Tanker Task Force keeps Red Flag flying

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Anthony Davis
  • Red Flag-Alaska public affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Fuel is the lifeblood of any Air Force operation and the Tanker Task Force provides a critical supply during Red Flag-Alaska exercises.

KC-135s, aircrews and maintainers from Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., and MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., provide air refueling support to aircraft from both Eielson and Elmendorf Air Force Bases to ensure the exercise meets is training goals.

"Wars don't happen without fuel," said Capt. Rod Brown, Tanker Task Force operations officer. "The tankers increase the legs of our teammates. These missions wouldn't be possible without the integration of tankers."

Captain Brown, deployed from the 906th Air Refueling Squadron at Grand Forks, compares Red Flag with a real-time war environment.

"We're working closely with the fighters and the bombers," he said. "During the planning stages, we have to make sure we're on the same sheet of music with the other exercise players."

Red Flag-Alaska provides joint offensive counter-air, interdiction, close air support, and large force employment training in a simulated combat environment. The Tanker Task Force crews are prepared to refuel the Marine EA-6s using a drogue as well as regular boom connections with Air Force aircraft, including F-16s from the Republic of Singapore.

"Because of real-world deployments, we've seen just about every airframe we've got out there," said Staff Sgt. Nathan Gibbs, boom operator deployed from the 906th ARS. "But this exercise is a good training opportunity for our allies."

The training opportunity also extends to the maintainers who keep the KC-135 Stratotankers mission ready.

"This deployment gives the younger Airmen a feel for the operations tempo in a deployed environment," said Master Sgt. Gary Warner, deployed from the 319th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Grand Forks. "It gets you in the right mind set, and you look at how you can make improvements."

The Tanker Task Force helps every participant through planning and executing the day-to-day mission. Their involvement keeps Red Flag-Alaska flying.