Photo by Airman Alexis Adams | 6th Air Refueling Wing | 01.22.2026
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Alex Diego, 91st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, poses for a photo on a KC-135 Stratotanker at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Jan. 22, 2026. Diego was nominated and selected for the Senior Leader Commissioning Program - Active Duty Scholarship (SLECP-A), a competitive commissioning program, where enlisted Airmen are granted a scholarship to complete a......
Photo by Staff Sgt. Tiffany Emery | 459th Air Refueling Wing | 12.18.2025
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt Nicholas Vietri, a boom operator with the 459th Air Refueling Wing, Maryland, operates the boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker over the southeastern United States December 18, 2025. The KC-135 is the U.S. Air Force's core aerial refueling platform, extending the global reach of the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and allied nations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Tiffany......
Photo by Airman 1st Class Helen Ly | 6th Air Refueling Wing | 10.22.2025
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Christian De Jesus De Jesus, 91st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, performs a pre-flight check onboard a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during Exercise Global Thunder 26 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, Oct. 22, 2025. Global Thunder is an annual command and control exercise designed to train U.S. Strategic Command forces and assess joint operational......
Photo by Airman 1st Class Timothy Perish | Nellis Air Force Base | 07.22.2025
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Daniel Crump, 99th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, prepares to refuel aircraft during a Red Flag-Nellis 25-3 sortie over the Nevada Test and Training Range, July 22, 2025. By enabling in-flight refueling for fighters, bombers, and support aircraft, Stratotanker crews play a vital role in extending mission range, strengthening joint training and replicating......
Photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Sanders | Nellis Air Force Base | 07.20.2025
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jacob Ellis, 99th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, operates the boom pod of a KC-135 Stratotanker, assigned to the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Alabama, to refuel an F-35A Lightning II assigned to the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, during a Red Flag-Nellis 25-3 mission over the Nevada Test and Training......
Photo by Airman 1st Class Michael Sanders | Nellis Air Force Base | 07.20.2025
U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jacob Ellis, 99th Air Refueling Squadron boom operator, operates the fuel boom of a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to the 117th Air Refueling Wing, Sumpter Smith Joint National Guard Base, Alabama, during a Red Flag-Nellis 25-3 mission over the Nevada Test and Training Range, July 21, 2025. KC-135 boom operators extend mission time through aerial refueling, helping......
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Victoria Nelson | 157th Air Refueling Wing | 07.11.2025
Ronan, age 14, from Bedford, New Hampshire makes contact with a receiving aircraft in the Boom Operator Trainer (BOT) as part of an installation tour at Pease Air National Guard Base, New Hampshire, July 11, 2025. 16 students visited the base, flew as pilots and boom operators in the Weapons System Trainer (WST) and Boom Operator Trainer (BOT), and learned about the how the Airmen of the 157th......
Photo by Senior Airman Halley Clark | 122nd Fighter Wing | 07.02.2025
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Carson Wilberg, a boom operator assigned to the 74th Air Refueling Squadron at Grissom Air Reserve Base, looks out the window of a boom pod during a refueling flight in a KC-135R Stratotanker aircraft over the United States, July 2, 2025. The KC-135 enables extended mission ranges by transferring fuel to aircraft during flight. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior......
