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305th AMW Airmen return home from NATO support mission

  • Published
  • By Airman Ryan Throneberry
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  Airmen with the 305th Air Mobility Wing returned home from Europe, where they supported the final KC-10 Extender flight--and the last flight to redeploy home from their European air refueling staging base--in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's operation in Libya making the close of Operation ODYSSEY DAWN and UNIFIED PROTECTOR.

Their mission was to refuel NATO fighters, bombers and other support aircraft around the Mediterranean during the conflict.

The 305th AMW KC-10s fueled the fight during the first night of Operation ODYSSEY DAWN and continued service through the transition to Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR. The first refueling mission of OOD was launched Mar. 19, supplying more than 58,000 pounds of fuel to U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons.

Less than a week later, four KC-10s from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst landed in Europe. The operation then transitioned to a NATO-led mission code named, Operation UNIFIED PROTECTOR April 1.

The KC-10 crews flew 422 missions and off-loaded a total of 33.6 million pounds of fuel to more than 2,200 receiving aircraft. OUPs tasks included enforcement of the arms embargo by sea and air, enforcement of the no-fly zone and actions to protect civilians from attack or threat of attack.

"I am extremely proud of the fact we could enable so many refueling missions in the effort to suppress the Libyan Air Force," said Maj. A.J. Griffin, 605th Airlift Maintenance Squadron commander. "Through the use of our tankers, we helped provide around-the-clock air superiority."

The operational area was located just off the coast of Libya, and required a multiple-hour transit period each way.

The KC-10 maintenance personnel worked through challenges while working out of Europe, including several engine issues.

"The maintenance guys on the ground did a phenomenal job taking care of the aircraft with the limited resources we had," said Senior Master Sgt. William Horay, 605th Airlift Maintenance Squadron aircraft maintenance unit section chief. "It's definitely a feather in the cap of everyone involved on the maintainer side of the mission."

OUP came to a close with the end of the Gaddafi regime Oct. 31. Pilots with the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron flew the first and final KC-10 missions of the conflict, returning home Nov. 8.

In all, 16 nations provided aircraft in support of OUP, but the U.S. flew 75 percent of the aerial refueling sorties. KC-10s flew 20 percent of all tanker missions and provided over 30 percent of the fuel off loaded to U.S. and NATO receivers.

"This truly was a tanker-won operation," said Lt. Col. Bob Basom, 2nd ARS operations officer. "Because none of the support partners had enough loiter time to be effective without air refueling capability, a large portion of which was provided by 305th AMW."

"It was a great experience to be part of a mission we were able to see accomplished from beginning to end" said Capt. Charles Sendral, 2nd ARS KC-10 Extender pilot. "It was a challenging mission, but because of our actions, we enabled a country to rebel against a tyrant regime."