Ellsworth teams with 128th Air Refueling Wing for 24-hour surge ops

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Abigail Klein
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Battling the turbulent South Dakota winds and the reduced visibility of the setting sun, Tech. Sgt. Chris Winchell, 128th Air Refueling Wing boom operator, steadied the boom of KC-135R Stratotanker as it refueled an Ellsworth B-1B Lancer.

The air refueling team, which consisted of three Airmen from the Wisconsin Air National Guard's 128 ARW, was here as part of a two-week deployment to help maximize 24-hour surge operations for Ellsworth's B-1s.

Air refueling training (a four-part process that includes pre-air refueling, steady aircraft approach, pulling away from the tanker, and post-air refueling procedures) is crucial for preparing Airmen for their deployed missions.

"The need to obtain and train our pilots in air refueling procedures has become more essential to the Air Force mission because of what we currently do while deployed downrange," said Lt. Col. Michael Jason, 28th Bomb Wing director of staff. 

Today's fight has also made it more difficult to maintain manpower for 24-hour air refueling operations.

"Due to the high [operations] tempo during the summer, it is difficult to perform 24-hour air-refueling operations," Colonel Jason said. "Working with the 128 ARW allows Ellsworth an opportunity to maintain these operations, while also allowing the 128 ARW to complete their required two week per year training allocation."

While at Ellsworth the team, which arrived May 3 and departed May 13, refueled approximately 25 B-1s. The challenge of refueling the B-1s in the air, further aided in the training of the team.

"The B-1 is one of the most difficult planes to refuel because of the sensitivity of the boom receptacle," said Maj. Bob Policano, 128 ARW KC-135R aircraft pilot. "It's not only difficult for the boom operator, it's also difficult for the B-1 pilot to maneuver and receive the fuel.

The sorties also provided a training environment similar to the one the team has encountered while performing air refueling operations downrange. 

In addition to meeting training needs, performing air refueling missions locally allowed the KC-135R to unload larger quantities of fuel into the B-1's in the air. This helped make training more efficient and cost effective.

"Normally, air refueling operations require the tankers to fly from their duty stations to perform the training," Colonel Jason said. "By having members of the 128 ARW operate from Ellsworth, we saved approximately four hours of travel time for both aircraft, and thousands of dollars per training sortie."

As for future air refueling operations, Ellsworth plans to continue similar operations with other Midwest guard units including the Utah National Guard's 151st Air Refueling Wing, the Nebraska National Guard's 155th Air Refueling Wing, the 931st Air Refueling Group, McConnell AFB, Kan., and the Washington Air National Guard's 141st Air Refueling Wing.

As a squadron, the 128 ARW performs an estimated 30 to 50 training sorties per week. They are responsible primarily for the air refueling of bases in the Midwest, but are capable of providing air refueling to Navy, Marine and foreign military pilots.

For more information about the 128 ARW and KC-135 refueling capabilities, visit www.128arw.ang.af.mil.