440th Airlift Wing Takes Final Flight on Pope Army Airfield

FAYETTEVILLE- The final C-130 Hercules aircraft made its final run Wednesday morning at Fort Bragg after transporting paratroopers for the last seven years.

The 440th Airlift Wing is deactivating after establishing itself on Bragg in the 1940s and training paratroopers ever since.

At one time, the airlift wing homed about 1,200 citizen airmen and had 12 C-130s.

Since 2014, the wing has undergone a large-scale contraction in personnel with manpower decreasing to less than 400 airmen.

The wing is expected to be fully inactivated by the end of September.