Passin' gas

Tech. Sgt. Al Pelletier, 351st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, transfers fuel from a 100th Air Refueling Wing to an F-15E from the 48th Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, during Loyal Arrow 2009. The RAF Mildenhall tanker crew flew from Lulea, Sweden, during the ten-day multinational exercise. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin M. May)

Passin' gas

Senior Airman Ian Metz, 100th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, checks control surfaces on a KC-135 from the aircraft's flight deck during Loyal Arrow 2009 in Lulea, Sweden. Maintainers spend several hours before and after each flight making sure the jet is ready to carry its crew on a safe, successful mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Austin M. May)

Tanker crew supports NATO, showcases 100 ARW mission in Sweden

Published June 23, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Austin M. May
100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

RAF MILDENHALL, England -- In a recent deployment to Sweden, 100th Air Refueling Wing aircrews provided about 368,000 pounds of fuel to more than 130 receivers.

A team of 15 people, including aircrew, maintainers and logistics support, took one KC-135 to Lulea, Sweden to participate in Northern Arrow 2009. The large-force exercise, made up of mostly NATO nations, lasted 10 days and included more than 1,000 participants.

The mission allowed members of the 100th ARW to show the capabilities of United States Air Forces in Europe's only air refueling squadron to a worldwide audience by allowing preapproved members of the media to fly on certain sorties.

"We're pretty used to refueling the NATO jets, so I think the highlight of the trip would have to be the media flights," Capt. Kristopher Guffey, aircraft commander, stated in an e-mail. "We were better able to explain our mission, and they were able to take photographs of their home country jets and understand the difficulties of air refueling."

The captain said the exercise was extremely well organized and there was constant effort to improve anything that seemed insufficient or may have been overlooked.

"The sorties were not overly demanding," he added. "Having flown many sorties in the area of responsibility alongside NATO jets, it was easy to transition to a simulated wartime environment in a unique area."

According to Josebell Bishop, 100th Operations Support Squadron, the two flying crews deployed to Lulea flew nearly 60 hours during the exercise.