Yesterday, two crews from the 91st Air Refueling Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base returned from somewhere in the Middle East after a tour refueling aircraft that were dropping bombs and humanitarian aid in Iraq in the fight against the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State.
While the glory may seem to go to the folks dropping the ordnance and packages, much of that would be impossible without mid-air gas from crews like the ones from MacDill, which are part of the 6th Air Mobility Wing.
How big a role have they played?
Consider this.
From the time the airstrikes began on Aug. 8 until yesterday, tankers like the KC-135 Stratotankers out of MacDill have flown 912 sorties, or individual flights, according to U.S. Central Command spokesman Maj. Curt Kellogg.
“As a point of reference, nearly 1,100 of the sorties flown during that same period were flown by US fighter and bomber aircraft which speaks to the importance of tankers in extending our persistence and reach,” said Kellogg in response to my question about how many tanker flights there have been so far.
How many have crews from MacDill flown, you ask?
Good question.
I put it in to the 6th Air Mobility Wing and will post an update as soon as I get an answer.