Team Travis orientation flyers see KC-10 mission up close, up high

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Stephen J. Collier
  • 349th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Airman 1st Class Claudia Almer-Perez tried her hardest, but the excitement just came through. Like a child peeping around a corner, her eyes connected with her fellow co-workers, each waiting anxiously in the KC-10 Extender's passenger compartment. She turned back to face the crew just as the announcement came over the speaker: the engines were about turn.

She's excited because just minutes later, she'd be airborne.

Almer-Perez, a medical administrative assistant assigned to the 349th Aerospace Medical Squadron, was one of more than 15 Airmen who experienced an orientation flight on the aerial refueling aircraft June 6, 2015. Flown by a blended crew of 70th and 79th Air Refueling Squadron members, the incentive flight allowed the 349th Air Mobility Wing to show top performers the wing's air refueling mission.

"It's amazing to see all these people working together to accomplish the mission," said Almer-Perez, a native of Lodi, California. "We all work together to accomplish the mission, but watching it in flight -- it's amazing."

During the flight, the KC-10 crew connected with another KC-10 refueling boom over San Francisco and nearby Monterey Bay, providing training for crews to ensure aerial refueling proficiency. Later, the aircraft joined with a C-5M Super Galaxy to perform a simulated refuel mission. This was one experience Senior Airman Siera Corbett said "was the coolest part" of her day.

"I'm used to seeing pictures in magazines, like Citizen Airmen, of activities like this," said Corbett, a native of Sacramento, California. "You think to yourself: am I ever going to see something like that? So this was cool to experience."

Corbett, a lodging customer service representative assigned to the 349th Force Support Squadron, also had something to tell her leadership.

"I'm truly thankful to my leadership and those who selected me to have this great opportunity to do this," she said. "Yay FSS!"

The incentive flyers were also served traditional aircrew fair with boxed lunches provided by the 349th FSS. During the flight, the passengers took advantage of watching the aircraft take off and land in the best seat possible - the flight deck.

Maj. Judson Darrow, 70th ARS chief of training and aircraft commander for the flight, said the excitement on the faces of Airmen who've never flown on military aircraft before is why he enjoys taking part in incentive flights.

"One of the things about incentive flights is seeing the excitement that goes on with people who don't get to do this on a daily basis," Darrow said. "Hopefully it motivates them to do well in their job and motivates them to come to work knowing they are part of a larger Air Force beyond their organization."