9 minute read
News/Features
by Tech. Sgt. Bradley Tipton
927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
The 927th Air Refueling Wing Mission Support Group welcomed their new commander, Col. Asan Bui, during a change of command ceremony at MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 6.
Col. Kurt Matthews, 927th Air Refueling Wing commander, presided over the ceremony, passing the unit’s guidon from Col. Alan Tornay to Bui.
“I want to return the honor to those who have given me the privilege to serve this great nation,” said Bui. “I’m looking forward to this new chapter with the challenges ahead, new experiences and relationships, and to what the future brings as Team MacDill works together, enabling integrated deterrence against near-peer adversaries.”
The 927th Mission Support Group encompasses more than 250 officer, enlisted and civilian personnel assigned to the security forces, force support and logistics readiness squadrons.
As commander, Bui is responsible for oversight, management and resource advocacy in manpower, military and civilian personnel, training, facility and public works, security, logistics and communications for the Reserve wing.
Bui has led throughout a variety of organizations including two assignments within the Joint Communications Support Element, MacDill AFB, Fla., and 920th Communications Flight, Patrick Space Force Base, Fla.
His military journey began with the U.S. Navy as an enlisted submarine yeoman however, his connection goes back to birth. Bui’s family escaped Vietnam by a fishing boat after the end of the Vietnam War in May of 1975 and were rescued in the South China Sea by a U.S. Navy carrier upon which he was later born.
“The journey here has been a humbling experience; learning new cultures and skills, but mostly meeting exceptional people along the way who are now part of my family,” said Bui.
Returning to MacDill as a commander of Citizen Airmen, Bui said he is dedicated to leading the men and women who provide installation support. The 927th Mission Support Group stands ready to train, develop and equip combat-ready Airmen.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Alexis Suarez
Col Kurt Matthews, 927th Air Refueling Wing commander, passes the guidon to Col. Asan Q. Bui, 927th Mission Support Group commander during a change of command ceremony on MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 7. The guidon is a symbol of command throughout the U.S. military.
Be sure to visit the official 6th Air Refueling Wing website at www.macdill.af.mil
AerialRefuelingAdds LethalitytoDOD Aviation
byDavid Vergun
DOD News
Globalreachisanimportantaspectofthe U.S. military’s warfightingability, andaerialrefuelinghelpstomakeglobalreach areality.
Aerialrefueling—alsocalledair-to-airrefuelingandtanking—is theprocessoftransferringfuelfromamilitarytankeraircrafttoanothermilitaryaircraft, includingfixed-wingjets and helicopters.
Flyingboomsmakethispossible, withthetankerflyingaheadat anelevatedpositionandthereceivingaircraftflyingbehindandlowerwithareceiver. Aboomoperatorinthetankerlowerstheflying boom.Somemilitaryaircraftuseahose-and-droguemethodinstead ofa flyingboom,but the operationofbothtypesissimilar.
Thegoalofaerialrefuelingistoextendtherangeortimeanaircraftcanremainintheair. Aerialrefuelingalsosavestimebecause theaircraftdoesn’thavetolandtorefuel.
Italsobenefitsaircraftoperatingonshortrunways, which have tolimittheirtakeoffweighttobeable cleartheendoftherunway. A tanker flyingoverheadcanthenrefueltheplaneonceit’sairborne.
Thefirstair-to-airrefuelingtookplacein1923betweentwoDe HavilandDH-4BArmyAirServiceairplanes. During World WarII, theArmyAir ForcesmodifiedB-24Liberators, sotheybecametankersthatrefueledtheB-17Flying Fortress, extendingthebombers’ rangeto 1,500miles.
Butit wasn’tuntilafter World WarIIthataerialrefueling was usedonalargescale.
Today, theKC-135Stratotankerprovidesthe coreaerialrefueling capabilityfortheAir Force. Italsoprovidesaerialrefuelingsupport toAir Force, Navy, MarineCorpsandaircraftofalliednations. KC135scanevenrefueltwoaircraftsimultaneously.
