Cazatou,
Unlike you I was actually still on C130's at the start of the Afghanistan war. I was operating crew on over 20 sorties into Kabul before I left in 2002.
Like you, I am puzzled as to why the crew chose to operate at low level.
We made all our approaches at night, using the Khe Sanh 12 degree glideslope with IRCM on and with armour plate on the cockpit floor and behind the pilots seat. On T/O we circled inside the defensive perimeter until F180 or above.
We all knew about fire suppressant foam and knew that it had been fitted to US and Australian Hercs for years, and wished we had it.
Until the late 80's we operated without any defences whatsoever. The first improvement (the basic SA7 IRCM) came as a result of a demand from an Army 4 Star that did not want to risk his troops going into NI. HQSTC had shown no interest until his demands had been made. The cockpit armour followed soon afterwards.
Unlike you, because I do not know why the crew chose to operate at low level, I choose not to pass judgement.
I try to separate my opinion from hard fact.
Have you ever operated in a Military Helicopter, Chinook or anything else for that matter?
Last edited by dalek; 31st Jul 2009 at 08:01.