Thunderbolt 01/20/2022

Vol. 50, No. 3

Thursday, January 20, 2022

News/Features: page 3 Preparing for the KC-46

News/Features: page 3 927th OSS releases Kraken!

Week in photos: page 4 Images from the week

New R&R space - page 6 Photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua Hastings

Community: page 11 Events, Chapel, more...

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Bankston, 6th Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion technician, utilizes a massage chair in the rest and relaxation (R&R) room at MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 7. The R&R room provides a space for Airmen to go for a mental break to clear their minds and relax to increase workplace productivity.

NEWS/FEATURES

Air Force unveils action plan to ‘Develop tomorrow’s enlisted Airmen’ Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs WASHINGTON (AFNS)—As the service continues to refine what is needed to develop the Airmen required to fight and win our future wars, Air Force officials announced the implementation of the Enlisted Force Development Action Plan, located here.

With a goal to complete 28 force development objectives in the next two years, the plan and a corresponding “Blueprint for Enlisted Force Development,” releasing in the spring, is aligned with the Air Force chief of staff ’s action orders and is focused on investing in and empowering Airmen for the future fight.

“The fight for tomorrow has already begun and it will undoubtedly be fought by many Airmen who are serving today,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. “As we continue to focus on our readiness against strategic competitors, specifically China and Russia, our Airmen will need to be prepared to defeat the speed and complexity of threats we face around the globe each day. This plan is designed to do just that.”

Deliberate development of the enlisted force, which represents over 75% of the Air Force’s military personnel, means a culture of teamwork that integrates everyone’s diverse abilities, talents, and ideas is essential to maximize and deliver meaningful results.

“An environment focused on developing and managing the talents of our Airmen is key for their ability to thrive and reach their full potential,” said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass. “Deliberate development of the enlisted force is a mission imperative and must be a top priority for anyone who is expected to lead – from front-line supervisors to commanders.”

Soon to accompany the plan is “The Blueprint for Enlisted Force Development.” This document will serve as a living foundational resource that links all enlisted development from entry to departure, including key concepts to connect enlisted Airmen to the Profession of Arms.

“The blueprint serves as a focal point to create a shared understanding of our Air Force journey,” Bass said. “This will provide every Airman a roadmap that highlights pathways, resources and opportunities to be successful.”

The premise of the action plan is centered on six areas that align with Air Force priorities and the CSAF Action Orders, with quarterly report cards to the force for accountability and transparency on updates and progress on each area.

Competition-Focused Force Supporting Action Orders Airmen and Competition, this area consists of objectives tied to developing a highly trained, educated and adaptable Airman ready to operate in a joint environment and to dominate the competition.

Initiatives include updating the “Little Blue Book,” Air Force Core Values, and “Little Brown Book,” Enlisted Force Structure, along with the creation of a “Purple Book” that includes the values, capabilities, and warfighting concepts of the Joint Force team.

Front-Line Leader Development Supporting Action Orders Airmen, Competition and Design, this area is focused on deliberate leadership development for Airmen as they take on the increased responsibility of caring for others.

Initiatives include “The Blueprint for Enlisted Force Development,” developing validation processes for new supervisors, elevating the val-

COMMANDER’S ACTION LINE The Action Line provides two-way communication between the 6th Air Refueling Wing commander and the MacDill community. Personnel may submit questions, concerns or comments via email to macdillwingcommander@us.af.mil or Facebook @6thARWCommandTeam

MacDill Thunderbolt Publisher: Joe Deluca Editor: Nick Stubbs The MacDill Thunderbolt is published by the Times Publishing Company, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force. This commercial enterprise newspaper is an authorized publication for distribution to members of the U.S. military services on MacDill. Contents of the MacDill Thunderbolt are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense,

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the Department of the Air Force or the 6th Air Refueling Wing.

The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force, 6th Air Refueling Wing or the Publishing Company of the products or service advertised.

For retail advertising, call (813) 226-3318.

Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use, or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other non-merit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron.

