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25
CER SENIN
Nr. 2 (149)
2017
w w w . r o a f . r o
INTEGRITY – COMMITMENT – TENACITY
With the help of the U.S. Air Force’s 100th
Air Refueling Wing and one of their KC-135
Stratotankers, the Romanian Air Force became
certified to refuel from all U.S. KC-135s,
strengthening their partnerships and regional
stability.
“Every event (wehave) accomplished in the
F-16 has been somehow historical,” said
RomanianAir ForceCapt.MahaitaMarin, anF-16
Fighting Falcon pilot. “The air-to-air refueling
(AAR) is a milestone for a developing air force,
and I am definitely proud to be part of it. Not
proud for myself – just a bit maybe – but proud
that the hard work of so many people is giving
the results that we all look for.”
The Romanian Air Force initiated their F-16
program last year and in that short time, have
refueled only from an Italian Airbus A330, but
must obtain familiarization training and
certification to receive fuel from a U.S. tanker
and further their NATO integration.
The 100th ARW, based at Royal Air Force
Mildenhall sent a 14-person crew and a KC-135
to Romania to accomplish the mission.
“It’s important for the interoperability
between the twonations, because it shows our
continuingcooperationwithourpartnernations
here in the region,” said Senior Master Sgt. Lee
Adkins, the 351st Air Refueling Squadron
superintendent and a KC-135 boom operator.
“It’s amazing to be a part of and it’s something
I don’t take lightly.”
From the perspective of the KC-135 and its
crew, thismissionwas rather routine. The100th
ARW is the only U.S. air refueling unit in the
EuropeanandAfrican theater. Thecrewishighly
trained and experienced; therefore, they knew
their mission and accomplished it successfully.
But for the Romanian Air Force’s new F-16
pilots, this day was anything but routine.
“I transitioned from Mig 21 Lancer to the
mightyF-16 in2014. Since then, I havediscovered
that every day equals a new challenge, but the
reward of being able to deal with all of them is
huge,” Marin said. “Throughout the numerous
challenges thatwehad tobear, AARwas clearly
a special one, being completely new. This was
the first time that we did it without the
supervision of our Portuguese friends – from
preparing the jets, to flying and parking them
back safely. Somehowwewere a bit anxious to
discover if we were truly ready for it, but from
themoment of theveryfirst briefing itwas clear
thatweareon the same sheet of paper. I left the
briefingconfident in the success of the training,
and the end of the week gave me that great
feeling of a job well done.”
With U.S. air refueling abilities extending
around theglobe, thequalificationand training
increases interoperability between the two
countries – especially in real-world situations.
Bothcrewswereexcited to learn that theywere
very much on the same page when it came to
AAR techniques and procedures.
“(The Romanian Air Force crew) gave their
briefing first and it was phenomenal,” Adkins
said. “It actuallycoveredmostofwhatwewanted
to cover anyway so I think that set a great tone
for how this missionwas going to be. They had
very good academic idea of what they were
going tobedoing, andeven though theyhadn’t
flown with us, I had an air of confidence that
they were going to be successful.”
As the short mission came to a close and
was deemed successful, the five-day training
operation has now changed the future of the
two NATO partners forever.
“Being able to sustain an air operation is
probably the hardest thing to achieve,” Marin
said. “The AAR capability is making us able to
keep jets in the air for a prolonged period of
time, beingone of themost important features
of the air defense system. I think this capability
welcomesus among theassetsofNATO,making
us credible partners.”
Whenever the U.S. and other countries are
called intoaction, it takes placewithin the joint,
allied and partner teams, and the more they
exercise and train together, the better they’re
able to operate.
“This is someone else that’s on the team
now,” Adkins said. “That can only be a good
thing.”
Courtesy of 100th Air Refueling Wing Public
Affairs
sursa: www.f-16.net
March 8, 2017 (by SSgt Kate Thornton)
History was made when the U.S. Air Force and Romanian Air Force made their first air refueling
contact Feb. 28, 2017, over Romania
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