The last aircraft assigned to the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing -- a KC-10 Extender -- takes off from a non-disclosed base in Western Europe on Nov. 8, 2011. The KC-10, from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., departed the European deployed theater of operations. The 313th AEW provided air refueling assets to NATO during Operation Unified Protector -- the United Nations' mandated mission to protect citizens of Libya. The operation concluded Oct. 31, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Andra Higgs)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
A KC-10 Extender, the last aircraft deployed to the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing in the European theater of operations, sits on the ramp at a non-disclosed base in Western Europe on Nov. 7, 2011. The KC-10, assigned to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., departed the European theater on Nov. 8, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Andra Higgs)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
A KC-10 Extender, deployed to the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing in the European theater of operations, sits on the ramp at a non-disclosed base in Western Europe on Nov. 7, 2011. The KC-10, assigned to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., departed the European theater on Nov. 8, 2011. The 313th AEW provided air refueling assets to NATO during Operation Unified Protector, the United Nations' mandated mission to protect citizens of Libya. The operation concluded Oct. 31, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Andra Higgs)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res
The last aircraft assigned to the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing -- a KC-10 Extender -- is parked on the flightline at a non-disclosed base in Western Europe on Nov. 7, 2011. The KC-10, from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., departed the European deployed theater of operations Nov. 8, 2011. The 313th AEW provided air refueling assets to NATO during Operation Unified Protector -- the United Nations' mandated mission to protect citizens of Libya. The operation concluded Oct. 31, 2011. (U.S. Air Force photo/Maj. Andra Higgs)

Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

Photo essay: Last aircraft departs 313th Air Expeditionary Wing

Published Nov. 9, 2011
By Maj. Andra Higgs
313th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

WESTERN EUROPE -- A KC-10 Extender deployed to the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing at a non-disclosed base here departed Nov. 8 to return back to the United States.

Airmen serving in the 313th AEW came from myriad places, but served as "one team."

Those Airmen, and the planes they use for air refueling and airlift for Operation Unified Protector, were not only active duty, but also from the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve -- a Total Force effort, an April 2011 Air Mobility Command news report states. It was an effort that supported the international response to the unrest in Libya and enforcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 of a no-fly zone over Libya.

Initially, the operation for the no-fly zone was called Operation Odyssey Dawn. As it transitioned to a full-fledged, NATO-led effort, it became Operation Unified Protector. OUP officially ended on Oct. 31, 2011.