Operations Group showcase displays refueling mission

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Geneva Croxton
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Travis Air Force Base service members and family members were invited to the operations group showcase, featuring the 6th Air Refueling Squadron to learn about the mission and crew of a KC-10 Extender July 27.

The visit included a meet and greet with crew, a tour of a static KC-10 and a root beer float debrief.

The 60th Operations Group operates 27 KC-10 aircraft on worldwide air, land and air refueling missions in the largest wing in Air Mobility Command. During this event, the 6th and 9th Air Refueling Squadrons came together to demonstrate the aircraft capabilities, their mission sets and their crew dynamics.

The idea for the Operations Group to host events like this to showcase to the base what operators do came from Chief Master Sgt. Brian Eastman, 60th Operations Group superintendent. Eastman’s goal was to display the impact that everyone here at Travis plays in moving the mission.

“I really enjoyed having everyone come out and see what we do on a daily basis as tankers,” said Tech Sgt. Christopher Villanueva, 6th ARS standardization and evaluation flight chief. “I think they really had a great time and it was an eye opening experience for many.”

During the event, active duty, civilian employees and family members went on a tour of the air refueling operator’s compartment, where they were able to see how a boom operator uses the aerial refueling boom which allows them to refuel U.S. and allied forces aircraft.

The guests were then guided to the cargo bay, where they learned about the different cargo and passenger movement capabilities of the KC-10. The guests were then given the chance to tour the cockpit, and sat in the pilot, co-pilot and flight engineer seats while learning about the responsibilities that each crew member has.

“My goal for the tour was to simulate the life of a crew member and make it as most realistic as possible,” said Villanueva. “From the crew briefing to stepping to the jet to loading cargo and other flight duties to wrapping it up with a root beer float, I wanted to showcase the life of a tanker crew member.”