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See DEVELOP, Page 10

MacDill on the web Website: www.macdill.af.mil Facebook: www.facebook.com/ MacDillAirForceBase Instagram: macdill_afb Twitter: @macdill_afb News items for the MacDill Thunderbolt can be submitted to the 6th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs office, 8208 Hangar Loop Dr., suite 14, MacDill AFB, FL 33621. Call the Thunderbolt at 828-2215. Email: 6arw.pa.macdillthunderbolt@ us.af.mil.

Deadline for article submissions is noon, Wednesdays to appear in the next week’s publication. Articles received after deadline may be considered for future use. All submissions are considered for publication based on news value and timeliness.

Every article and photograph is edited for accuracy, clarity, brevity, conformance with the “Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual” and Air Force Instruction 35-101.

NEWS/FEATURES SATAF visit prepares for KC-46 arrival

by 2nd Lt. Kristin Nielsen 6 Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

A Site Activation Task Force arrived Jan. 10 to help plan the arrival of the KC-46 Pegasus aircraft.

The team is here to assess the beddown requirements that were previously laid out and to verify that nothing was missed in the last site survey.

The team is reviewing construction and manpower requirements to ensure a successful beddown.

They are ensuring manpower requirements are correct and assessing what MacDill may need for the transition.

A representative from the SATAF team says they are excited to be here at such a great location. “The transition won’t be painless but it will work well for the Air Force’s premiere tanker aircraft.”

Next steps include an environmental impact analysis and programming construction dollars to begin any needed construction.

Photo by Airman 1st Class Joshua Hastings

A KC-46A Pegasus refuels on the flight line at MacDill Air Force Base Oct. 25. The KC-46A represents the beginning of a new era of aerial refueling having greater refueling, cargo and aeromedical evacuation capabilities compared to the KC-135 Stratotanker. The aircraft will soon undergo operational tests and evaluations on the way to initial operating capability.

927th OSS begins wearing new ‘Kraken’ squadron patch

by Tech. Sgt. Bradley Tipton 927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs Among all of the squadrons comprised of the 927th Air Refueling Wing, organizations under the umbrella of the 927th Operations Support Squadron have the most widely varying mission sets.

Now adorning each of their uniforms is an eight-armed sea monster known as the “Kraken” as well as the squadron’s motto, “Semper Primo Die” Latin for “Always the first day.” The motto indicates the desire for Airmen within the organization to begin each day with the same motivation as they began their first.

Air Force Maj. Don Wiant, 927th OSS assistant director of operations and the artist behind the emblem explained the guiding principle behind elements of the new design.

“As members of the OSS, we don’t always get the opportunity to interact with everyone from the squadron,” said Wiant. “Although our specialties are diverse, our Airmen’s impact is far-reaching and they all uniquely contribute vitally to flying operations.”

Following the switch from the Airman Battle Uniform to the Occupational Camouflage Pattern uniform, many units throughout the Air Force have begun the process of developing and adapting their unit emblems to the new color scheme.

See KRAKEN, Page 12

Photo by Tech Sgt. Bradley Tipton

927th Air Refueling Wing Historian, Andrew Pray, displays the final approved design for the 927th Operations Support Squadron Occupational Camouflage Pattern uniform patch on MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 9.

The emblem was approved by the U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency on Dec. 21.

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WEEK IN PHOTOS

Photo by Airman 1st Class Stephen Pulter

A formation of MC-130J Commando II’s fly together during the ‘Flight of the Flock’ off the coast of Okinawa, Japan, Jan. 7.

Photo by Army Spc. Patience Gbedema

Photo by Senior Airman Leala Marquez

Air Force Brig. Gen. Daniel Gabrielli, Task Force Holloman commander, A young boy taking part in the ‘Pilot for a Day’ event sits in an F-16 skates with Afghan evacuees during an event at Aman Omid Village on Fighting Falcon training cockpit at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Dec. 16.

Holloman Air Force Base, N. M., Jan. 9. The Defense Department through Northern Command, and in support of the Department of Homeland Security, is providing transportation, temporary housing, medical screening and general support for at least 50,000 Afghan evacuees.

