RAF Mildenhall – One Team Refueling Many

RAF MILDENHALL, England – The 100th Air Refueling Wing conducts air refueling and combat support operations throughout Europe and Africa with 15 assigned KC-135 Stratotankers. The wing refuels U.S. and partner nation aircraft over the span of 20 million miles. In the air, two pilots and one boom operator make up the typical KC-135 crew, but on the ground, hundreds of Airmen support the mission. The wing is divided into the 100th Operations Group, 100th Maintenance Group, 100th Mission Support Group and Wing Staff Agencies, and supports more than 10,000 military, civilian, dependent and retiree personnel, including U.S. Air Forces in Europe/U.K., and four associated partner units. (U.S. Air Force photo illustration/Master Sgt. Kevin Wallace)

RAF Mildenhall hosts European Tanker Symposium

RAF MILDENHALL, England -- Capt. Aaron Marx (right), 351st Air Refueling Squadron instructor pilot, demonstrates the capabilities of a KC-135 Stratotanker in the flight simulator here May 11, 2012, to Royal Air Force Flt. Lt. Damian Massingham. Massingham was one of the attendees of the European Tanker Symposium, a multinational training event. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Rachel Waller)

Chance deployment, from refueling to recon, gives pilot greater appreciation of war's 'bigger picture'

An MC-12 Liberty flies over mountains on a reconnaissance mission. Capt. Robert Madson, 351st Air Refueling Squadron pilot, spent seven months on a deployment, as part of the 4th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, flying an MC-12 Liberty. Madson supported many Soldiers and special forces Service members, and joint terminal attack controllers, that were his link to the ground forces. (Courtesy photo)

Chance deployment, from refueling to recon, gives pilot greater appreciation of war's 'bigger picture'

An MC-12 sits on the parking ramp at night. Capt. Robert Madson, a pilot with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron, spent six months flying an MC-12, used by the Air Force for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Usually a co-pilot, Madson took on the role of the main pilot as the aircraft commander focused on the ground and reconnaissance missions. (Courtesy photo)

100th ARW flagship KC-135 emblazoned with historic nose art

RAF MILDENHALL, England – The official emblem of the 100th Bomb Group was approved in March 1944, 68 years before it was affixed to the nose of the 100th BG’s successor, the 100th Air Refueling Wing. The four-headed eagle represents the four squadrons of the original 100th BG. The blue background stands for the clear skies of the 100th’s perilous daylight bombing missions. The cloud under the eagle represents the many hours flying tight formation through dense cloud cover. The eagle’s wings are gold because the 100th’s cause is just. The eagle’s talons are each clutching a bomb of justice. The red shield represents the blood of freedom and the ultimate sacrifice paid by the young Airmen of the 100th BG. The shield’s standard is a century plant which blooms once every hundred years, representing the unit’s nickname “Century Bombers” and now, “Century Tankers.” (File photo)

100th ARW flagship KC-135 emblazoned with historic nose art

RAF MILDENHALL, England – Col. Christopher Kulas, 100th Air Refueling Wing commander, presents a coin to Senior Airman William Hickey, 100th Maintenance Squadron, during a small ceremony March 14, 2012. Kulas and Hickey worked together to place the historic emblem of the 100th Bomb Group – the 100th ARW’s World War II predecessor – to the nose of KC-135 Stratotanker 58-0100. The emblem was first approved in March 1944, when the 100th BG was flying B-17s out of RAF Thorpe Abbots over Nazi Germany. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin M. May)