Incentive flight allows Airmen a chance to witness an aerial refueling

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Charles Taylor
  • 507th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. --  Airmen from the 507th Air Refueling Wing had the opportunity to fly on a KC-135R Stratotanker June 6, 2014 at Tinker Air Force Base. The flight, known as an incentive flight, is designed to give Airmen the chance to witness an aerial refueling - the wing's primary mission.

"The refueling mission is to supply global support to all NATO and US in-flight capable aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Steven Bowman, a 465th Air Refueling Squadron KC-135 boom operator. "We also get to train people within base agencies working with the Airborne Warning And Control System and Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) aircraft."

Before getting aboard the KC-135R, incentive flight recipients assembled in the 465th conference room for a briefing on safety features and procedures. The briefing included what to do in case of an emergency and where to locate oxygen masks, which were directly above the seats.

Once the plane was at cruising altitude, passengers were free to get up and walk around. They were required to walk around with the oxygen mask on his or her person at all times.

When the KC-135R was preparing to provide fuel, two Airmen at a time went down to the boom area to watch the process. After lowering the boom, the Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft flew underneath the KC-135R to connect with its aerial refueling receptacle, which is located just above the cockpit.

The Airmen who work at the 465th ARS are constantly on the go, but for Bowman, the pace is one of the many things he likes about the job.

"The travel's really great and so is the unit atmosphere," Bowman said. "Also, it's nice to work hand and hand with the pilots. This job never gets boring."

After witnessing the aerial refueling, the passengers developed a better understanding for the amount of work and skill that goes into aerial refueling.

"The refueling process seems easy when they were explaining it to us in the conference room," Chaplain (Capt.) John Weston said. "But when you actually see it happen, it doesn't look easy at all."