On 8 August 1975, the first of the C-130E aircraft, aptly named "Hercules", came to the City of Savannah at the international airport to replace the older C-124's.

The 158th received seven new C-130H Hercules aircraft directly from the Lockheed Factory manufactured for the unit during September and October 1981.

Several elements of the wing have been deployed throughout the region, with airmen serving in Uzbekistan, Turkey, Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.

[2] In January 2010, in response to the earthquake in Haiti, the 165th Airlift Wing placed a C-130 aircraft and crew on standby for the relief effort as ordered by the National Guard Bureau.

[3] On 25 January 2010, a small group of airmen deployed from the 165th Airlift Wing to Haiti in support of the Haitian relief efforts.

Deploying with the aircraft were more than 150 Georgia Guard airmen, including all of the wing's operations division and more than 50 percent of its maintenance department.

[6] From August 2012 until March 2013, 14 airmen from the 165th Airlift Wing's Aerial Port Squadron deployed to Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, managing passenger and cargo arrivals supporting the United States and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force – principally British forces there.