108th boom operators get vital new training tool Published March 12, 2015 By Tech. Sgt. Armando Vasquez 108th Wing Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- Up a short stair case and inside an unassuming rectangular box, you can imagine being in the air and preparing for a refueling mission. All that is missing is the roar of a KC-135 Stratotanker engine. "This is as realistic as it can get," said Senior Master Sgt. Michael Sylvester, 141st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator. "The projection screens are state-of-the art, the visuals are excellent, and the boom pod itself is an exact recreation of the aircraft." The 108th Wing will soon begin using a new training tool, a Boom Operator Simulation System, to provide realistic training for boom operators in a virtual environment. The simulator uses new technology and allows boom operators to maintain training requirements more easily. The look, feel and operation of the simulator are modeled after the KC-135, said Sylvester. "Since the boom operator controls the connection between the receiving and fueling aircraft during the refueling process," he continued. "It is very important that the simulation is accurate and realistic as possible." Sylvester will be one of the first boom operators to be trained and certified on the equipment. He will then be an instructor for other boom operators in the wing. With the training that a boom operator requires to maintain their proficiency - approximately five months of air refueling technical school and survivor skill training - it is critical that these Airmen log as many flying and training hours as possible Since some of these Airmen are traditional Guardsmen, who work one weekend a month and an additional two weeks per year, it is difficult to schedule training. If weather doesn't cooperate when a refueling mission is scheduled, Airmen lose that opportunity to practice. "It doesn't matter if we have a real-weather cancellation," said Sylvester. "If that happens, the boom operator can come here with an instructor and recreate the exact mission that they were going to fly and do all the training they would have done in the air." The most important aspect of this simulator is the safety it can provide to the boom operators. "We can experience in a safe environment malfunctions that we might see in an aircraft and react accordingly," said Sylvester.