Fairchild officials reactivate squadron at March

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Natasha E. Stannard
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  At the forefront of Total Force Integration, officials with the 92nd Air Refueling Wing here reactivated the 912th Air Refueling Squadron Dec. 3 at March Air Reserve Base, Calif.

As part of the Air Force Reserve Command's 452nd Air Mobility Wing at March ARB, the 912th ARS is an active-duty squadron that will work in tandem with AFRC's 336th Air Refueling Squadron and 452nd Maintenance Group. The 912th ARS will remain under the administrative control of the 92nd ARW.

"We delivered mobility gear they didn't have, but we did, which is an example of our administrative support enabling them to fly their operations," said Col. Paul H. Guemmer, the 92nd ARW commander.

Activating this squadron will directly support the 452nd AMW's refueling mission by using available Reserve resources. For example, active-duty Airmen will fly missions with Reserve aircraft.

"Guard and Reserve Airmen aren't always necessarily available, but the jets are, so Air Mobility Command (officials) incorporated active-duty Airmen here to fly the missions guardsmen and reservists can't fill," said Lt. Col. Brice Middleton, the 912th ARS commander.

"The active-duty squadron will enable us to use the assets, and the geographical area lets us supply more refueling capabilities in the Southwest," Colonel Guemmer said. "As a KC-135 (Stratotanker) Reserve associate, the 912th (ARS) sits squarely on the tip of the Total Force Integration spear. With the total force, we provide combatant commanders with a more capable and agile air component for increased global operations."

In coming months, more active-duty Airmen will filter in to fill the 200 slots provided to directly support the 452nd AMW. There will be more than 30 aircrew members and 130 maintainers. The remainder of the squadron members will support operations within the 452nd AMW in fields including life support, intelligence, supply, command post, crew communications, medical and commander support staff.

The official activation was headed by Colonel Guemmer as the presiding officer, who bestowed command of the 912th ARS to Colonel Middleton. Before taking command of the 912th ARS, Colonel Middleton was the director of operations for one of the flying squadrons at Fairchild AFB.

Colonel Middleton and his team will support homeland-defense missions, 618th Air Operations Center at Tinker Airlift Control Center-directed missions and combat operations supporting countless contingencies side-by-side with his Reserve counterparts, Colonel Guemmer said.

The total force Airmen in the 912th ARS will enable the 452nd AMW to successfully deliver global reach and power to forces at home station and overseas by supporting air-refueling missions.

"Standing up a squadron is great because we can share stories about what worked at different places, helping us play off each other's strengths and weaknesses," Colonel Middleton said. "We'll have a lot of lessons learned and things to build on."