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NEWS/FEATURES Modern logistics system aids, tracks Air Force inventory

by Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS)—Want to know how many aircraft tires or satellites are in the Department of the Air Force asset inventory? The Integrated Logistics System – Supply, or ILS-S, has the answer.

ILS-S is a modern Logistics Information Technology Defense Business System capability that supports Department of the Air Force activeduty, Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve operations, as well as the other military services and their missions depending on where they are located.

ILS-S is also a financial data feeder system that provides LogIT support in the functional area of Department of the Air Force base-level supply and materiel management.

Its functions include ordering, receiving, storage, distribution, tracking, disposition and movement of supplies, organizational account management, weapon system spares support, cataloging, computing stock levels, mobility, warranty management, financial reporting, inventory control point, supply point, contractor-provided weapon system support, aircraft, engine and missile maintenance, hazardous material manage-

ment, communications security management, and mobile technology.

The system is a modern, elastic, secure, U.S. Air Force Cloud One Amazon Web Services GovCloud application with 120 interface agreements with 46 systems to support 18,000 end users and over 100,000 consumers of ILS-S information at 250 military installations.

ILS-S tracks over 35 million assets valued at $18 billion; assets that are optimally distributed and stored across 1.7 million warehouse locations. ILS-S also provides inventory control of 230,000 assets in deployable air transportable containers to support contingencies and special operations.

“We track almost every asset the Department of the Air Force uses,” said Staff Sgt. Gabriel Fox, a member of the Business and Enterprise Systems (BES) Directorate’s ILS-S Capability Delivery Team (CDT), which is responsible for operating and maintaining ILS-S. “Everything from dog food, weapons, radar parts, vehicles, aircraft, clothing items and paper.”

ILS-S has multiple, modern features and business rules (programming) to track and manage a wide array of DAF assets to include the following:

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New rest and relaxation room unveiled for 6th MXG story and photos by Airman 1st Class Joshua Hastings 6th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

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aking care of the needs of the Airmen who work around the clock to make the Air Force thrive is a priority that aligns with mission readiness and resiliency.

The 6th Maintenance Group and 6th Medical Group teamed up to provide Airmen with a rest and relaxation (R&R) room inside of Hangar 2 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

The R&R room was opened up to members of the 6th MXG during a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 7, 2021. The room contains a television, sound system, furniture, massage chair, mood lights, an aroma essential oil diffuser and more.

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Anastacia Rodriguez, 6th Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion craftsman, has been an advocate for the new R&R room and is excited that it is now a reality.

“What I am most excited about is having a space my Airmen can go if and when needed,” Rodriguez said. “Getting away for 20 minutes can make a huge difference in one’s resiliency, especially when facing a stressful moment or event. I have been in the maintenance field for over 14 years and I have not seen this type of effort put in for individual’s mental health. All of the initiatives that have been started here are game changers for our maintainers and I’m super excited to witness the culture change we have experienced in the last year.”

The 6th MXG and 6th MDG collaborated on this project because of the value the room will bring to Airmen and ultimately the mission of the 6th Air Refueling Wing.

“After acquiring the Defense Organizational Climate Survey results in 2020 and 2021, the main issues we realized we faced as Airmen were daily work and life stressors,” Rodriguez said. “The next step was looking at what we can do as leaders to face that issue and try to make a difference. By combining forces with 6th MDG and our leaders here at 6th MXG, it was a no brainer to try and relieve that stress here at the source. We knew and understood that our mission capabilities would grow by making our Airmen’s resiliency a priority.”

Rodriguez said that the 6th MXG is the only maintenance group in the Air Force that has a space for Airmen to reset like the R&R room. She hopes the idea catches on with other units.

Separating personal matters from a work environment can be difficult for members at times, especially when facing hardships. The R&R room can be utilized by maintainers who need a space to getaway or decompress.

