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  • 91st ARS Airmen reflect on Operation Allies Refuge support

    During their most recent deployment to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, not only did the 91st Air Refueling Squadron provide six months of air refueling support to U.S. Central Command operations, but they also demonstrated what it means to be multi-capable Airmen during the largest personnel evacuation

  • NCOs: unprecedented challenges, effective leading

    In the profession of arms, the noncommissioned officer is often considered to be the backbone of the force. NCOs, being technical experts themselves, are entrusted to develop, lead, manage and mentor subordinate troops as front-line supervisors.

  • MacDill ALS: Ready, flexible, innovative

    Although many of the Air Force’s education and training courses have been put on hold, the 6th Force Support Squadron’s Airman Leadership School instructor team remains diligent. Their ultimate goal is to ensure that their students will be given the same high quality training they need to join the

  • Back to the basics: finding work-life balance during a pandemic

    Though the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced changes to the normal operating environment, the Airmen of the 6th Air Refueling Wing have stepped up, as they always do, to ensure that the mission of delivering unmatched air refueling support carries on.For Tech. Sgt. Shawna Wise, a 6th

  • Delivering excellence: MacDill boom operators train for perfection

    There’s a saying in the Air Force about refueling aircraft, something along the lines of nothing accomplishes mission success without tanker aircraft gas. This saying rings true in Tampa. Refueling aircraft such as MacDill Air Force Base’s KC-135 Stratotanker are vital to mission success and keeping

  • Cramped spaces and fuel vapors: MacDill “Tank Divers”

    Tucked away behind U.S. Central Command and MacDill Air Force Base, Florida’s traditional hangars lies a hangar originally built to house fighter jets. On a given day, peeking out of that hangar will sit a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft seemingly out of place in the considerably smaller maintenance

  • Total Force maintainers road trip for KC-135 recovery

    The skies were calm over the state of New York as a KC-135 Stratotanker assigned to MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, cruised through the veil of blue, en route to a deployment. All of a sudden, un-commanded flight control movements began to inexplicably shake the aircraft. As the pilots rushed to

  • CSAF, CMSAF honor D-Day veterans at MacDill for 75th anniversary

    The sea provided no compassion for the brave men aboard, tension builds with every rock of the boat on every wave. Soldiers, cramped together, felt more like sardines as the mist of saltwater continually splashed their faces. Minutes began to feel like hours in that lock-tight vessel, but land soon