Photo By Master Sgt. Lauren Kmiec | An F-15 Eagle from the 159th Fighter Wing receives mid-flight refueling from a KC-135...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii — Milwaukee’s 128th Air Refueling Wing kicked off the two week long air combat training exercise, Sentry Aloha, beginning January 14, 2026 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Sentry Aloha bolsters the Air National Guard’s position as a crucial component of the nation’s operational force.
This year, the training exercise involves over 1,000 personnel and more than 40 aircraft from the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The training exercise has run for over 25 years, providing cost-effective and realistic training scenarios to prepare our warfighters. As an air refueling wing, the 128th’s role in this exercise is to provide air refueling for the other aircraft involved, ensuring they are able to get where they need to go. The opportunity to participate in Sentry Aloha reinforces the wing’s mission to develop elite airmen, delivering exceptional air power.
“Operating in Hawaii during Sentry Aloha gives the 128th Air Refueling Wing a rare and invaluable opportunity to train in a dynamic, joint environment alongside fighter, tanker, and command-and-control assets from across the Air Force,” U.S. Air National Guard Major Drew Kueffler, staff pilot for Sentry Aloha, explains. “By operating far from our home station and across vast distances, our Airmen build the expeditionary mindset and adaptability required in today’s global security environment.”
As they begin week two of the exercise, Milwaukee’s airmen and the KC-135 crews will practice integrating “air refueling missions into large-scale, realistic scenarios that mirror the complexity and pace of modern conflict,” Kueffler emphasizes.
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 01.19.2026 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 556372 |
| Location: | MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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