A320 CREW AND A FLT OF 2; MIL C130'S; ON AN AIRDROP MISSION; HAD LESS THAN LEGAL SEPARATION IN ZLA CLASS E.

Narrative

WE DEPARTED SAN ON THE BORDER DEP. AS WE APCHED APRPOX 10000 FT; ATC CALLED OUT TFC AS A C130 AT 13000 FT AT OUR 2 O'CLOCK POS; WHO WAS THE #2 MAN IN A 2-SHIP AIRDROP FORMATION. WE WERE TOLD THE FORMATION WOULD BE TURNING TO THE R SHORTLY AS WE PICKED UP THE #2 MAN VISUALLY. WE QUICKLY PASSED HIM AND WERE ABOUT 3 MI AWAY AND APPROX 2000 FT BELOW HIM. WE TOLD ATC WE HAD A VISUAL; BUT WERE GIVEN NO FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS. ATC NEXT CALLED OUT THE LEAD ACFT AT 12-1 O'CLOCK POS AND 13000 FT. WE EVENTUALLY PICKED HIM OUT VISUALLY AS ATC AGAIN SAID THEY WOULD BE TURNING R SHORTLY. WE CONTINUED TO FLY THE DEP SINCE ATC GAVE US NO OTHER INSTRUCTIONS. WE ALSO XCHKED THE TCASII; BUT GOT NO INDICATIONS THE ENTIRE TIME EVEN THOUGH IT WAS WORKING NORMALLY FOR OTHER TFC. AS WE GOT CLOSER TO THE C130 IT BECAME EVIDENT THAT WE WOULD BE CLOSER TO HIM THAN WE WOULD PREFER; SO I STARTED TO TURN THE ACFT L ABOUT 10 DEGS. WE DID THIS ABOUT THE SAME TIME ATC SAID WE COULD GO L IF WE NEEDED TO. THE WHOLE TIME WE WATCHED THE TCASII EXPECTING A TFC CALL; BUT NONE EVER CAME. WE PASSED ABOUT 1-2 MI AWAY FROM THE C130 AS WE WERE CLBING ABOVE HIM. WE WERE SURPRISED BY OUR CLOSURE RATE AND WOULD HAVE TAKEN EARLIER ACTION IF WE HAD REALIZED. WE ALSO GOT LULLED INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY EXPECTING A TCASII ADVISORY. WE DIDN'T GET CLOSE ENOUGH TO TAKE HARD EVASIVE ACTION; BUT IT WAS CLOSER THAN WE WOULD HAVE LIKED. LESSON...TRUST YOUR OWN EYES!