Instructors from the Air Force Air Advisor Academy at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., last month traveled to Yokota AB, Japan, to train mobility airmen from Yokota’s 36th Airlift Wing to be more effective as advisors to partner nation air forces in the region. This represented the first time that the academy sent a training team to the Pacific since it began operations last year, according to Yokota’s Jan. 28 release. The five-day air advisor course “taught us essential skills for building partnerships and knowledge of cultural norms and how to effectively communicate with individuals from other cultures,” said Capt. Olin Johnson, a pilot with the wing, which operates C-130s. “Each class was useful and tailored to the specific needs of Yokota’s role” in US Pacific Command, he added. The lessons covered topics like mission planning, execution, and after-action analysis; behavior in host countries; using embassy resources; and understanding culture, states the release. The course concluded on Jan. 18. (Yokota report by SrA. Cody H. Ramirez)
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.”