RAF MILDENHALL, England -- The 100th Air Refueling Wing and 48th Fighter Wing completed a 48-hour readiness exercise, which included aerial refueling and limited night flying April 23-25.
Mission Assurance Exercise 19-01, designated ‘FURIOUS 48,’ brought the two wings together to work on combat skills and aerial refueling training. Airmen tested their ability to survive and operate in wartime conditions, as well as showcased their ability to generate combat airpower in a wide range of environments and scenarios.
Exercises like this provided both aircrew and support personnel at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath the opportunity needed to maintain a mission-ready force capable of ensuring the collective defense of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance.
The 100th ARW prepared 32 out of 32 KC-135 Stratotankers on time, and off loaded over 762,000 pounds of gas to over 90 receivers.
“This exercise was incredibly important to our collective ability to respond to contingencies in the African and European theaters,” said Col. Christopher Amrhein, 100th ARW commander. “We’re very thankful for the support we receive from the communities surrounding the bases, because without that support, we would be unable to train to maximum effect and assert ourselves as strategically forward-based assets in the U.K.”