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Fairchild KC-135 pilot reaches 5,000-hour club on deployment

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Buzanowski
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  I had a pretty good idea with only 230 hours to go that I would either hit 5,000 hours while deployed or on the way home," said the KC-135 pilot on his 21st deployment, his fifth at the Transit Center.

During Capt. Jeff Jacques' mission Aug. 1, his air crew refueled two F-15s over Afghanistan delivering a total of 7,200 gallons of fuel. In the last two months, the deployed crew has delivered more than 300,000 gallons in only 36 missions.

"I love flying," said the captain who is deployed from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash., and the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron. This is where he plans to retire -- right in his hometown of Spokane -- next summer.

Captain Jacques said when he joined the Air Force it wasn't as a pilot -- a training slot wouldn't come open for him until he had served as a logistics plans and programs officer for four years. "Flying has been a dream of mine since I was this tall," said the captain holding his hand about four feet off the ground.

But, as much as he loved the Air Force he said deployments were taking their toll and had planned to separate from the Air Force with 15 years time in service. Then 9-11 happened and he decided to stay.

The captain said his wife Stacy knows how much the milestone means to him and how much he will miss that Air Force when he retires. "I'm going to miss the people I work with. That's the one thing I'm going to miss the most -- the crew has made deployments bearable," said the father of two boys ages 16 and 13.

Mrs. Jacques is a civil servant and mechanical engineer at Fairchild. "It is a long term goal he's had and is the peak of his Air Force flying career! I think he will miss the increased flying hours and the camaraderie with his crew," said Jacques who shared Spokane is where she met, dated and married her husband.

The couple will spend their 20th wedding anniversary apart Aug. 22. Mrs. Jacques attributes getting through frequent separations and keeping their marriage strong to love, trust and common goals.