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22 EARS completes busy year, starts new year with milestones

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Rachel Martinez
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan --  For the 22nd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, 2012 was a banner year.

With nearly 4,000 sorties and 24,000 flight hours, the air refueling squadron completed its second busiest year of combat operations with an operations sortie effectiveness rate of 99.85 percent, hitting many milestones along the way.

"This year was the second most impacting and with the second highest number of combat missions ever for the 22nd EARS" said Lt. Col. Russell Davis, 22nd EARS commander. Throughout the course of the year, aircrews offloaded 227.2 million pounds of fuel to more than 16,000 coalition aircraft supporting more than 2,000 troops in contact events, nearly 1,500 shows of force and more than 850 strikes.

"What I am most proud of are the 2,054 times members of the 22nd EARS supported troops in contact with the enemy," said Davis. "That's significant because it equates to lives saved."

For the first time, the Air National Guard deployed in mass to support summer operations in 2012. This included multiple deployments of eight Air National Guard jets and crews.

"They performed superbly and brought a lot to the total force fight," said Davis. "In fact, one total force crew was credited with saving a coalition fighter aircraft in Afghanistan."

According to Davis, the Guard crew was performing their first combat mission in Afghanistan, with active duty crewmembers performing orientation training, when everything but the engine stopped working on one of their scheduled fighter jet receivers. The crew was able to communicate with the fighter pilot on the boom interphone and help him navigate while he reset his systems.

"These types of events are what tanker crews do every day," said Davis. "We are always prepared to act when receiver aircraft find themselves in a tight spot. Our communication, navigation and radar systems become as important as the lifesaving jet fuel we pass to buy space and time for distressed aircraft and Airmen."

One of the most significant milestones of the year involved the unit's employment of the Roll-On Beyond Line of Sight Enhancement, or ROBE, data link system. ROBE is a mobile command and control node flown on the KC-135 Stratotanker that enables air-to-ground and air-to-air units to communicate when their own C2 systems are not able connect through line-of-sight. In early May, the 22nd EARS surpassed the ROBE system's 25,000th combat flight hour. The 22nd EARS is the only operational KC-135 unit in the Air Force that employs the data linking system.

"We've broken new ground with ROBE - re-writing the tanker community's fundamental understanding of how to employ this cutting-edge capability," said Davis. "In fact, the unit was tasked with a ROBE-only mission earlier in 2012. The ROBE enhancement makes the tanker a multi-platform airframe - now the tanker can conduct air refueling, airlift and be a link for command and control."

The year did not come without its challenges. The 22nd EARS managed to complete one of its busiest years, despite losing more than 4,000 feet of runway for repairs during a significant portion of the year. In addition, the runway was closed for several hours three times a week during those repairs.

"With the outstanding support of the other units within the 376th AEW [Air Expeditionary Wing], the EARS developed a concept of operations that enabled us to continue providing the level of support the warfighter needed," said Davis.

Other challenges the unit was able to overcome included high turnover rates. During the summer months, the unit experienced a 55 percent turnover of personnel every 30 days and nearly 100 percent turnover of personnel every two months throughout the winter. Additionally, winter brought some of the lowest temperatures on record for the Transit Center.

"We didn't lose a single mission to weather despite the coldest and snowiest December on record," Davis said. "That's a testament to our Kyrgyz partners, airfield ops, maintainers, de-ice/anti-ice team/maintainers, POL [petroleum, oil and lubricants] flight, civil engineers and all the others here at the TCM that make the mission go."

The 22nd EARS impact in 2012 went beyond fueling the fight in Afghanistan. The squadron partnered with three local schools to build community relationships. Squadron members visited the schools every few weeks to provide much-needed school supplies, assist with minor labor and interact with the children. They also were there when the Transit Center at Manas Theater Security Cooperation division secured renovation projects for each school, providing approximately $310,000 in improvements.

"Our positive relationships with the schools in Stepnoe and Prigorodnoe village have been the highlight of many 22 EARS members' experiences," Davis said. "It's been our privilege to demonstrate American culture and values to the Kyrgyz people through regular interactions."

With 2012 behind them, members of the 22nd EARS are showing no sign of slowing down. Just halfway into the first month of 2013, the squadron has already hit new milestones.

So far this year, boom operators - the aircrew members tasked to operate the ROBE data link system - have had a 100 percent success rate operating the system. Furthermore, the 22nd EARS Crew 13 flew the ROBE's 30,000th combat hour on a mission during the first week of January. It was a normal mission, said Maj. Christina Thompson, Crew 13 aircraft commander - The crew refueled a B-1B Lancer over southwestern Afghanistan, all the while running the ROBE data link and enhancing C2 capability for ground and air forces.

"Thirty thousand is an important milestone," said 1st Lt. Greg Jemo, Crew 13 co-pilot. "The ROBE mission of the tanker represents a dedication toward supporting ground forces more so than our traditional capability. The tanker is no longer a single capability platform. We now provide multiple means to support the warfighter in the air and on the ground."

The 22nd EARS has every intention of continuing to fly to the "sound of the guns" by providing outstanding support to air and ground forces in Afghanistan throughout 2013, said Davis.