United States Transportation Command

OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Southwest Asia (USTCNS)--- From an undisclosed location in the Middle East, a KC-10 crew offloaded their squadron's 100 millionth pound of fuel into the tanks of fighter and bomber aircraft destined to drop their bombs as part of America's ongoing war on terrorism.

While many people have seen the sleek U.S. fighter jets streaking through the sky, few have witnessed the same jets hovering just a few feet below one of these airborne gas stations.

However, it is this unique capability that allows the jets to come from virtually anywhere to annihilate Taliban targets while staging coalition aircraft and people as far as possible from danger areas, ultimately keeping U.S. forces much more safe and secure.

"Our jets afford senior military commanders more options on
where to place forces, considering political constraints and safety concerns, while providing the maximum flexibility to strike our targets," said Lt. Col. Carl 'Cal' Lude, 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander.

The 763rd EARS is part of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing, a large logistical piece of the overall efforts in Afghanistan and elsewhere to find Al Qaeda terrorists responsible for the attack Sept. 11 on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

The 100 millionth pound of fuel is an especially large milestone when compared to the squadron's history in Operation Southern Watch, which is responsible for enforcing the no-fly, no-drive zones over Southern Iraq. The 763rd EARS has offloaded more fuel in seven months of supporting Operation Enduring Freedom than during seven years supporting Operation Southern Watch.

"The numerical milestone represents a long line of positive events this squadron has accomplished safely and with the great support of McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., who continually send us highly trained people and mission-ready resources," said Lude.

Also making this an impressive achievement is the complete integration of service members from active-duty Air Force, Reserve, and Air National Guard forces.

"The reserves represent a large part of our capability," said Lude. "Most of them have volunteered for 90-days this year in austere conditions. Being from New York and New Jersey, they have a vested interest in completing this mission."

One of those reservists, Tech. Sgt. Gary Kozusko, 763rd EARS KC-10 boom operator and loadmaster, from Edison, N.J., loaded and flew to the Middle East with the replacement engine for one of the KC-10s. Kozusko later served as the boom operator on the 100 millionth pound of offloaded fuel mission.

Getting the replacement engine installed onto the aircraft became a high priority for the maintenance team, as they knew the fighters and other aircraft that receive fuel from their refuelers were missing their aircraft.

"I knew that other aircraft were depending on getting fuel from our broken jet, said Tech. Sgt Frank Spinelli, 763rd EARS jet engine mechanic. "As a senior mechanic, I knew it was up to me to get it flying again."

In fact, it was that formerly broken jet that delivered the 100 millionth pound milestone on its first flight with the new engine.

Even with the tent city, lack of creature comforts and the heat of the desert, spirits are high.

"Being a part of Operation Enduring Freedom has been the greatest thing I have ever done," said Chief Master Sgt. John Nielson, 763rd EARS KC-10 Maintenance Flight superintendent and 27-year Air Force veteran. "As a reservist, I have usually been working from my home base during conflicts. To be here in the theater of war, allows me to see what my hard work and the hard work of everyone else is accomplishing."

Of course as with any aircraft, there are people outside the normal crew, whom without their efforts, the planes would never get off the ground.

Airmen from the Petroleum, Fuels, and Lubricants Flight transport thousands of pounds of fuel daily from trucks to containers, and then from the containers to the aircraft, while continually evaluating the fuel for quality assurance purposes.

"Most of the crews work 14-hour shifts with the flights being manned 24 hours a day," said Master Sgt. Richard Burnette, 763rd EARS POL manager. "They believe in what they do and their affect on the mission. They are dedicated patriots who recognize that their readiness and training is key to accomplishing this mission as well as preventing the same travesty from happening again."

The readiness and training falls on supervisors and commanders of all ranks but especially on the wing's commander.

"The wing has one goal and that is accomplishing the mission, said Col. Keith Monteith, 380th AEW commander. As wing commander, my focus is on taking care of the people. I know that if I take care of them, they will take care of the mission."

The successes the wing and squadron have had and the milestone they have passed comes from training, discipline and, most importantly, working together.

"This wing shows the benefit of active duty, reserves and National Guard, as well as civilians and contractors, being a total force," added Monteith. "Without the total force, we wouldn't get this job done. We're one team, one fight."

(FROM AIR MOBILITY COMMAND PUBLIC AFFAIRS)

Air Force refueling squadron offloads 100 millionth pound of fuel for OEF

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