Wings begin a new partnership

  • Published
  • By Lt. Col. Rich Curry
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Reservists attending the August drill weekend may likely see new faces and new patches being worn around the various offices in the 465th Air Refueling Squadron building.

Approximately eight Oklahoma Air National Guard aircrew members are part of an initial cadre working side-by-side with their Air Force Reserve hosts as they begin to stand up associate operations.

As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process, the 137th Airlift Wing located at Will Rogers World airport was identified to lose their C-130 aircraft and convert to a KC-135 associate unit partnering with the 507th Air Refueling Wing. Another dictate from that BRAC report resulted in the 507th receiving four additional KC-135 aircraft from the 939th ARW from Portland, Oregon, last year.

Under this associate operations, the 507th Air Refueling Wing is the host wing with all 12 aircraft assigned owned by the Air Force Reserve Command. The Oklahoma ANG will be maintain a separate administrative and operational control, but be associated with the 507th ARW, working together to fly and maintain all aircraft. For deployable tasking, both the 507th ARW and 137th AW will function as 6 primary aircraft assigned (PAA) wings. With this action, the 507th ARW becomes the first AFRC wing to have an ANG wing associated with it.

"When you think about it, starting this associate relationship is pretty exciting. We're part of a DoD-wide Total Force Initiative reorganization. We're going to show that our air reserve component mix will be just as viable and beneficial to national defense," Col. Glass said.

According to an April 2007 Site Activation Task Force report, the main body of aircrew and maintenance personnel should begin arriving before the end of the year. Once the OKANG aircrew and maintenance personnel finish transferring to Tinker AFB, they'll begin a seasoning process of working and flying the KC-135.

Operationally, the 507th will receive 2500 annual flying hours and the 137th will receive 1800 flying hours. To support this allocation, flying is anticipated to rise to six sorties a day, three-turn-three, by late 2007. Regarding future manpower and unit manning document positions, no changes have been made to the UMD and as of this article, no major changes are pending.

"We do expect that our wing manning will likely change as a result of this process," said Col. Jeffery R. Glass, 507th ARW commander. "We're waiting for the AMC Roadmap process sometime this fall to see what needs to be done." The colonel assured wing reservists that transition groups would be created to support future manning changes. "We will work hard to take care of our members and help them through this process, whether they decide to cross-train, relocate or take a different path."

Of immediate concern as additional personnel arrive at the wing is where to put them.

The BRAC process requires funding two facility projects -- expanding the fuel hydrant systems and build a joint squadron operations and life support building -- but construction has not begun on either project. In the meantime, portable buildings are slated to be established to house non-maintenance sections currently located in the primary maintenance hangar building.  Functions such as the Services and Communications Flight, and the Logistics Readiness Squadron will move to make room for ANG maintenance crews.

Some renovations have already occurred to vacate offices within the operations building to accommodate arriving ANG aircrew. Ultimately, once the joint squadron operations building is constructed-estimated to occur in Fiscal Year 09--all operations functions will move to their new building and current operations building will be renovated as the future building for all mission support group functions.

Additionally, a third maintenance hangar appears to be funded for construction beginning in FY 09. Other interim operation options also include possible swing space of facilities until all the construction is complete.

"Our reservists there will have to be flexible and work with their interim facility plans until their full-time locations become complete," Colonel Glass said.