By John A. Tirpak, Editorial Director A Swedish JAS-39 Gripen flies off the wing of an RAF Mildenhall, UK-based USAF KC-135 during air refueling familiarization training over Hungary. US, Swedish, and Hungarian airmen participated in the 2015 training, which certified the Hungarian Gripen for tanker operations. 24 FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM USAF photo by SrA. Kate Thornton being busier than ever as the Lakenheath, by contrast, will grow through.” Torkelson said he’s “a big primary US aerial tanker capabil- considerably, as it prepares to receive the believer in institutional momentum, ity for Europe, the 100th Air Re- first contingent of F-35 fighters the US and there’s a lot of momentum in both fueling Wing at RAF Mildenhall, will deploy in Europe. Though Laken- nations.” The base will revert to British UK, is preparing to move permanently, heath’s fence line will not expand, its use after the US departs. ending what will be a 77-year US contingent of US personnel is expected To soften the blow, “we’re trying to presence at the historic facility that to swell by about 1,200 people and the transfer as many jobs as possible over to began hostingAmerican bombers just base will host more than 100 American Lakenheath to support the new missions after World War II and a variety of fighter aircraft. there,” he said. missions ever since. Under the EIC agreement with Britain, Site activation task forces are already Mildenhall is one of the bases affected though, Mildenhall’s US missions won’t figuring out how other facilities will ab- by the European Infrastructure Consoli- be leaving until 2022, so the transition sorb functions that will move under the dation, announced by the Pentagon in will happen gradually. Nothing irrevers- EIC. Other noteworthy bases used by the 2015 as a way to save money by huddling ible has yet been done to begin the move. US since before the Cold War, such as military functions at fewer bases around “The locals cling to things like that,” RAF Alconbury and RAF Molesworth, the continent. Mildenhall’s tankers will Col. Thomas D. Torkelson, 100th ARW will also revert to British use or close. move to Ramstein AB, Germany; its commander, said in an interview last Torkelson is keen to preserve the 352nd Special Operations Wing MC- summer. Many British employees at Mildenhall heritage. Many of the ivy- 130s and CV-22s will go to Spangdahlem Mildenhall who have made a career covered buildings on the base date back AB, Germany; and its other assorted there are “nervously waiting out the to World War II, bearing plaques noting missions will move piecemeal to other time,” hoping for a change in the plan, the history of the facility. locations in Britain. Most will go to RAF Torkelson said. But “this is not a US Air “We are the only Active Duty Air Lakenheath, a mere five miles away—so Force decision; this is a US government Force unit” with World War II markings close that the air traffic patterns practi- and UK government decision,” and to on its aircraft, he said. The KC-135s of cally overlap. all appearances, they plan “to see this the “Bloody 100th” wear the “Square FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 25 D” that emblazoned B-17s operating “deep shared sacrifice” during World briefing forAir Force Magazine that any from Thorpe Abbotts, some 35 miles War II that has been a foundation of the plans will have to wait until the British east of Mildenhall during the war with “special relationship” between the US military services decide if any of them Germany. Air Force heraldry experts are and Britain ever since, he said. want the facility. The British Army is trying to figure out a way to preserve the contemplating taking over the base, as markings and unit history because the WITHER MILDENHALL? there are nearby ranges it could use. 100th will be folded into the 86th Wing The UK government is trying to Despite the move of several hundred when it moves to Ramstein. decide what to do with Mildenhall. The miles, US tanker capabilities in Europe Top USAF leaders in Europe “recog- government has committed to free up should not appreciably change, 100th nize the significance of that heritage,” public land for use as public housing, leaders said in interviews. Tankers will Torkelson said. “I’ve even made it part and there is a tentative plan to build be an hour further away from aerial of the EIC working group” to ensure the 4,000 houses on the Mildenhall tract. refueling missions in the Atlantic, but lineage is kept alive in the transition. Other plans suggest light industry us- will be an hour closer to missions in That heritage forms a strong bond age or a mix of industry and housing. the Middle East. between the Air Force and the com- However, US Air Forces in Europe The European