Wing Reservists return from overseas Published Nov. 2, 2011 507th Air Refueling Wing TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Oklahoma -- Dozens of Air Force reservists from the 507th Air Refueling Wing are returning this week from three-month deployments to the Southwest Asia area of operations. The reservists, consisting of operations, maintenance and several support personnel departed earlier this summer on several of the wing's KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft to two separate locations. The 507th flies and maintains the KC-135R Stratotanker and performs daily air refueling missions in support of national defense. The wing operates and maintains 12 KC-135R "Stratotanker" aircraft. This latest deployment was one on an ongoing series of deployments for the wing which date back to 2003 and the start of OPERATION Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Wing officials state that during the three month deployment, the wing's aircraft and crews supported 673 receivers, flew 131 sorties and off-loaded 11,370,300 pounds of fuel during 1,429.5 flying hours. Officials pointed out that the deployed flying hours were in addition to the wing's annual flying hour allocation. By comparison, official stated that last fiscal year the wing flew roughly 2,999.3 hours. Typically the 507th ARW averages one major operational deployment every 15 months or less. Additionally, officials state roughly 290 wing members have either already been or will be on orders, as volunteers, directly supporting ongoing operations worldwide. That figure equates to 24 percent of the wing's 1200 wing members engaged in the past year. According to 507th Air Refueling Wing Commander Col. Russell A. Muncy, "The return of our reservists marks the completion of an extremely successful deployment. I am extremely proud of the fantastic way they represented the Air Force Reserve and this wing. None of that would be possible without the superior support given by Oklahoma employers and the family support our reservists receive."