Mildenhall aircrew receives top award

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Christopher Mesnard
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, ENGLAND --  A crew from the 100th Air Refueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall has been awarded the Brigadier General Ross G. Hoyt Award for their efforts during Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector. The award highlights the "Most Outstanding Air Refueling Aircrew" for 2011.

Capt. Josh Fry, 351st Air Refueling Squadron, Capt. George Clark, 100th Operations Support Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Everett Marshall, 351st ARS, received the Air Force Association sponsored award in recognition of the hard work they exerted during the Libyan campaigns last year.

Every year the AFA awards one air refueling crew among all active Air Force, Air National Guard, and Reserve units in recognition of the best crew of the year.

Before OOD started in Libya, the RAF Mildenhall crew of Blue 32 was only out on a week-long mission escorting fighter aircraft across the Mediterranean and north Atlantic.

According to the crew, on March 17 they began supporting OOD and then OUP with the launch of air operations in Libya.

"We had our coats packed and ready for the cold of New England," said Clark. "Next thing you know we're holed up in Greece buying warm weather gear while conducting day and night combat operations in the Mediterranean."

According to the award citation, the air-refueling capabilities combined with the tactical location at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay, made the aircrew and their ground support the critical Air Force personnel in the Mediterranean. From the period of March 17 until April 15, the crew of Blue 32 and their support units took the reins on OOD and OUP' and provided senior leadership staff for both the advanced echelon team and the 100th ARW detachment at NSA Souda Bay.

Once the decision to support operations in Libya was made, the 100 ARW DET pulled communication resources from the 95th Reconnaissance Squadron detachment 1, which also operated out of NSA Souda Bay.

"There was a lot of work going on between different units, branches, and nations throughout OOD and OUP," said Lt. Col. Christopher Bennett, chief of Wing Safety and 100th ARW DET commander at NSA Souda Bay. "We all came together to complete every sortie and air-to-air refueling mission we had tasked to us."

The 100th ARW employed KC-135 Stratotankers and personnel throughout Europe to support OOD and OUP. The Souda Bay detachment flew 45 missions and offloaded 275.9 million pounds of fuel to 325 aircraft. It was the prolonged stellar performance of Blue 32 at Souda Bay that earned their nomination for the Hoyt Award.

"When you're flying down the road in a Humvee at capacity, briefing a mission that you have less than an hour to be in the air, you don't have time to worry if everyone's going to get their job done right," said Clark. "This isn't a jet that you can have up in the air at a moment's notice. That particular mission we were wheels up about 90 minutes after we received our tasking. It's because of the maintainers that we were able to perform above and beyond the standards."

According to Bennett, before all was said and done, the 100th ARW detachment moved billet locations five times due to local protests. It was a team effort from start to finish; every member of the detachment did their job to perfection, and then went beyond to help out in every possible circumstance. Without that cooperation, the mission would never have been successful.

"I found it very useful and effective to talk with the maintenance troops and aircrews as they came in and left work, keeping them informed of the latest developments," Bennett said. "Additionally, I was able to coordinate with leadership back at RAF Mildenhall freeing up our crews to focus on their jobs."

During operations, the crew coordinated an air-to-air refueling with a US F-15E Strike Eagle allowing the aircraft to recover to its base. They were meticulous in their fuel planning, giving the Strike Eagle sufficient fuel to return to its base, and then recovering to NSA Souda Bay landing safely with the absolute minimum amount of fuel.

It wasn't until they were back at Mildenhall that the crew had a chance to review the numbers and see full scale what had been accomplished. According to the crew, that's when it really set in that they had a first class team.

"The award comes as a tremendous tribute not only to the exemplary aircrews we put forward, but also to all the men and women of the 100th ARW that keep them flying," said Col. Kyle Voigt, 100th ARW vice commander.