Fairchild Air Force Base demonstrates rapid generation capabilities during Royal Flush

Airman 1st Class Brody Unkart, left, and Senior Airman Zander Rafter, crew chiefs assigned to the 92nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, pack the cargo loading support strut on a KC-135 Stratotanker during exercise Royal Flush at Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, April 30, 2024. The cargo loading support strut acts as a safety precaution when adding or taking away weight from an aircraft. During the exercise, 92nd AMXS Airmen tested their ability to perform preventative and reactive aircraft maintenance at an increased operations tempo to simulate the environment they would experience during a potential real-world contingency. Royal Flush was a two-part Air Mobility Command-directed readiness exercise that evaluated the ability to rapidly respond and execute mobility fundamentals and non-standard techniques to provide global mobility at a moment’s notice. In a 72-hour period, Fairchild AFB launched 44 KC-135 sorties. This exercise represents a shift from day-to-day aerial refueling missions and planned deployments, to a time when forces could be required to launch all available assets and personnel within days’ notice. As the world’s largest tanker fleet, Team Fairchild would be among the first units to respond to any global contingency. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Megan Delaine)