Training Japan’s First Boomers:

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Airmen at Travis AFB, Calif., have the distinction of having trained the first three Japan Air Self Defense Force boom operators. The three Japanese airmen, who had served as loadmasters, received four months of training at Travis. First, they attended a six-month language course at Lackland AFB, Tex., followed by three weeks at Altus AFB, Okla., for the basic boom operator course. At Travis, they got to learn how to use the KC-10 refueling apparatus, offering them a similar type operational environment for Japan’s new KC-767 tankers.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org