“The relaxation room will provide a way for me to clear my head at work,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Bankston, 6th MXS aerospace propulsion apprentice and one of the Airmen involved in the planning and creation of the R&R room. “When I am frustrated at work and things aren’t going well, I now have a place to breathe and clear my mind.”

Investments like the R&R room reemphasize the importance of taking care of Airmen and will encourage a stronger, more resilient Air Force.

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A rest and relaxation (R&R) room is unveiled in Hangar 2 on MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 7. The room contains a therapeutic massage chair, sound system, television, mood lights and more in order to boost morale and increase workplace productivity.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Bankston, 6th Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion technician, utilizes a massage chair in the rest and relaxation (R&R) room at MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 7. The R&R room provides a space for Airmen to go for a mental break to clear their minds and relax to increase workplace productivity.

U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Bankston, 6th Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion technician, cuts a ribbon during the unveiling of the rest and relaxation (R&R) room on MacDill Air Force Base Jan. 7. The R&R room provides space for Airmen to go for a mental break to clear their mind and relax to increase workplace productivity.

INVENTORY From Page 5

Automatic Sourcing provides event-based, real-time identification of the best enterprise source to satisfy an order ensuring the right decision is made with automated fulfillment. u Excess Redistribution leveraging automatic sourcing infrastructure and realizing over $1 billion in costs avoidance by identifying already purchased DAF assets. u Real-time Enterprise Asset Visibility spanning the retail and wholesale supply chains presenting total asset visibility in a single comprehensive view. u Nuclear Weapons-Related Material enterprise management & asset tracking. u High Priority Orders Management provides infrastructure to ensure mission critical weapons systems remain operational and can be extended to other mission areas. u Mobility Management providing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear gear management. u Enterprise Orders Management provides real-time management and visibility across the logistics enterprise. u Financial Improvement and Audit Readiness compliant system with the ability to apply FIAR readiness to additional capabilities. u Proven ability to subsume enterprise systems including high priority order management, mobility, shelf life, and readiness spares for nonairborne assets. u Defense Logistics Management Standards compliant with the ability to transform non-compliant enterprise data into compliant DLMS transactions.

To “Delight the User” and support a diverse and dynamic mission operations tempo, ILS-S is available 24x7 365 a year. ILS-S processes over 10 million transactions daily to include over 1.5 million orders.

Scott Hunter, the ILS-S senior functional manager, said the system is similar to the inventory programs used at auto parts stores. All the stores are connected by the same application and enable employees to check inventory and parts compatibility at any store at any time. ILS-S offers the Air Force a similar capability across the Total Force enterprise.

This was all made possible by the efforts of the CDT, contractor industry partners and a variety of service providers who worked to transform

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the ILS-S into a modern, open systems standard Java application operating in an elastic, secure cloud environment, said James Harbison, lead engineer for the ILS-S CDT. The system has also saved money and will continue to do so.

“We reduced our annual infrastructure hosting costs $25 million annually, and in FY 2022, we’ll drive down infrastructure costs even further by employing reserved instances in our cloud environment,” said Hunter.

To successfully operate, innovate and integrate in a cloud environment, the ILS-S CDT, it’s industry partners and BES service provider teammates have leveraged multiple, modern computing and software development concepts to include the following: u Agile and a responsive and ever-improving delivery model emphasizing warfighter collaboration to deliver monthly production releases to support business needs. u Development Security Operations pipeline with security scanning, automated infrastructure provisioning and patching, and monitoring. u Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery pipeline with the ability to deploy from development through production in a fully automated fashion in less than one hour, integrating multiple active development and test baselines. u Open source makes up the majority of the ILS-S code base reducing the total cost of ownership, and by using industry leading Spring and Apache products, enhances both stability while minimizing learning curves for new developers. u Mobile cross platform solution using Progressive Web Application (PWA) technology and a native tablet presence supporting robust mobile application delivery. u Enterprise connectivity provides military network interoperability enabling over 46 systems to connect with ILS-S across a wide array of protocols minimizing external system integration efforts. u Proven modernization methodology using a “wrap and adapt” model minimizing risk during modernization by decoupling end user and system interfaces from the effort of modernizing the legacy system. u Automated Testing with over 17,000 automated functional end-toend tests using a framework that enables non-technical personnel to develop robust tests.

