Photo essay: 'K, see ten?'

by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

1/5/2012 - SOUTHWEST ASIA -- KC-10 Extender tanker aircraft are shown on the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing flightline Dec. 23, 2011, at a non-disclosed base here.

The KC-10s at the 380th AEW and the Airmen who fly and maintain them are deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J. They provide refueling for joint and coalition aircraft throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

Extender crews in the 908th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron flew more than 4,000 missions, providing roughly 35 percent of all air refueling in 2011.

According to its Air Force fact sheet, the KC-10 is an Air Mobility Command advanced tanker and cargo aircraft designed to provide increased global mobility for U.S. armed forces. Although the KC-l0's primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of a tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters and simultaneously carry the fighter support personnel and equipment on overseas deployments. The KC-10 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.