Mobility Airmen keep steady air refueling pace in 2010 for deployed ops

Published Jan. 31, 2011
By Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, the pace in the air refueling business for mobility Airmen remained steady throughout 2010.

According to statistics from U.S. Air Forces Central's Combined Air Operations Center in Southwest Asia, air refueling aircraft offloaded more than 1.05 billion (1,050,000,000) pounds of fuel to more than 82,000 aircraft in 2010 in the USCENTCOM area of responsibility. That's an average of more than 87.5 million pounds of fuel off-loaded every month.

Additionally, 2010 was the third straight year that mobility Airmen had topped the 1-billion-plus pounds of fuel off-loaded - there were 1.1 billion pounds off-loaded in 2008 and over 1.07 billion pounds in 2009, statistics show. It was also the third straight year where more than 80,000 aircraft were refueled - 86,288 in 2008, 82,095 in 2009 and 82,603 in 2010.

"Tanker support is essential to effects-based combat operations," said Maj. John Kelley, Air Refueling Control Team Chief for the CAOC's Air Mobility Division in a September 2010 report. He added in the report that tankers are vital, because they increase fighter aircraft endurance by allowing longer aircraft loiter time without landing for ground refueling.

AFCENT statistics also show there were 6,316 close-air support missions for operations New Dawn and Enduring Freedom in 2010. "Close air support and reconnaissance aircraft depend on tanker missions, in particular, to provide the ground commanders' desired combat effects," Major Kelley said.

Throughout 2010, those who fly the air refueling aircraft such as the KC-10 Extender and the KC-135 Stratotanker, indicated they were proud to support the busy operations pace.

"As a KC-10 co-pilot it is my duty, along with my fellow flight crew members, to fly the KC-10 Extender into the combat area of operations delivering much needed fuel to the fighters who protect friendly coalition forces on the ground such as in Afghanistan," said 1st Lt. Matthew Simpkins, who deployed to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron at a non-disclosed base in Southwest Asia in early 2010. He was deployed from Air Mobility Command's 9th ARS, 60th Air Mobility Wing, at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.

"On average, we fly three to four times a week amassing around 30 hours of flight time," Lieutenant Simpkins said.

From the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing's 340th EARS at another non-disclosed Southwest Asia base, Senior Airman Drew Kueffler, a KC-135 Stratotanker in-flight refueling journeyman, said the teamwork an aircrew develops in supporting deployed refueling effort is critical to success.

"We have to have a real tight-knit relationship because when we get in the air...we have to be able to depend on one another," Airman Kueffler said in a July 2010 AFCENT report. The boom operator was deployed from AMC's 22nd Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kan. "Basically, the whole time we're (deployed), we're a three-person crew. So even on our off-duty time, we're together."

Regardless of where tanker Airmen serve, seemingly everyone involved with the deployed air refueling mission in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility say they know they are making a difference.

"As a KC-10 pilot over here, we support Operation New Dawn and Operation Enduring Freedom plus other contingency operations," said Capt. Wes Spurlock, a KC-10 pilot who deployed twice in 2010 to the 908th EARS from the 9th ARS at Travis AFB. "I know my job has an effect on the war effort on a daily basis -- and that is helping save lives."

(Mr. Roger Drinnon, AMC Public Affairs,and Staff Sgt. Kali L. Gradishar, AFCENT Public Affairs, contributed to this story.)