RAF Mildenhall hosts second European Tanker Symposium

by Tech. Sgt. Austin M. May
100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs

5/7/2014 - ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England -- The 100th Air Refueling Wing hosted the 2014 European Tanker Symposium at Royal Air Force Mildenhall April 29 to May 2, 2014, with participants from the British, French, Italian, and U.S. air forces, as well as civilian authorities.

The ETS, hosted for the first time at RAF Mildenhall in 2012, was inspired by Operation Unified Protector in 2011. Tanker units participating in that operation identified several deficiencies in multinational air refueling practices, and the ETS was the answer to alleviate future challenges.

"The purpose of the ETS is to increase communication between European tanker units in order to foster increased interoperability," said 1st Lt. Bobby Stanford, 100th Operations Group KC-135 Stratotanker pilot. "It also allows units to discuss best practices that have been seen in their experiences as well as other problems that are facing the tanker community."

The symposium fits with 100th ARW's mission of building partnerships, the lieutenant added.

Stanford said benefits of the ETS include the opportunity to see what difficulties other air refueling units are currently facing and how they are being handled.

"It provides an invaluable chance for different nations with air refueling capabilities to fly together and develop a tanker force that operates seamlessly across nations," he said.

Unique to the 2014 ETS was the inclusion of aircraft maintenance units. The additional insight gained from foreign maintainers was a valuable part of the 2014 symposium.

"I believe there is a lot to learn from other nations, especially in the way they maintain their aircraft," said Master Sgt. William Jancouskas, 100th Maintenance Group Quality Assurance chief inspector. "For instance, we aren't the first ones to receive the new 767 tanker. We can take what other nations have learned and apply their findings to our processes.

"That way we don't duplicate their mistakes and we can improve a process without incurring additional costs," he added.

The ETS included capability briefings from the various nations, static displays and a formation flight during which a U.S. Air Force  KC-135 from RAF Mildenhall flew alongside an Italian air force KC-767A and U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath. Other aircraft, including an Italian KC-130J, were also at the ETS.

Stanford said the experiences gained during the ETS were invaluable, and the event provided countless lessons for all the nations that participated.