The 97th Air Mobility Wing at Altus AFB, Okla., inactivated its 55th Air Refueling Squadron after 14 years of service on April 1 and merged it with its 54th ARS. The 55th ARS, like the 54th ARS, was an Air Education and Training Command KC-135R flying training squadron. Now the 54th ARS will carry that load. But some help will come from the newly announced classic associate Reserve squadron that the Air Force intends to stand up at Altus to work with the 97th AMW in its KC-135 and C-17 training mission. (Includes Altus photo caption by A1C Tiffany M. Deuel)
Gas is king in the vast expanse of the Pacific. And as the Pentagon has sought to build up its capability to deter China, the Department of Defense has undergone a major rethink about how to get fuel to the region. At the heart of the effort is the U.S. Transportation…