Tanker planners work diverse refueling operation with NATO partners

Published May 11, 2011
By 1st Lt Kathleen Ferrero
Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE -- Aerial refueling provides "the linchpin to the entire plan" in Operation Unified Protector, according to NATO air command leadership.

In what has been termed the most diverse air refueling operation in history, NATO and coalition partners utilize 13 different types of tankers to refuel more than 33 types of aircraft from 13 nations, keeping a 24-hour humanitarian shield airborne to protect Libyan civilians, said Capt. Dan Ruttenber, an OUP tanker planner.

NATO assumed overall leadership for kinetic operations in Libya March 31, when Operation Odyssey Dawn transitioned to Operation Unified Protector.

In March, the commander of Air Mobility Command's 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, Brig. Gen. Scott Goodwin, deployed as the Director of Mobility Forces for Operation Odyssey Dawn, alongside elements of his unit from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J.

General Goodwin said it "was an amazing performance," a Total Force effort in which Airmen "pulled together rapidly and seamlessly to execute a complex combat operation that went literally from a cold start to full-up operations, virtually overnight."

For both Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector, the emphasis has been on protecting the civilian population from Libyan regime ground forces.

"To do that, we needed to maximize the number of strike aircraft sorties - and that was entirely dependent on how much aerial refueling capability we could deliver on a daily basis," General Goodwin said.

"Sound planning is absolutely critical in making the maximum amount of gas available for the fight every single day."

According to the OUP tanker planner Captain Ruttenber, tanker aircraft have executed more than 950 missions and more than 6,300 refuelings.

"From AWACS and JSTARS to direct targeting and air patrol missions, very little happens out here without the benefit of air refueling. A campaign of this size and scope would be severely hindered without a robust air refueling operation," said tanker planner Maj. Kyle Minarik, a Reservist also deployed from JB MDL.

Tanker planners work with international partners at combined air operations center in Western Europe. They schedule air refueling requests on the daily Air Tasking Order; coordinate with tanker units to determine tail availability and maintenance issues; and keep eyes on what airspace is safest and most effective for air refueling operations.

It's challenging to orchestrate multinational tanker aircraft to refuel multinational receiver aircraft, not only from a physical compatibility standpoint but from a political clearance standpoint, Major Minarik said.

"Our job cannot be done without personal interaction."
So far, the team efforts have proved successful.

"Our partners were ready, willing and able to contribute. This was not about 'token' contributions," said Col. Martin Chapin, who served as one of two deputy directors of mobility forces alongside advanced planner Col. Patrick Owens, commander of the 621st Contingency Operations Support Group at JB MDL.

"We simply would not have launched nearly as many missions were it not for our fellow NATO and coalition airmen. ... There was a clear sense of unified purpose and effort at our level," Colonel Chapin said.

"It's also been satisfying to see our tanker planning efficiency improve on a daily basis," Captain Ruttenber said.

In addition to international teamwork, the Mobility Airmen credited their success to good training.

"While every contingency will be unique, I felt like my professional military education was spot on in preparing me for my role as a deputy DIRMOBFOR," Colonel Chapin said. "This experience re-solidified my belief in the value and necessity of military education, training and exercises."

One reason Colonel Chapin was chosen to assist the Operation Odyssey Dawn DIRMOBFOR is because he's already plugged into an intricate mobility network that spans across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

As the vice commander of the 521st Air Mobility Operations Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Colonel Chapin helps to oversee 12 squadrons and multiple other detachments in over 20 geographic locations that provide en route maintenance, port operations and command and control for AMC strategic airlift missions.

"We operate what are sometimes called AMC 'lily pads' that strategic airlift aircraft use to extend their global reach to literally cover the globe," Colonel Chapin said.

Airlift has also been crucial in Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector, according to Colonel Owens.

"Rapid global mobility was vitally important to the swift and sustained enforcement of UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973," Colonel Owens said. "As Mobility Airmen, we are very fortunate to have the world's most complex and robust air mobility weapon systems, resources, and processes."

International Teamwork