The sound can be deafening if you're not used to them, but for Mansfielders, the roar overhead from the C-130 Hercules airplanes flying across Richland County, will be a welcoming sound and sight.

  A pair of the cargo aircraft landed at the 179th Airlift Wing at Mansfield Lahm Airport Friday night, making their way from a national guard base in Alaska.

  Mansfield airlift wing commander Colonel Gary McCue watched, as did dozens of others, as the planes taxied down the runway.

  The Secretary of the U.S. Air Force announced in March about the arrival of eight of the C-130-H aircraft to Mansfield and Colonel McCue says it will also mean more jobs at the 179th.

  The C-130 Hercules primarily performs the tactical portion of the airlift mission and are capable of operating from rough, dirt strips.

  They are the prime transport for airdropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.

  The C-130-H operates worldwide throughout the U.S. Air Force, fulfilling a wide range of missions for both stateside and overseas operations.