News>Ramping up: exercise prepares wing for major inspection
Photos
Seven KC-135R Stratotankers from the 916th Air Refueling Wing, Air Force Reserve, line the ramp at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base on Jan. 8 ,2012. (USAF photo by MSgt. Wendy Lopedote, 916ARW/PA)
Air crews from the 916th Air Refueling Wing race from the alert facility after receiving notification of a simulated crisis. The wing conducted an exercise during their January drill weekend in order to prepare for an inspection scheduled for 2013. (USAF photo by Maj. Erin Karl, 916ARW/PA)
1/9/2012 - SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- For the first time in nearly two decades tankers from the 916th Air Refueling Wing lined up back-to-back on the ramp here as part of an exercise scenario held on January 7-8, 2012.
The exercise tested the wing's ability to scramble jets and air crews quickly in the event of a real world emergency.
While the Airmen of this Air Force Reserve Wing practice this type of scenario regularly, it usually ends before the KC-135Rs take to the flightline.
On Jan. 8, seven Stratotankers lined up perfectly to taxi down the runway. A sight that has not been seen since the KC-135 came to eastern North Carolina in the mid-90s.
The January exercise prepares the wing for a major inspection that will occur in 2013.
