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.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine said the U.S. needs to prepared for future conflicts in which its adversaries will be able to closely track the location of American forces and attack with autonomous systems that use artificial intelligence.
