Nearly 400 students will be back at Keesler Friday to continue or complete their training. The first classes back in business will be those in “critical skills,” Looney says, such as “pararescue, boom operators, enlisted flying AFSCs.” The challenge for the next few months will be “providing quality-of-life amenities for the instructors,” such as a base exchange, commissary, recreation center, and other things that will take time to clean up and reconstitute. Looney said Keesler instructors may spend awhile in unaccompanied status.
KC-46’s Refueling Boom Damaged While Refueling F-22s
July 8, 2025
A U.S. Air Force KC-46 tanker suffered damage to its boom while refueling F-22 Raptors off the coast of Virginia on July 8, Air & Space Forces Magazine has confirmed, with reported radio communication from the crew indicating the boom “detached.”