tanker operating tempo munity. The British appreciate the (USAFE) officials said in a background peaked in 2011, and it has scarcely re- USAF photo by Capt. Jason Smith USAF photo by SrA. Erin Babis USAF photo 26 FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM laxed since then. In 2011, the 100th sup- for the air campaign against ISIS. supporting the transit of the President ported operations Odyssey Dawn and Torkelson would like to conclude that or Secretary of Defense into or through Unified Protector, the air campaign in open-ended detachment because the the European Theater. Libya. Mildenhall-based tankers were situation has changed. Where once To help, the Air National Guard or Air asked to provide “maximum effort,” the Incirlik duty represented a good Force Reserve have started sporadically Torkelson said. The unit understood way to rapidly build hours and season deploying a tanker to the base, and they that to mean putting every one of its aircrew, “those hours are so generic will pick up some lower priority, nonki- 14—now 15—KC-135s and aircrews now and so canned that I don’t think netic missions, Torkelson said. At first, into the fight. they’re as good an experience as what he feared the presence of the Guard or “No other wing did that,” he said, we do here” at Mildenhall, he asserted. Reserve tanker would simply expand what noting that other units flew, at most, There was a dip in activity in 2012, was being asked of the wing, but “they 80 percent of their allocated aircraft. but “every year since, … it’s been a help more than they hurt” in that regard. The 100th flew “exceptionally long” slow ramp-up in quantity” of mis- “I would love to see more Guard and missions from its home station at sions, Torkelson said. “We are more Reserve perpetual presence in this AOR Mildenhall for three weeks during the max-tasked than we ever have been,” [area of responsibility] that is so excep- Libya operations, he said, until some now asked to fly every single asset on tionally busy.” USAF photo by SSgt. Micaiah Anthony Clockwise from upper left: A French Mirage takes on fuel from a Mildenhall-based KC-135 Another big booster of activity has over Africa in 2013. French fighters have flown combat missions over Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, and Iraq. / A pair of KC-135s sports the 100th Air Refueling Wing’s Square D on the been supporting the European Reassur- ramp at Powidz AB, Poland. The refuelers were preparing for Baltops 2016, a multinational ance Initiative (ERI), calling for frequent maritime exercise around the Baltic Sea. / SrA. Kendall Bryant, a refueling boom operator, deployments to Europe of Stateside F-22, peers from a window during Tonnerre Lightning, an interoperability exercise with the US, UK, and France. / A British Tornado links up with a USAF KC-135 during Unified Protector. A-10, F-16, and B-52 units in theater The 100th ARW refueled 325 aircraft during 2011 operations in Libya. security package missions. They alone account for 40 to 50 percent of the of the tankers were moved to Istres, operational missions “35 to 40 percent 100th’s load, Torkelson said. France, to be closer to the action. The of the time.” The ERI “shows of force and pres- French air force also operates KC-135s In Fiscal 2015 the unit overflew its ence” are “on the backs of our KC-135s,” from Istres, located in France’s south- budgeted program by 127 percent, he he said. The deployments are typically east coastal Mediterranean region, and said. The wing is “routinely canceling” for two weeks, so “we’re refueling all there is now a two-ship detachment lower priority sorties “for higher prior- the time.” from the 100th stationed at the Istres ity missions because our percentage of The 100th is not the only tanker capa- base all the time, helping France’s anti- priority ones has grown to 56 percent.” bility in Europe; Air Mobility Command terrorism effort in Mali. The French Typically, those high priority missions (AMC) sends tankers through the AOR call it Operation Serval, the US name come with “late notice” and the lower to destinations elsewhere all the time, is Operation Juniper Micron. priority ones just don’t get flown. and they pick up some of the load. Mildenhall maintains a one-ship High priority missions can be anything “All the desert swap-out tankers flow detachment at Incirlik AB, Turkey, from an emergency aerial tanking to through here,” Torkelson observed. FEBRUARY 2017 H WWW.AIRFORCEMAG.COM 27 Another AMC KC-135 detachment During the interview with Torkel- a lot of the bread-and-butter training at Geilenkirchen, Germany, is typi- son, he received a call from USAFE work is done in the base’s simulator, cally slaved to refueling the NATO headquarters dictating a high priority run by contractors, Barnes said.