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Reserve refueling wing in Portland begins drawdown

  • Published
  • By Maj. James R. Wilson
  • 939th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
PORTLAND, Ore. --  The first KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft from the 939th Air Refueling Wing will depart Portland International Airport July 14, 2006 with additional tankers from Oregon soon to follow. The aircrafts' departure marks beginning of a change in mission for this Air Force Reserve unit.

Under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure, all eight of the refueling aircraft and 900 authorized positions will depart Oregon in order to realign the 939th's mission. Members and equipment assigned to the operations and maintenance units will leave by Sept. 30, 2007. The executive staff and the mission support group will remain until Sept. 30, 2010.

"Members of the 939th Air Refueling Wing have contributed to America's defense in ways many of us never imagined when the mission changed to air refueling three years ago," said Col. William N. Flanigan, 939th Air Refueling Wing commander. "There were many Herculean efforts that made a positive impact on the Air Force mission. We can and should be very proud of that."

"Having said that, this is obviously a trying time for many people in the 939th," Colonel Flanigan said. "There are a number of emotions involved, but I do feel ultimately our Reservists will see this time as the precursor to new opportunities and reap the rewards that the changes will offer them."

The 939th's lineage will live on, although it will take a different shape, in the future. Officials expect to establish 75 full-time and 400 traditional reservist authorizations to support the Reserve's growing space program by October 2010. The tentative plan is for the 939th's new mission to be located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

"The story of the 939th will continue here at Oregon and later as part of the Air Force Space Command," 939th Command Chief Master Sergeant Michael Steinbach said. "This change, while substantial, cannot affect what the 939th represents—strength, honor and courage. Those values are at the very core of the 939th."

"I'm proud to say, the heartbeat of this wing is as strong today as it was 40 years ago," Chief Steinbach said. "Its pulse will continue well into the future as it beats within each of us."

The Air Force Reserve will maintain a presence in Portland after the flying mission is gone. Along with the 939th's executive staff and mission support group, Portland International Airport remains home to the 304th Rescue Squadron. The 304th RQS, an organization of approximately 100 members, performs both civil and combat rescue operations by air, land and sea.