Throughtheyears, theKC-135hasbeenalteredtodootherjobs, suchas—flyingcommandpostmissionsandreconnaissance. The KC-135fleetisaging;itsreplacement,theKC-46 Pegasus, willreplacetheolderStratotankers.
Thefirst Pegasus wasdeliveredtotheAir Forcein January2019. ThelastKC-135isnotexpectedtoberetireduntil2040,whenthey’ll be80yearsold.
TheNavyhasasquadronofKC-130FHerculesrefuelers, andthe MarineCorpshasasquadron ofKC-130THerculesrefuelers.
TheMarineCorpsrecentlyexperimentedwithground-to-ground refuelingoftheF-35Bjointstrikefighter. TheMV-22Ospreycancarryabout12,000poundsoffuel,andthereareplansforittohaveairto-airrefueling capability to keep F-35Bfighters aloftlonger.
AMarineCorpsMV-22B Osprey receivesfuelfromaKC-130JSuperHerculesfromMarineAerial
PhotobyMarineCorpsCpl.AntonioGarcia
ceivesfuelfromaKC-130JSuperHerculesfromMarineAerial Refueler TransportationSquadron252overtheAtlantic Ocean,Feb.12,2020.
(Farleft)Aboomoperator refuelsan A-10ThunderboltIIoverGulfport, Miss.,Feb.3,2020.
(Left) AnAirForceKC-10Extenderconducts anaerial refuelingwithaFrenchDassaultRafaleoverSouthwestAsia,Feb. 1,2020.
From Page 3 to 72 days on Dec. 27, 22 (84 days – 12 =72 days) and can be taken in multiple increments of 7 days or more. The member must take the remaining 72 days by Nov. 24, 2023, or forfeit the leave.
EXAMPLE 4. A service member designated as a secondary caregiver uses 2 of the 3 weeks of caregiver leave as of Dec. 27, 2022. With the service member having unused caregiver leave as of Dec. 27, 2022, they would be eligible to transition to the expanded parental leave policy and take up to 10 weeks of non-chargeable leave, as they previously took 2 weeks.
EXAMPLE 5. A service member designated as the primary caregiver uses 5 of the 6 weeks of caregiver leave as of Dec. 27, 2022. Since the service member has unused caregiver leave as of Dec. 27, 2022, they would be able to take 7 weeks of parental leave, for 5 weeks were previously taken.
EXAMPLE 6. A service member did not take all of the authorized caregiver leave in one increment. The remaining caregiver leave would not convert to the MPLP because any leave taken under the previous caregiver leave policy could only be taken at one time and was forfeited when the leave period ended; multiple leave events were not authorized.
EXAMPLE 7. A Guardian had a child Jan. 15, 2022, but did not take secondary caregiver leave yet. The 3 weeks of caregiver leave converts to 12 weeks of parental leave on Dec. 27, 2022. However, under MPLP, members must take parental leave within one year. All unused leave not taken by Jan. 14, 2023, is forfeited.
EXAMPLE 8. A service member fostered a child on Dec. 1, 2022. Service members who foster a child prior to Dec. 27, 2022, do not qualify for the expanded parental leave policy because foster care was not eligible for the MPLP under the previous caregiver leave policy.
From Page 2 U.S. Navy officer who resigned his commission to fight for the Confederate Navy — will also be renamed. Battle streamers commemorating Confederate service will no longer be authorized.
Spotlight: Commemorating World War I
Some Army bases, established in the build-up and during World War I, were named for Confederate officers in an effort to court support from local populations in the South. That the men for whom the bases were named had taken up arms against the government they had sworn to defend was seen by some as a sign of reconciliation between the North and South. It was also the height of the Jim Crow Laws in the South, so there was no consideration for the feelings of African Americans who had to serve at bases named after men who fought to defend slavery.