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NEWS/FEATURES

Security forces defend Ali Al Salem from drones

by Tech. Sgt. Daryn Murphy 386th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs ALI AL SALEM AIR BASE, Kuwait (AFNS)—The threat of unmanned aerial system attacks against U.S. forces in the Middle East has given U.S. Central Command reasons to increase the training and preparedness of bases in the theater of operations.

Airmen at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait, have continued this ongoing effort to protect and defend the installation from UAS threats.

“We take care of the airspace for our area,” said Staff Sgt. Daniel Butts, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of counter-small unmanned aerial systems. “So we’re here to detect, track, identify and then, if need be, defeat.”

U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army assets have been bolstering their cSUAS efforts, which has helped develop seminars to provide leadership with guidance on how the 386th ESFS is countering drone threats.

See DRONE, Page 12

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Daryn Murphy

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Daniel Butts, 386th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron noncommissioned officer in charge of counter-small unmanned aerial systems, pilots a small drone at Ali Al Salem Air Base, Kuwait Nov. 29. The 386th ESFS works within the Wing Operations Center at ASAB to monitor and detect the area around the base to protect service members from possible drone threats.

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DEVELOP From Page 2

ue placed on experience and creating a standardized Air Force writing guide.

“Saying ‘you’ll figure it out’ to new supervisors can’t be our default approach,” Bass said. “We must be more deliberate – especially when it comes to people.”

Teaming to Solve Problems Supporting Action Orders Airmen and Competition, this focus area is centered on teaming with the ability to operate and survive in all domains.

Initiatives include training and developing Airmen at all levels to foster inclusion and value diversity, cultivate the problem-solving capabilities inherent within our people, and enabling command teams to better engage with community partners and develop exercise models to increase confidence to operate under Mission Command.

“Embracing a multi-capable mindset to operate beyond traditional specialties toward the commander’s intent while decisively executing with speed, discipline, and confidence is key to the vision of the 2030 force,” Brown said. “At the same time, operating as part of a collaborative team requires Airmen to bring their unique and diverse perspectives to meet mission objectives in seizing the competitive advantage.”

Resilience is Foundational to Readiness Supporting Action Order Airmen, this focus area supports the understanding that well-being enhances resilience and builds ready Airmen.

Initiatives include instituting “Airmen’s Time” at units to elevate connections and prioritize well-being of Airmen, further development of wellness education programs, better utilization of Resilience Training Assistants and Master Resilience Trainers as well as financial fitness and Transition Assistance programs tailored for each tier.

“Airmen and families who are resilient and ready are the foundation of everything we do as an Air Force,” Brown said. “Prioritizing our readiness in the human domain mitigates the threats we face and keeps

our enlisted force primed to compete.”

Force Development Ecosystem Supporting Action Orders Airmen, Competition, and Design, this area is focused on opening development opportunities beyond traditional classes, courses, and schools - to provide the right content at the right time.

Initiatives include creating an Air Force-wide development plan and framework for enlisted competency progression, re-imagining enlisted professional military education to address historical gaps over a career, curating quality content, and professionalizing a larger cadre to connect development objectives to base levels.

“In order to succeed in the 21st Century fight, Airmen need an interconnected development system that supports continuous growth,” Bass said. “We have to do this by harnessing the modern capabilities that exist in the Information Age to build greater connections between initial skills, technical, and on the job training, education, and experiences.”

Systems to Match Values Supporting Action Orders Bureaucracy and Design, this area is focused on reducing systems, processes, or practices that unnecessarily robs Airmen of time or stands in the way of achieving Air Force priorities.

Initiatives include transforming the Airmen feedback process, revamping enlisted performance evaluations to align with Airmen Leadership Qualities, advancing promotion testing to include situational judgment application, formalizing the career broadening program, to include developmental special duties, and improving talent management systems to capitalize on them.

“This plan is about accountability and action…not talk,” Brown said.

