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The KC-130J is the indispensable backbone to USMC operations. Not only does it support the other core aviation elements – through re-fueling and carrying support elements – but provides the USMC with the independence other services do not have from the need to rely on USAF lift. With the emphasis on agile combat employment for the USAF in terms of crisis, the availability of USAF lift for other services is limited. The USMC understands this and has prioritized their own lift and support systems complementary to what the USAF could provide. The KC-130J is both tanker and lifter in its basic mission support and has evolved to play other mission with the Harvest Hawk variant, which is suggestive in my view of what air lifters, both the currently...