RAF MILDENHALL, England -- As a formation of F-15s soar across the sky, the commanding pilot checks the instrument panel. Two indicators attract the aviator’s attention. The first displayed low fuel which was quickly overshadowed by a green blip on the radar, slowly drifting towards the metal flock. Suddenly a friendly voice erupts over the radio "Bobby 92 enroute." Much to the formation’s relief, the green blip was a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Wing.
Three Airmen took part in a unique sortie refueling F-15E Strike Eagles May 3, 2017, however what made this tasking extraordinary was a certain name: Bobby.
"We had a group of three airplanes doing a mission and all the call signs were Bobby so immediately our scheduling shop thought it would be clever to put Bobby Stanford, Bobby Cash and Robert Allen or Bobby Allen together," said Staff Sgt. Bobby Cash, 351st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator.
Technically, the Bobby flight was two Bobbys and a Robert but that didn’t stop the crew. Once Capt. Robert Allen, 351st Air Refueling Squadron instructor pilot, found out he would be a part of the historic flight, he knew he could unleash his inner ‘Bobby.’
"Although I’m not a true ‘Bobby’ like the rest of my crew, I knew it was going to be a fun mission," Allen recalled. "The two Bobbies on my crew have been at Mildenhall for a while, and I've got to know them all pretty well. They’re always good crewmembers to fly with."
Leading the three ship formation was Capt. Bobby Stanford, 351st Air Refueling Squadron mission commander.
"This was the first time we were able to combine the powers of the ‘Bobbys’," beamed Stanford. "I mean, is there anything more awesome than being able to construct an entire crew that all shares the most amazing name in the world? On top of that, the call sign for all three aircraft were lucky enough to share the same name as the crew!"
The KC-135 aircrew consists of three positions: a pilot, copilot and boom operator. All three positions rely on each other to do their jobs.
"You have two pilots up front and me in the back," said Cash. "They trust me to do my job and I trust them to do theirs – we all back each other up. My role is to talk the [receivers] into position and fly the boom into the receptacle. We give them gas so the receivers can give the operators on the ground overwatch for a longer period of time. The fuel we provide can also extend an aircraft’s reach."
With the refueling portion complete, Bobby 92 and the two other Stratotankers landed at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, Greece, to refuel and returned to RAF Mildenhall, England.
"It was by far the greatest experience of my entire life," exclaimed Stanford. "There will never be another crew as great as the All-Bobby-Aircrew!"