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File: 120596_aacmu_01.txtPART TWO LESSONS LEARNED A. OBSERVATION: The SCNS modified aircraft proved their worth. This was the perfect terrain environment for their employment. Tbe lack of geo- graphical pointS and navigation aids made the SCNS exactly what was needed. A SCNs wih GBS update would be ideal for tbe desert environment. RECOMMENDATION: Continue to modify all C-l3O aircraft with SCNS. acquisition of a portable style GPS would greatly enhance the ability and precision of navigating to an isolated drop zone. At least consider ac- quiring a small number of GPS sets to use with lead aircraft. B. OBSERVATION: MAC C-l30s have no self-protection capability. Flight decks had no armor plate and crews did not possess adequate personal pro- tection. Aircrews often used the "old style" flak jacket to sit on (not comfortable) and some crew members wore the flak jacket under the survival vest - this was cumbersome and made it difficult to quickly react. While the Army did an admirable job of sweeping our ingress routes, there is always a real possibiIity tbat some threats may have been missed. RECOMMENDATION: Develop a lightweight armor plating for C-130s that can be locally attached when the situation requires. Acquire state-of-the art Kevlar-type body armor for aircrews to use. Investigate combining a survival vest with a flak vest as one piece. C. OBSERVATION: Communication required onboard equipment which was often unusable or not installed. Some aircrews were unfamiliar with the equipment and often confused about which codes to use. [(b)(1)sec(b)(4)]
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