INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --- Air National Guard people from the 106th Air Refueling Squadron in Birmingham, Ala., recently deployed here to air refuel various aircraft in the theater supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
The guardsmen fly day and night to support the efforts of this multinational force, but C-17 Globemaster IIIs dropping humanitarian bundles are the squadron's main customers.
The squadron's fuel allows customers to fly long missions downrange, but when needed, the unit aids any plane in need of a top-off. They refuel two to three airplanes during a mission.
The unit deployed two KC-135R Stratotankers and 24 troops to support the demanding mission, including pilots, boom operators, crew chiefs, administration troops, life support personnel and intelligence officers.
The unit was called to duty and deployed in less than a day. In fact, they were airborne less than 23 hours after being notified.
After a nine-hour flight to Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England, the crew waited 16 hours on the ground for diplomatic clearance and then flew a final five hours to Turkey.
"Sure there was some uncertainty when we started, but everyone in the unit came together quickly, the same way we do each and every day back home," said Capt. Allen King, 106th ARS copilot and air reserve technician. "We walked in one day and they said 'be ready to deploy early in the morning.' They activated us for a year and here we are doing what we do best."
The missions are long and busy as a fleet of tankers, each with a crew of three, circle and wait to off-load thousands of pounds of precious fuel. Every day brings hundreds of sorties flown within the theater.
The skies are a whirl of busy aircrews and aircraft doing their mission, and the tanker community finely orchestrates this activity.
"We all miss our families," said Master Sgt. Caroline Bearden, 106th ARS air refueling boom operator, after just returning from a mission. "We (servicemembers) signed up to do this, but not them. It's so scary for our families. They're battling terrorism and now their family members are deployed somewhere so far away.
"Every time I refuel it's exciting," Bearden said when asked about the mission. "This is the Super Bowl of air refueling. It's great doing our part."
The unit people always maintain mobility bags packed with personal gear and supplies needed when deployed, but no matter how much they prepare they said they are never really ready for something this long and demanding.
"Before I knew it I had a house full of people trying to help me leave," said Master Sgt. A.J. Sharit, 106th ARS boom operator. "My dad was cleaning the hot tub, my sisters cooking food, brothers sweeping and doing dishes and my mom cleaning the commode. It was a family outing if ever there was one. They all came together to see their son go off to war, that's real family!"
