The 384th Air Refueling Squadron

If your patch isn't square, then you are!

Provide a highly responsive world class team to conduct and support air refueling and airlift where and when needed.

The 384th Air Refueling Squadron is the premier squadron in the Air Force to handle the multitude of diverse missions assigned to us. To quote one of our Tech Orders, "Because of the magnitude of interrelated aerodynamic effects, flying two airplanes in close vertical proximity is not safe." Yet this is our mission, and we do it like no one else can. Not only do we refuel any aircraft capable of aerial refueling, the 384th also has KC-135RT tankers capable of getting refueled themselves, thus offering even more flexibility to our mission.

The picture on the right shows one of our crews moving into position to get fuel from another tanker. This is accomplished while both aircraft fly at over 400 knots (TAS), and over 21 thousand feet up. The aircraft has a crew of four; a pilot (or aircraft commander), a copilot, a navigator, and a boom operator. The pilot team is responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft during take-off, cruise, air refueling, and landing, with the final responsibility and authority resting with the aircraft commander. The navigator is responsible for the proper navigation and weather avoidance. The navigator also backs up the pilot team. The boom operator is the one responsible for flying the air refueling boom, making the contact with the receiver, and also acts as a load master for the airframe. The boom operator also acts as the pilot team's eyes in the back of the airplane during refueling operations. As a member of the crew, the boom also backs up the pilot team.

The KC-135R is powered by four CFM-56 GE Turbofan engines that are restricted to 22,000 pounds of thrust each. It can reach altitudes of over 50,000 feet and fly at speeds of up to Mach 0.89 (or 350 KIAS at lower altitudes). It can carry over 200,000 pounds of JP-8 fuel. It is also capable of carrying over 80,000 pounds of cargo. By changing out some components on the ground, we can refuel aircraft that use the probe and drogue system (i.e.: US Navy). You can go to the Boeing site to learn more about the KC-135R.

Boeing's Web Page - OUTSTANDING PAGE about the KC-135R.

If you have any questions about Air Refueling operations, or the 384th in general, please feel free to call us at (316) 652-3360 (DSN 743-3360). Whoever answers the phone will be more than happy to tell you all about our mission and why we always say:

"Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas, Nobody!"

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