Kansas Jayhawks fly final sortie

  • Published
  • By Maj. DeAnn Barr
  • 184th Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFPN) --  After 66 years of supporting a flying mission, the Kansas Air National Guard Flying Jayhawks celebrated their final squadron sortie here this weekend.

In a ceremony attended by past and present unit members, Brig. Gen. Edward Flora, commander of the Kansas Air Guard and former 184th Wing commander, spoke of his emotions to the assembled Jayhawks.

"It's a tough day today for Jayhawks," the general said, "but also a day of promise, because the people in this room will make the future of the 184th (Wing) bright."

Change is not new to this unit, which underwent a unit conversion from the B-1 Lancer to the KC-135 Stratotanker in 2002 .

The 184th Wing has been an operational flying unit since 1941, and regardless of the airframe flown at the time, has won seven Outstanding Unit Awards and several Air National Guard awards for excellence.

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Bernie Carbon, a former Jayhawk as well as former senior enlisted advisor for the Air National Guard, attended the event.

"I think the changes in the missions are in keeping with the times," said the retiree, who served for 44 years. "If you don't keep up, you're going to fall way behind, deteriorate and vanish. So much is happening that is high tech, we need to keep up with that."

The final sortie was flown by senior squadron members, many of whom were flying their final flights in the military. Chief Master Sgt. Bill Stacey, a chief boom operator, has more than 3,000 hours in the KC-135, and was reflective as he prepared for his final flight.

"Today is kind of a sad day. Being a boom operator is one of the best enlisted jobs in you can get, and I'm going to miss the whole mission," Chief Stacey said.

Master Sgt. Steve Albers was also a boom operator on the final flight, and will continue flying with an overseas deployment before moving on to his next job.

"This last flight with the 184th (Wing) is the end of an exciting era. I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter in my life," Sergeant Albers said.

While the unit lost its flying mission due to the last Base Realignment and Closure Commission, its overall strength is growing in the area of Intelligence and other newer mission areas related to the war on terrorism.

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