C-17 with Libyan fighters aboard for aeromedical transport to Boston approach KC-135 boom for refueling over Atlantic Ocean

A KC-135 Stratotanker deployed with the 313th Air Expeditionary Wing in the European theater of operations prepares to refuel a C-17 Globemaster III over the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 29, 2011. The C-17 was en route from Tripoli, Libya, to Boston, Mass., to deliver 22 Libyan rebel fighters for medical care at the Spaulding Hospital for Continuing Medical Care North Shore in Salem, Mass. The C-17, assigned to the 172nd Airlift Wing of the Mississippi National Guard, was refueled by a KC-135 from McConnell AFB, Kan., that is normally operated by the 22nd Air Refueling Wing and the 931st Air Refueling Group. The 313th AEW supported NATO's Operation Unified Protector -- the mission that carried out the United Nations' mandate to protect the citizens of Libya. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Maj. Andra Higgs)