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Airmen refuel into New Dawn

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Spinner
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTWEST ASIA --  Members of the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron began their last mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom Aug. 31 and completed the same mission Sept. 1, the same day the Department of Defense officially transitioned from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation New Dawn.

While fewer than 50,000 U.S. forces will remain in Iraq, the 340th EARS will continue to fly missions from here to support aircraft all over the Central command area of responsibility.

"The men and women of the 340th EARS are poised to execute air refueling, as required, to support the continued stability operations in Iraq," said Lt. Col. Christopher Amrhein, 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron commander.

The change to Operation New Dawn signified the end of U.S. Forces-Iraq's combat mission, though stability operations continue in the region.

"Our mission is to support other aircraft so they can fulfill their mission of supporting troops on the ground," said Colonel Amrhein. "Our KC-135s are equipped and ready to refuel not only U.S. but also coalition aircraft."

According to Colonel Amrhein the 340th is the largest tanker squadron in the world. The number of jets is comparable to a stateside wing.

"We fly, on average, two to three times the sorties daily that an entire wing or group flies, and we do it seven days a week, 365 days a year," said Colonel Amrhein.

The 340 EARS Airmen have supported KC-135 Stratotanker refueling operations throughout the U.S. CENTCOM AOR since 2002 in support of operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and now New Dawn.

Colonel Amrhein concluded, "I am extremely proud of our Airmen of the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron and the 379th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. It gives me great pride knowing our team is dedicated to making sure our airplanes get off the ground and we execute the mission safely."