“While we can’t do this all at once, we will not wait to begin developing the Airmen of 2030 today.”

AFWN USAF AF Air Force CMSAF Chief Master Sgt. of the

Be sure to visit the official 6th Air Refueling Wing website at www.macdill.af.mil

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COMMUNITY

EVENTS

We are hiring, join our team 6TH FSS is hiring in the areas of: n Recreation (Bowling Outdoor Rec, Golf and Arts and Crafts) n Food Service (Bartenders, Cooks, Cashiers and Service Workers) n Hospitality (Lodging, Dining and Event Center) n Child and Youth Positions Visit for more info https://macdillfss.com/open-jobs/ M&FRC Federal Resume Writing Workshop Jan. 20 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Free workshop to learn basic resume construction with different formats to target good employment opportunities.

Library STEM Fossil Activity Jan. 22 Join us noon-2 p.m. at the library for a fun STEM event.

There will be excavation kits and real fossils on display. Fossil crafts/games for ages 8-18. (11 and under must be accompanied by an adult) To register, call 8283607 MCEE meeting at Tinker K-8, Jan. 24 Meeting is for parents of military-connected K-12 students enrolled in Hillsborough County public schools. Monday, Jan. 24, 4 p.m.-5 p.m.; military family forum to discuss K-12 educational concerns with MacDill Leadership and HCPS District leadership. Information: 828-0146 Find more events at: macdillfss.com

Fuel delivery!

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Ruano

U.S. Air Force Capt. Kristie Ciampa-Mangers, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot assigned to the 50th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, takes off from the runway for a refueling mission at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Jan. 1. The U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker delivers U.S. Air Forces Central a global reach aerial refueling capability to support joint and partner nation aircraft throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

CHAPEL SCHEDULE Normal Hours- Monday - Friday - 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. After hours chaplain, call 828-4362/4361.

Catholic (in-person) - Sunday - 8 & 9:30 a.m.

Protestant services (virtual) -Sunday 11 a.m. at www.facebook.com/6amwhc

Monday-Thursday Mass - 12:10 p.m. www.macdill.af.mil/chapel

Other Faith Groups Off-base referral as needed

For more details and information, visit the Chapel Facebook page at http://www.facebook/6amwhc/

Be sure to visit the official 6th Air Refueling Wing website at www.macdill.af.mil MACDILL THUNDERBOLT

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DRONE From Page 9

“The seminars are a one-on-one opportunity for general leadership to understand what our capabilities are,” Butts said. “These systems provide real time video or a picture and now leadership has a better understanding of what others could use it for.”

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., U.S. Central Command commander told a U.S. Senate Committee earlier this year that UAS is “the most concerning tactical development in the CENTCOM area of operations since the rise of the improvised explosive device.”

Attacks occurring in 2021 against coalition forces in Iraq and Syria have prompted others in the area of responsibility to ramp up their c-SUAS and c-UAS programs.

This unconventional base defense has driven the mindset for security forces that are protecting against UAS attacks.

“We call it the ‘kill chain’….detect, track, identify and defeat,” explained Butts. “The main thing is detecting so we’re able to see it and track it. Once we’re able to track it, we’re going to identify it, which is key to helping us understand if it’s hostile or not and to what extent. Then we can defeat it.

KRAKEN From Page 3

Doing so requires approval from a variety of sources including the Air Force Reserve Command historian, the Air Force Historical Research Agency and the U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry.

“One of the most visible representations of an Air Force organization is the emblem,” said Andrew Pray, 927th ARW historian. “The legacy of a particular squadron or wing is associated closely with the design of the patch worn on their sleeve and it’s important that the design be representative of the organization as well as uphold the high standards of quality necessary for inclusion in the historical record.”

Every member of the 927th OSS has a role to play in the future honors and lineage of their squadron and from Dec. 21, 2021, onward, the Kraken on each sleeve serves as a reminder of their vital contributions to flying operations as well as the mission of delivering combat-ready Citizen Airmen to fuel the fight.

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