Members of the 451st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, the blended C-130J maintenance unit at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, began a formal training exchange program on 15 April 2012 with their KC-130J counterparts from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352 (VMGR-352), which is deployed to Afghanistan from MCAS Miramar, California. The maintainers had been informally sharing tools, borrowing parts, and even offering advice to each other and both sides wanted to increase communication to learn more about their Super Hercules counterparts. SMSgt. Rodney Jones, the 451st EAMXS superintendent initiated the formal training program. Although the airframes are nearly identical, maintainers found that their work center organization, job positions, operating procedures, and evaluations were significantly different.
