Detachment 'S' was a loosely formed task force that conducted air transport operations in Vietnam during, circa April 1975. It was primarily a humanitarian assistance mission, providing food to refugees on the island of Phu Quoc, but it also conducted evacuations from Phan Rang, Operation Babylift, and evacuated embassy officials from Saigon. Ian 'Scooter' Scott was involved in some of these missions, including an Operation Babylift sortie. In this episode Scooter details his exploits as part of Detachment 'S' and relates highlights from his long career in RAAF air mobility and on RAAF C-130s - including as Commanding Officer 37 Squadron, Officer Commanding 84 Wing and Commander Air Lift Group.

Air Force safety systems evolved through the 1990s-present day. This journey included major shifts in policy that led the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to the current airworthiness system that oversights C-130 operations. Dave 'DT' Turner was a C-130H navigator and held many safety roles during his long career in the Royal Australian Navy and RAAF. In this episode, DT recounts the pros and cons of the various safety policies, along with touching on operations he flew during his career.

Shark 02 crashed on the island of Nias in 2005, resulting in 9 fatalities. Scott Olsen was a C-130H and J loadmaster, and in this episode, he recounts the repatriation mission that ensued, along with a rundown of his career.

Nicknames are rife in Australian culture; particularly in the Royal Australian Air Force. This episode of Workhorse dives into nicknames used by the RAAF C-130 community (aircrew, maintenance and support staff).

Tony Hall (Hally, or 'Tony Hall from Australia') and Graham Johnson (Johno 1, or Kramer) join me (K9) in presenting the top 100 nicknames and spinning tales about the nicknames and how people got them.

WARNING: Many nicknames came from an era when political correctness was not a thing. This podcast episode is decidedly un-PC and contains explicit language. Don't listen if you're offended by bigoted language and swearing.

Royal Australian Air Force C-130s participated in courses run by the US Advanced Airlift Tactical Training Center (AATTC) to hone their skills in combat environments. The course developed skills in airdrop, low-level flying, and threat avoidance. Michael 'Gus' Garside captained a 36SQN C-130H crew on this course in June 1998, and his crew experienced a double-engine failure during one of the sorties at AATTC. In this episode of Workhorse, Gus recounts the flight, along with highlights from his RAAF career as a flying instructor and C-130 crewmember.

Ash Pendergast had a long association with the Royal Australian Air Force's 36 Squadron where he was a Qualified Flying Instructor (QFI); took part in original NVG trials; and was a Flight Commander. Ash recalls these roles and his RAAF career in this episode.

In mid-March 1997, the yacht Queen Charlotte was being skippered from New Zealand to Japan by Australian Bob Cornell, with four passengers. On 19 March, the yacht was located approximately 600 nm east of Cairns when it ran into Cyclone Justin and its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was activated. In response, Ben Charters and his crew from 37 Squadron flew A97-181 on a search-and-rescue mission. This episode details that mission and the consequent engine fire that caused the crew to believe they would have to ditch in the cyclone. Ben also recounts his career with some focus on his time as a flying instructor.

This episode features a wide-ranging discussion of the flight engineer category and its place on the C-130 Hercules. Tony Hall also covers his operational C-130 experience, along with his transition onto Caribous and then as a Loadmaster on C-130Js. The discussion ranges into:

• RAAF B-707 operations based in Kyrgyzstan (where Tony was an Operations Officer)
• Impact of the Safety system on Flight Engineer authorisations
• The latter years of C-130H operations in the RAAF
• RAAF consideration of having a FLTENG on the C=130J
• Demise of the FLTENG mustering
• Transition to Loadmaster