An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst KC-10 flight engineer supports deployed air refueling ops

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
As a KC-10 Extender flight engineer, Staff Sgt. Kaamil Coston has a direct impact on air refueling operations for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

The KC-10 is an Air Mobility Command advanced tanker and cargo aircraft designed to provide increased global mobility for U.S. armed forces. Although the KC-l0's primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of a tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters and simultaneously carry the fighter support personnel and equipment on overseas deployments. The KC-10 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.

Sergeant Coston, a seven-and-a-half-year veteran of the Air Force, is deployed to a non-disclosed location in Southwest Asia with the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. Deployed from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., the Staten Island, N.Y., native said that as the flight engineer, he is the systems expert for the aircraft.

"We can get alerted at odd hours of the night when we're deployed," Sergeant Coston said. "Once we get to base operations before a mission, its starts with about 40 minutes of mission planning. Then I step to the jet and perform a pre-flight check."

It's during the pre-flight operations where Sergeant Coston's skills are especially significant. "I ensure the jet's operating systems are working correctly and there aren't any non-flyable discrepancies with it," he said.

The pre-flight inspection of a KC-10 includes an in-depth external look at the aircraft as well as internal checks, to include flight controls, hydraulics and various other components.

"Once the pre-flight is completed, I'll calculate take-off numbers for the pilots and run a 'before take-off' checklist for the pilots," Sergeant Coston said. 'Once it's time for us to take off on our mission and we're on the runway, I set the engine throttles to the proper settings and off we go."

Sergeant Coston's flight engineer duties continue when the KC-10 is airborne as well.

"Once we're in the air, I manage various aircraft systems and components to include fuel, electrics, hydraulics, air conditioning and pressurization of the aircraft," Sergeant Coston said. "I have to do all these tasks in addition to backing up the pilots on correct information during our mission. I also work with the boom operator to off-load fuel during air refueling missions."

Sergeant Coston said he knows every time he and his fellow KC-10 crew members go out on a mission they are making a difference for the military forces on the ground.

"It's very important to have my career field in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility," Sergeant Coston said. "There are a lot of fighters and different aircraft in the air over Iraq and Afghanistan, most of which require long missions and only have limited amounts of fuel on board. None of those planes would be able to stay aloft for as long as they could to support our troops on the ground without the KC-10 Extender in the air refueling them to keep the fight going."

It's through his deployed duties where Sergeant Coston says he's often reminded of how proud he is to be a U.S. Air Force Airman.

"I'm very proud to serve in our nation's military," Sergeant Coston said. "In a sense, I feel distinguished amongst others in that I get to do something unique as a flight engineer. I get to do something that not a lot of people can say they've accomplished."

Sergeant Coston said he tries to look at deployments as a chance to travel and experience other cultures.

"Deployments can be a good time and a good experience, but after several weeks, it does start to get repetitive," he said. "You just have to find ways to make it more exciting. But what could be more exciting than flying over the snow-capped mountains of Afghanistan? That's what I get to do as a flight engineer."

The staff sergeant also said he is proud of where he is from and knows that he'll always remember his time deployed as a time of honor to fulfill his role serving.

"I'll always cherish the time I've spent as a military member," Sergeant Coston said. "I'll always be a part of that unique group of people who answered the call to fight our nation's fight."

The 908th EARS is a part of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing. The 380th AEW is comprised of four groups and 12 squadrons and the wing's deployed mission includes air refueling, surveillance, and reconnaissance in support of overseas contingency operations in Southwest Asia.