Military

MEDITERRANEAN REGION (USAFENS) -- Coalition forces here have joined together to fight the global war on terrorism. From the initial air refueling contact to dropping bombs on target, the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and the Royal Air Force from the United Kingdom are conducting hundreds of missions every week in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing.

The major news networks cover the end of these missions, with aircraft dropping ordnance over strategic locations in Iraq, but what isn't seen is the joint effort to get those aircraft in the air to conduct successful missions.  The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, the British Army and the RAF joined forces at an RAF base in the Eastern Mediterranean to set up a refueling mission. 

A refueling system was needed that was more efficient than refueling aircraft by fuel trucks, according to RAF Warrant Officer 2nd Class Paul Lelliott, who oversees the joint fuel operation. "We also needed to be able to refuel multiple aircraft simultaneously."

To solve this problem, the Royal Engineers from the British Army built an intricate system to collect U.K. fuel from barges that pass through the Mediterranean. The Tactical Fuel Handling Equipment, otherwise know as TFHE, pumps the fuel from the barge through a series of pipelines into a fuel bladder close to the flightline. Aircraft maintenance and fuel specialists from both the U.S. and the U.K. then use the fuel to fill up Air Force KC-135 Stratotankers. 

Stratotankers have been the main refueling aircraft in the Air Force inventory for more than 40 years and are still carrying the lion's share of the air refueling today.

"The refueling going on here has really been impressive to watch," said Maj. Eric Sutcliffe, 401st Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron commander, who oversees the U.S. Air Force contingent of 18 people in the fuels flight.  "The TFHE was mostly designed for refueling helicopters but has been working outstanding for our tanker fleet.  The entire operation has been a seamless integration and we couldn't be happier."

The TFHE has been performing well above anyone's expectations and with the ability to pump more than 2.7 million liters of fuel into any aircraft in a 24-hour period, the system has made its mark on the war, according to Lelliot. So far, more than 45 million liters of fuel has been piped through the system to the tankers.

But once the fuel is down the pipeline, fuel specialists take over.

"We're responsible for inspecting the fuel tanks and making sure they're completely refueled," said Staff Sgt. Jake Way, 186th Air Refueling Wing, Meridian, Miss., who is deployed to the 401st Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

The KC-135 can hold a maximum of 209, 543 pounds of fuel but for this operation is typically filled with 150,000 pounds of fuel. "That amount can refuel 10-15 aircraft, depending on how low the tanks are when they refuel," Way said.

The maintenance squadron is also responsible for attaching a drogue to the KC-135 before flight which is just one of the three capabilities the 401st AEW has for refueling. The multi-point refueling system, the boom drogue assembly and the hard boom allow for aerial refueling for any type of aircraft in the U.S. or allied inventory.

"We're required to put the drogue on anytime we're refueling a Navy aircraft," he said. "It's basically a universal fitting to refuel anything in the Navy aircraft inventory."

Once ready for take off, these refuelers take the fuel to the fighters before they enter Iraq. Fighter aircraft, consisting of FA-18 Hornets and F-14 Tomcats, are assigned to both the USS Harry S. Truman and USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carriers stationed in the Mediterranean. Night after night, these fighters drop ordnances on different locations in Iraq, but not without the help of their friends in the Air Force and RAF.

"On the northern Iraqi front, we've stepped up operations which requires an increased number of (refuelers)," said Marine Maj. Bret "Mutha" Saunders, FA-18 fighter pilot stationed on the USS Harry S. Truman. "Being able to handle this increased ops tempo is based mainly on our ability to get fuel."

According to Saunders, the refueling mission that the Air Force and the RAF are carrying out is vital to the fighters. "We need the capability to go long distances, have tactical ability and speed in order to come back successfully."

This wouldn't be possible if the aircraft weren't able to top off the fuel tanks before entering Northern Iraq, he said.

The mission also wouldn't be possible with the exceptional cooperation between the U.S. and the U.K.

"We've established a fantastic working relationship between the services," said Lelliott. "We kind of have a 'hodge podge' of people but we work like a well-oiled machine."

As the rest of the world sleeps, the Air Force, Navy, British Army and RAF are busy getting fuel in the fighter jets so they can drop ordnance on Iraq to help win the war on terrorism.

"We have more combat power in the Mediterranean right now, than we did in all of World War II," said Vice Admiral Scott Fry, U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet commander.  "We're making history here, you're children will read about this operation in their history books one day."