Hangar Flying

The Faces of Today's Air Force

All Female Stratotanker Crew

U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Elizabeth Ortiz

(Clockwise from lower left) 1st Lt. Alison, Capts. Heather and Waynetta and, Senior Airman Lyndi. [Last names were withheld as part of operational security.]

The 376th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron, flew an ALL FEMALE KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission over Afghanistan on Jan. 31, 2005.

Early on Jan. 31, a KC-135 Stratotanker took off from Ganci Air Base, Kyrgyzstan, carrying more than 180,000 pounds of fuel and an all-female crew-both pilots, a navigator and a boom operator. The event marked the first all-female crew to fly an air refueling mission into Afghanistan from Ganci.

Capt. Heather, and the boom operator, Senior Airman Lyndi, are all assigned to the 99th Air Refueling Squadron at Robins Air Force Base, Ga. They have been deployed here since Dec. 9.

Read more about the all-female KC-135 Stratotanker air refueling mission on the military-network.com web site.

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