Libya mission ends, Airmen come home

by Airman 1st Class Armando A. Schwier-Morales
22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

11/8/2011 - MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFNS) -- Airmen from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing here are returning home from Operation Unified Protector with more than 3,000 sorties and 29,170 hours flown.

In March 2011, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 established a no-fly zone and NATO forces conducted ground strikes in coordination with rebel advances. Air Mobility Command officials deployed 400 Airmen with nearly 75 percent of those being guardsmen and reservists.

McConnell Air Force Base,Kan., an AMC component, deployed more than 200 Airmen to Europe during the U.S. part of the military operation called Odyssey Dawn and the NATO-led Operation Unified Protector. McConnell AFB tanker crews refueled more than 2,750 NATO coalition receivers including more than 30 types of aircraft.

"Everyone worked together very well," said Lt. Col. Robert Pochert, the 384th Air Refueling Squadron operations officer. "The bottom line is that the U.S. is part of NATO. Most of our equipment is fully interoperable with the various countries' receivers, and we train together. When it came time to employ, it was a very simple operation to go out there and get the job done."

The air refueling team offloaded more than 172 million pounds of gas. This is equivalent to having enough fuel to fill the gas tanks of a 4,528 mile long bumper-to-bumper line of Volkswagen Jettas stretching from McConnell AFB to Europe.

"Our elite air-to-air tanker force enabled the coalition forces to stay in the Libyan airspace, increased loiter times and allowed aircraft to employ munitions against targets to drop Gaddafi's regime to its knees," said Maj. Michael Aul, the 22nd Operations Group intelligence chief.

Being part of the largest tanker wing in the world and coming home victorious, one Airman summed up his experience as rewarding though he was grateful to be home.

"It feels good to know that we can help another country in such short notice," said Senior Airman Joseph Towne, a 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aircraft electrician. "The call came down the line, and we where there in less than 24 hours. It feels good being home because it's a supportive community here in Wichita (Kan.,) and it's nice to back in time for the holidays."

As the KC-135 Stratotankers were marshaled on the flightline, families eagerly awaited the returning Airmen.

"It was wonderful and the kids had no idea," said Rebecca Hebert, the wife of Staff Sgt. Justin Hebert, from the 22nd Maintenance Operations Squadron. "I told them we were going to do something fun on base so they were completely surprised when they saw him walk down."

McConnell AFB, with approximately 20 percent of its Airmen deployed at any given time, was just one part of the NATO team. Its air refueling capabilities were described by NATO officials as "the linchpin to the entire plan," in what has been coined the "most diverse air refueling mission in history."