KC-10 in Southwest Asia

Airman 1st Class Matthew Haynes seals an air cart hose to the side of a KC-10 Extender May 18, 2011, in Southwest Asia. Airman Haynes is a crew chief assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Julie Briden-Garcia)

KC-10 in Southwest Asia

Airman 1st Class Gene Meredith prepares for the launch of a KC-10 Extender May 18, 2011, in Southwest Asia. Airman Meredith is a crew chief assigned to the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Julie Briden-Garcia)

KC-10's 30th Birthday

Then Technical Sgt. Bill Gross stands on the flightline Dec. 7, 199, at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Sergeant Gross was in Hawaii to help commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Sergeant Gross was a long-time crew chief assigned to the Air Force's first KC-10 and has been stationed with the aircraft for nearly his entire career. As the KC-10 celebrates its 30th year of Air Force service on March 17, 2011, Sergeant Gross can claim that he has been there every step of the way. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Nighttime gas stop

A KC-10 Extender from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker Nov. 18, 2010, over the Pacific Northwest. The KC-135 is from the 92nd Air Refueling Wing at Fairchild AFB, Wash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Natasha E. Stannard)

Extending the fight

Staff Sgt. Efrem Flores checks the gauges on his aerospace ground equipment Feb. 5, 2010, while working on a KC-10 Extender at an air base in Southwest Asia. Sergeant Flores is an aerospace ground equipment craftsman with the 380th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron and is deployed from the 374th Maintenance Squadron at Yokota Air Base, Japan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol)

Extending the fight

Senior Airman Justin Lassiter reaches into a toolbox while working on a KC-10 Extender Jan. 31, 2010, at an air base in Southwest Asia. Airman Lassiter is a KC-10 Extender aerospace propulsion journeyman deployed with the 380th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron and fixes and maintains KC-10 engines and systems. He is deployed from the 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Scott T. Sturkol)