. Because the new POL complex is critical to operate the new airframe in an efficient and highly effective manner, we consider it the first step toward converting to the C-130J,” Green told The Electric.
Master Sgt. Joe Leggett, wing fuel supervisor, told The Electric that the wing has fuel delivered, primarily from Calumet Montana, that is currently stored in the underground tanks, but will be stored in the new double-walled above-ground tanks as soon as all the final testing and system checks are completed.
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Fuel trucks then take it from the tanks to the flight line to fuel the wing’s C-130 fleet, but they’re able to fuel any aircraft, Leggett said.
The underground tanks currently have a 150,000-gallon capacity and the new ones have a 100,000-gallon capacity, Leggett said, but the new system will fill fuel trucks about two and a half times faster than the current system, increasing efficiency and readiness.
The new above-ground tanks also reduce the potential for environmental impacts in case of leaks, he said.
120th preparing for deployment, aircraft conversion [2025]
The 120th’s current fuel system is the oldest in the Air Force, Leggett said, and the last remaining underground system in the service.
The wing will continue using the old system until the new system is fully operational, then demolish and remove the current underground system, he said.
Green, the 120th commander, told The Electric that the wing’s conversion to C-130J models officially began June 1.
120th Airlift Wing upgrading C-130 fleet [2023]
The delivery of the new planes was delayed, slowing the conversion, but the first batch of new planes are expected to arrive next spring.
The 120th is currently divesting its C-130H models and the last will leave Great Falls by October, Green said.
Over the winter, some C-130J aircraft from other units will come to the 120th to assist in the conversion, but flight activity will likely decrease over the winter months, Green said.
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About 30 maintenance airmen are headed out this fall for training on the J model aircraft.
Seventeen airmen on the operations side have completed J model training and another 20 are currently training, Green said. The last aircrew will go to training in December.
Other major upcoming construction projects include an unimproved landing zone at the Great Falls International Airport.
An environmental baseline study was underway this spring to be followed by lease negotiations with the airport, with an anticipated no-cost lease amendment, according to the 120th.
Design for the project, which is expected to exceed $6 million, is about 95 percent complete and construction will be contracted out, hopefully by the end of the year, Green said.
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The 120th is also planning a new main gate entry/alignment, which is being evaluated as part of the same environmental baseline study and a Montana Department of Transportation analysis is underway.
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Project completion is expected for 2027-2028. It’s expected to exceed $6 million and is currently funded for design, according to the Guard.
The 120th is scheduled to host the Roar Over the Rockies airshow in August 2027 featuring the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels.
*Photo by The Electric
