Four days after the official end of Operation Unified Protector over Libya, KC-135 tankers from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing returned to McConnell AFB, Kan. The tankers deployed to Europe in less than 24 hours for the US-led operation Odyssey Dawn, which preceded OUP. Since then, the 22nd ARW refueled more than 2,750 NATO aircraft, passing more than 172 million pounds of fuel to more than 30 types of coalition aircraft. They flew more than 3,000 sorties and accumulated 29,170 flight hours. “The bottom line is that the US is part of NATO. Most of our equipment is fully interoperable with the various countries’ receivers, and we train together. When it came time to employ, it was a very simple operation,” said Lt. Col. Robert Pochert, 384th Air Refueling Squadron operations officer. Staging more than 200 aircrew and personnel in Europe, McConnell airmen made up half of the 400 Air Mobility Command personnel forward deployed for Libyan operations. (McConnell report by A1C Armando A. Schwier-Morales)
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