All this changed in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020. Many people protested systemic racism and pointed to Confederate statues and bases as part of that system. Congress established the commission in the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal 2021. Then-President Donald J. Trump vetoed the legislation because of the presence of the commission, and huge bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress overrode his veto.
The commission issued its first report in May 2022, which addressed renaming Army bases. The commission finished their mission on Oct. 1, 2022 and there was a 90-day period for public comment. That has now expired and the renaming of the bases may proceed apace.
Spotlight: Commemorating the Vietnam War
Fort Benning, Georgia, will be renamed Fort Moore after Army Lt. Gen. Hal Moore and his wife, Julia Compton Moore. Moore commanded U.S. forces in the first large-scale battle of the Vietnam War. His book — “We Were Soldiers Once…And Young” was made into the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.
Fort Gordon, Georgia, is renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower, the leader of the liberation of Europe in World War II, and the 34th president of the United States.
Spotlight: Commemorating World War II
Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, is renamed Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Edwards Walker — the first woman surgeon in the Civil War, and the only woman awarded the Medal of Honor.
Fort Hood, Texas, is renamed Fort Cavazos in honor of Army Gen. Richard E. Cavazos, a Hispanic-American hero of both the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
Spotlight: Commemorating the Korean War
Fort Lee, Virginia, is renamed after two soldiers and will become Fort Gregg-Adams. Army Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg was an AfricanAmerican soldier who rose from private to three-star during a career in military logistics. Army Lt. Col. Charity Adams was the first African American officer in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in World War II and led the first African-American WAAC unit to serve overseas.
Fort Pickett, Virginia, is renamed Fort Barfoot in honor of Army Tech Sgt. Van T. Barfoot, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions with the 45th Infantry Division in Italy in 1944.
Fort Polk, Louisiana, is renamed Fort Johnson to commemorate Army Sgt. William Henry Johnson. Johnson was a member of the famous Harlem Hellfighters that fought under French Army command during World War I. Johnson belatedly received the Medal of Honor for an action in the Argonne Forest of France where he fought off a German raid and received 21 wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting. President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the medal in 2015, long after the soldier died in 1929.
Fort Rucker, Alabama, is renamed after Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel. The chief was an aviator who flew combat in both World War II and Vietnam and received the Medal of Honor for a Medevac mission under fire in Vietnam where he saved 29 soldiers.
Finally, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is renamed Fort Liberty.
Graphic from the Naming Commssion’s final report to Congress.
From Page 3 ceive education or a referral based on their risk category and other health concerns if indicated.
Airmen and Guardians identified as not meeting the BCP standards will be enrolled into an informal, self-directed Body Composition Improvement Program for 12 months and referred to their medical treatment facility for a medical evaluation and assessment for additional risk factors.
Guardians will also be referred to Guardian Resilience Teams as they are established. GRTs will be comprised of human performance subject matter experts with different specialties who can provide a broad range of care for Guardians, including preventive care, performance optimization, skill-building, mental health care and spiritual assistance.
“Above all, our priority is to shift our Guardians’ mindset with regards to their health,” said Katharine Kelley, deputy chief of Space Operations for Human Capital. “We hope the new body composition program and associated holistic health educational resources will inspire our members to move away from an episodic fitness mentality to putting their health first every day. ”
A collaborative and supportive approach will be used to assist Airmen and Guardians through providing tools, resources, and a tailored action plan to aid in making positive changes toward better health. Airmen and Guardians not meeting the BCP standard will reassess every 12 months at the next scheduled BCA or until they meet the BCP standard.
The initial results from WHtR are non-punitive during the 12-month informal self-directed BCIP. Failing to test on time, not scheduling or missing an appointment with the MTF team or becoming non-current may be cause for commander-driven administrative actions.
High risk results after the 12-month informal self-directed phase will be considered a failure to meet standards and will require enrollment in a formal self-directed BCIP that may result in consideration for administrative action, including separation for continued failures.
WHtR will be tracked via myBodyComp, a new application under the myFSS platform.
Additional information regarding implementation will be released at the installation level.
