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  • A KC-46 Pegasus assigned to McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., approaches a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., for a refueling, Jan. 30, 2020.

    Delivering excellence: MacDill boom operators train for perfection

    There’s a saying in the Air Force about refueling aircraft, something along the lines of nothing accomplishes mission success without tanker aircraft gas. This saying rings true in Tampa. Refueling aircraft such as MacDill Air Force Base’s KC-135 Stratotanker are vital to mission success and keeping other military aircraft flying all over the globe.
  • Staff Sgt. Leonard James, 436th Logistic Readiness Squadron Vehicle Maintenance, holds a photo of his late fiancé Mesha. James lost Mesha and his unborn daughter, McKenzie Harmony James, in a 2010 car accident while attending vehicle maintenance technical training. (U.S. Air Force illustration by Senior Airman Christopher Quail) [image color has been modified for dramatic effect]

    Are You Okay?

    It’s 2010 and Airman 1st Class Leonard James’ phone vibrates silently in his pocket; he quickly reaches down and sends the call to voicemail. “I was in class and we weren’t supposed to have our phones,” the now staff sergeant recalls. James was at Port Hueneme Naval Base, California, a technical training base for Airmen selected for vehicle maintenance career paths. The Air Force wasn’t what James planned for himself, but his high school sweetheart and fiancé, Mesha, was pregnant with their first child, McKenzie Harmony James, and he felt the Air Force would help him support his growing family.
  • A KC-135 Stratotanker sits in the 6th Maintenance Squadron (MXS) hangar at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., Nov. 25, 2019.

    Cramped spaces and fuel vapors: MacDill “Tank Divers”

    Tucked away behind U.S. Central Command and MacDill Air Force Base, Florida’s traditional hangars lies a hangar originally built to house fighter jets. On a given day, peeking out of that hangar will sit a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft seemingly out of place in the considerably smaller maintenance shop, but surely, it’s in the right hands.
  • Kelly Barrett (third from left), 18th Air Force commander spouse, and Trish Simpson (far right), 18th AF command chief spouse, pose for a photo with Team Fairchild key spouses at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, May 21, 2019. Barrett and Simpson visited Fairchild to gain insight about Team Fairchild Key Spouse efforts that aid Airmen’s families. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Whitney Laine)

    18th AF, Fairchild key spouses address education partnerships, license reciprocity

    Moving to a new area presents unique challenges to military families. Spouses often need to look for new jobs, children move to new schools and the support networks families have relied on change with new scenery. Key Spouses are one resource the Air Force calls on to offer support to families throughout arrival, transition and establishment at their new assignments.
  • The 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron utilizes the newly implemented Weigh-In-Motion scale to expedite cargo deployment functions with a more accurate and efficient process at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, April 17, 2019. This innovation reduces the entire process to be as simple as driving over a plate in the ground to display the weight, dimensions and center of balance in one step. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Whitney Laine)

    Fairchild Airmen enhance deployment line, reduce man hours

    As the world modernizes around us, a culture of innovation has swept through the Air Force, encouraging Airmen to enhance nearly every part of our mission. That culture is no different at Fairchild, where a dedicated team of Airmen found ways to save both manpower and time. Newly implemented Weigh-In-Motion scales expedite cargo deployment functions with a more accurate and efficient process, as part of Team Fairchild’s Continuous Process Improvement efforts.
  • Airmen of the 93rd Air Refueling Squadron gathered in honor of their 70th anniversary and to celebrate history they’ve made since being established only two years following the foundation of the Air Force. The 93rd ARS has withstood relocation, change of mission sets and has continued their legacy as the first air refueling squadron to pave the way for Team Fairchild as the premier air refueling base. (U.S. Air Force Courtesy Graphic)

    Masters of the Art: 70 years of setting the foundation, still leading the charge

    The 93rd Air Refueling Squadron has stood the test of time through two relocations and a change of mission set and has continued their legacy as the first air refueling squadron to pave the way for Team Fairchild as the premier air refueling base. The 93rd ARS was established only two years after the Air Force was founded. They gathered to celebrate their 70th anniversary and honor their history on March 29, 2019.
  • U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Taylor Swartz, 22nd Training Squadron Survival Escape Resistance Evasion specialist, poses for a photo at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, November 1, 2018. Swartz has stood as a survivor of domestic violence to bring light and awareness to the hostile environments that have become some families’ normal. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Whitney Laine)

    Domestic violence: a survivor’s story

    Trailing behind his group of friends, feelings of anxiety and fear crowded his adolescent mind with the question of what version of his father awaited him at home. It hadn’t always been unsafe or tense, but his father’s behavior had become a constant uncertainty. The loving provider who had sat at the head of the table was now condemning and destructive. This is one of the many strong memories Staff Sgt. Taylor Swartz, 22nd Training Squadron Survival Escape Resistance Evasion specialist, recalls from his domestic-violence filled family life in adolescence.
  • RED FLAG ALASKA 18-3 participants included aircrews from allied countries including Australia, Great Britain, and Canada, and service members from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps at Eielson AFB, Alaska. The exercise serves as an ideal platform for international engagement and has a long history of including allies and partners, ultimately enabling all involved to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures while improving interoperability. (Courtesy Photo)

    RED FLAG ALASKA 18-3 keeps Fairchild mission-ready

    The sky roared with engines as military aircraft from all over the world formed a mass convoy to accomplish one mission: international security. Amongst the aircraft buzzed a stagnant controller plane, monitoring flight patterns and operations, to ultimately ensure every coalition aircraft abided by the pre-determined rules of engagement. The slightest navigational error in execution could result in mission failure. Suddenly, the controller spotted a stray aircraft violating the approved flight path. Immediately the controller contacted the aircraft and dismissed them from the on-going operation for that day. There was no room for carelessness.
  • Airman 1st Class Nathan Hopkins trains Airman Britney Hogue how to defuel a KC-135 Stratotanker using an R-12 fuel truck. POL Airmen are responsible for providing optimal refueling support on and off the flight line. Both Hopkins and Hogue are 92nd Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels distribution operators. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Janelle Patiño)

    POL Airmen keep tankers flying

    Fairchild is renowned for its aerial refueling capabilities for the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps and allied nation aircraft. The KC-135 Stratotanker has been called a “flying fuel depot,” but what many overlook is the Airmen who supply the gas it needs to accomplish its global reach mission.Airmen from the 92nd Logistics
  • PR

    Fairchild Airman supports effort in Puerto Rico

    The wind raged between 110 and 155 miles per hour Sept. 20 as Hurricane Maria hit the United States territory of Puerto Rico. Power was knocked out across the island, infrastructure collapsed, plants were uprooted from the ground and water flooded across large areas.
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