An AC-130U Gunship from the 4th Special Operations Squadron jettisons flares. (Senior Airman Julianne Showalter/Air Force) The last time I flew on a C-130 Hercules aircraft was from RAF Mildenhall, England, to Diyarbakir Air Base, Turkey. It was not a very comfortable flight. But the C-130 is not necessarily built for passenger comfort. The last time I wrote about that magnificent aircraft was not a happy occasion. It was about the tragic May 2018 crash of a Puerto Rico Air National Guard C-130 in Georgia that killed all nine airmen aboard the aircraft. Today is a happier occasion, but first s…