In six short weeks, deployed KC-135 Stratotankers have delivered more than 11 million pounds of fuel to B-52 Stratofortresses that have flown forward into Afghan airspace to provide close air support for U.S. and coalition forces on the ground.

Without this fuel, the B-52s would not be able to carry out this mission, possibly resulting in loss of life for forces conducting their missions on the ground in Afghanistan.

“Our mission of providing fuel to our bombers is a highly effective tool in the global war on terrorism,” said 1st Lt. Bryon Sherriff, KC-135 co-pilot with the 28th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron. “Our airframe, attached with the B-52s, allows global reach and global power to many areas of the world -- including Afghanistan.

“I’m personally highly rewarded being able to fulfill this role that directly affects our nation's future, he said. “Extending the (B-52s’) range has a direct influence on the preservation of our freedom.”

Flying with a crew of three, a pilot, co-pilot, and boom operator, the stratotanker has a range of 1,500 miles with 150,000 pounds of fuel transfer capability and can fly a ferry mission up to 8,000 nautical miles.

A navigator is also used on special operations air refueling missions because of the complexity of the mission. Nearly all of the tankers’ internal fuel can be pumped through its flying boom, the KC-135’s primary fuel transfer method. A special shuttlecock-shaped drogue, attached to and trailing behind the flying boom, may be used to refuel aircraft fitted with probes, mostly Navy aircraft. An operator stationed in the rear of the plane controls the boom or drogue.

Airman 1st Class Desiree Campbell, a boom operator with the 28th EARS, has been at the controls of tanker booms for less than one year refueling multi-million dollar U.S. and coalition aircraft.

“So far I've enjoyed being a KC-135 boom operator because it has given me the chance to work with professional people and see different places in the world,” she said. "My job is to get the (B-52s here) their fuel so they can complete their close-air-support missions and make a difference from the sky over Afghanistan.”

In direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the pilots here have flown close to 200 combat support sorties in the last six weeks.

“Our crews are flying four to five times per-week with 48 hours of alert duty mixed in, so it’s very busy,” said Maj. Nathan Diaz, KC-135 pilot. “The requirement for aerial refueling is far from being a thing of the past. If you ask anyone that knows anything about air campaigns, air combat, strategic, and even tactical warfare, they’ll tell you that gas in the sky is the long pole in the tent -- the Air Force cannot conduct airborne operations, of any significance, without air refueling. That simple fact is what all tanker aircrews and the people that support them take pride in.”

The B-52 pilots mirror that same sentiment about the vitality of the Stratotanker.

“Without the KC-135, our mission here would simply not happen,” said Lt. Col. Mark Maryak, 28th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander and B-52 pilot. “Every time a forward air controller, on the ground in Afghanistan, contacts or looks up and sees our bombers, we’re well aware that it took at least two KC-135s from this forward operating location to make it happen. Whenever we, as B-52 aircrew members, have the opportunity to shape the battlefield with our armament, we realize that it’s the fuel from the tanker that got us to the battlefield.”

“Our crews are doing a phenomenal job supporting the warfighter. It’s not uncommon to find young crewmembers today with more than 2,000 flying hours early in their career,” said Lt. Col. Marc Van Wert, 28th EARS commander and KC-135 pilot. “It’s because they have been ‘fueling the fight’ for multiple worldwide taskings since Sept. 11. We are asking them to fly a great deal to support the warfighter, and they have answered the call time and time again.”