European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 11, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 11, 1995 bosnian crisis the stars and stripes Page 3 Refue Sers pumped for v. ". B 9   Are on by Nancy l. Torner . Bureau Raf Mildenhall England even the Birds Are deep in dreams when kg-135 Strat Tanker Pilot capt. Bryan o Neill gets word by Telephone to Assem ble his Crew the four Man team is being dispatched on another refuelling Mission in support of nato s airstrikes against bosnian serbs. The time is Midnight exactly 12 hours since the team completed its last Mission. Within an hour Crew members Are being briefed at Raf Mildenhall running mis Sion errands and preparing the aircraft. And by "4a.m. Friday the air to air re fueling Tanker is in the sky where it will remain for the next 7j/2 hours. Members of the 351st air refuelling so at Mildenhall have been on 24-hour Alert. Since aug. 30, when a multinational Force began air attacks on serbian military tar gets. The refuelling Squadron is part of the 100th air refuelling Wing. V the coalition initially was assembled for operation deny flight the 2 /2-Ycar old Mission to enforce the . No Fly zone Over Bosnia and Herzegovina. The code  for the airstrike missions Iso operation deliberate Force. A minimum break of 12 hours Between missions is mandatory but we can Fly every Day says staff sgt. Bruce Zahn 29, the refuelling Boom operator who is filling out flight records just after the plane takes off. Such intense scheduling messes with your sleeping habits says capt. Evan Breedlove 27, the navigator. But you sleep when you can. That s what they pay us to  to   air Crews have flown More than 50 sorties and transferred More than 350,000 Gallons of fuel into . And other nato aircraft since operation. Deliberate Force began according to the Milde hair Public affairs office. On Friday alone Zahn pumped nearly 21,000 Gallons into a total of about a dozen f 16sandef-Llls. Near silence Marks the first two hour leg of Friday s journey to the refuelling site. The rendezvous Mission has been unexpectedly moved up so the Crew needs to gain time. We have to be there at a certain time Zahn says. Nato aircraft con verging on a classified area somewhere in the Region of the Balkans rely on the availability of fuel As soon As they arrive he explained. In order to maximize fuel capacity the inside of the Kc-135 has been stripped save for two empty crates near the rear Canvas seats with web backs along the Walls and protective padding that covers the Walls. Each person is issued a portable emergency oxygen mask with an air Supply Good for about 10 minutes Long enough for the aircraft to drop to a lower Altitude Zahn explains. At the rendezvous Point Mildenhall s Kc-13s begins running the Racetrack a holding pattern with  Points another Kc-135 already is on the track at a lower Altitude. Two or three refuelling aircraft at a time have been flying the course 24 hours a Day since operation deny flight began says o Neill 27. Up to four refuelling planes have been on the track around the clock since operation deliberate Force began. Suddenly radio Contact h made with.  ". " " ".v. Forss air Force Capi. Victor. Heinz an f-16 from Span Dahlem a Germany approaches the refuelling Boom of a Kc-135 Stonto Tanker from Raf Mildenhall. For is air Force capt Victor Honz air Force capt. Bryan o Neill flies a pc 135 for operation deliberate Force. Intense scheduling messes with your sleeping habits. But you sleep when you can. Thar a what they pay Custodo capt. Evan Breedlove flying Gas std tips bosnian air missions on Raf Mildenhall England is refuelling missions out of Mildenhall account for about 50 of the 2,300 operation deliberate Force sorties that have flown since aug. 30, the Start of the nato bombing. Missions against bosnian serbs still the number of flights has t increased above the Normal daily operations for the 100th air refuelling Wing. All we did was redirect the. Mission said col. Dave Ziegler commander of the 100th operations group. Mildenhall already was allocating Kc-135 Strat tankers for operation deny flight in support of nato planes patrolling the no Fly zone Over Bosnia and Herzegovina. And less. Pressing matters such As some training missions have been delayed allowing for a.  of. Priorities with the available manpower Ziegler said. This has limited the number of additional sorties needed during this time he said. Refuelling tankers Are an important part of any air Mission Ali Culver   said. Tankers in  Are the Force extenders Ziegler said by enabling fighters and other aircraft to refuel in the air the length of time they can keep flying is extended greatly their missions would be a lot Shorter if we weren t there he sail. Mildenhall is a Tanker Hub responsible for All Tanker support in the european theater including Strat tankers at in Ciurlik a Turkey and Nas Kef Lavik Iceland. Nine pc 135 aircraft Are assigned to. Mildenhall and these arc Agnic Tecl by tile european Tanker task Force the european Force includes Kc-135 and Kc-10 aircraft from Active wings air National guard and air Force Reserve units in the United states so the number  aircraft under Mildenhall s jurisdiction can vary during fiscal year 1994, Milden Quill aircrews flew More than 5,000 sorties Over Europe according to a Mildenhall spokesman. More than 75 percent of the rights were in support of . Humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. Some f-16s deployed from Span Dahlem a Germany some of ills deployed from Cannon fab n.m., and some turkish f-16s. Prior to clearance to fill their tanks the fighters All carrying full bomb loads arc reminded to com plete a nose cold Check to ensure their radar systems Are not homed in on us o Neill says. Meanwhile Zahn is lying on his Stom Ach in a pit at the rear of the plane watching out a rear window with his Chin propped up by a padded support. The first f-16 is cleared to approach and Zahn directs the fighter to tic refuelling Boom which extends from the Bottom rear of the Kc-135 by manipulating an instrument panel that flashes guiding lights on the plane s exterior. The fighter hovers about 50 feet below As Zahn manipulates the Boom into the Gas tank and mechanisms Are triggered to Loek the Boom in place. Now As one the two aircraft run the Racetrack at about 350 , aircraft can be seen off to the Side awaiting their turn1at the flying global Gas pump and As they match the Kc-135 s Speed they create the illusion that All the aircraft Are simply floating in space. Abot a do in fill.- later the pc 135 is at the Miril of Mark meaning the aircraft has just  to return to base or in the event of bad weather to an alternate Airstrip. The Boom is retracted and at 9 . The Crew begins its 21/2-hour journey Home. The mood inside the plane is lighter now. Crew members that with one another and Coffee is  it feels Good to be successful says capt. Niele , 3 ,. The to Pilot. The plane touches Clown at Mildenhall about 11 30 .., and the  begin lacking their things. Next Stop is the debriefing loom. Then  toned hot  the Odds arc Good that in 12 hours the phone is going to King again