Freedom Wing connects with Liberty Wing via spouse flight
RAF MILDENHALL, England --
From approximately 17,000 feet above the North Sea, seven Airmen spouses aboard a KC-10 Extender watched in amazement as the 76th Air Refueling Squadron refueled 20 F-15E Strike Eagles, Feb. 20.
The 48th Fighter Wing held the Spouse Flight event to give spouses an opportunity to witness a refueling mission firsthand and to give them a better understanding of the jobs their loved ones perform on a regular basis.
"When my husband says 'hit the tanker' I know what he means now!" said Rachel Couch, wife of Capt. Clayton Couch, 494th Fighter Squadron weapons system officer. "This is awesome!"
Spouses rotated through two key areas of the KC-10 Extender. Inside the cockpit, Capt. Matthew McCune, 76 ARS pilot, said the mission's purpose was to familiarize F-15E pilots with the KC-10 vs. the KC-135. He also explained the capabilities of both aircraft and described their formation in the refueling process.
Also aboard the aircraft answering questions and sharing stories were 76 ARS pilots Maj. Dan Hoskin, 1st Lt. Carl Pachmayer, 2nd Lt. Geoff Martone and 76 ARS engineer Tech. Sgt. Ryan Trebisovsky.
In the rear of the aircraft, down below, 76 ARS boom operators Staff Sgt. Brian Kelly and Staff Sgt. Alvaro Fable took turns operating the boom flight control stick and expounding on the air refueling compartment. As the KC-10 made contact with the F-15E, the spouses, with their camera in hand, snapped away at the action.
"I didn't know how many pounds of fuel were involved until today's mission," said Ashley Gogan, wife of Capt. Dale Gogan, 494 FS weapons system officer. "I also learned that the boom operator communicates directly with the pilot of the aircraft being refueled."
For Jessie Hulme, seeing and listening to husband Capt. Erik Hulme, 494 FS pilot, through the headsets during the refueling mission reminded her of his days in pilot training.
"When he was in pilot training, we used to practice radio calls together. They never made much sense to me," said Jessie Hulme. "However, it was nice to see him in action with people who know what they are doing."
Kelly said the experience helped the spouses understand the complexity of their partner's job.
"Today was really exciting. This was my first spouse flight. I would really hope that more spouses would be able to experience this," said Gogan. "We hear our spouses talk about their job all of the time, but to see it this way shows that they have something cool going on!"