Isles losing personnel and tankers as Air Force cuts back

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Air Force cost-cutting is resulting in the loss of four KC-135R refueling tankers in Hawaii and 152 active-duty personnel with the deactivation of the 96th Air Refueling Squadron and removal of personnel from support units, officials said.

The Hawaii Air National Guard will continue to fly eight of the aging tankers, while other tanker support will be provided by mainland units, the Air Force said. A deactivation ceremony for the 96th Squadron will be held Thursday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Lt. Col. Jason Work, the 96th commander, said the four departing KC-135s will be flown to Beale Air Force Base in California as part of a larger Air Force plan to redistribute the KC-135 fleet.

A total of 36 personnel are assigned to the 96th, but the inactivation will affect 152 airmen from four squadrons within the 15th Wing at Hickam, Work said in an email.

New KC-46 tankers acquired as part of a $49 billion modernization program are expected to replace almost 40 percent of the Air Force’s aging aerial refueling tanker fleet, including the KC-135 Stratotanker, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The KC-135, currently the mainstay of the U.S. tanker force, is now more than 50 years old on average and costs increasingly more to maintain and support, with additional concerns that age-related problems could potentially ground the fleet, the GAO said.

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The Screamin’ Eagles of the 96th trace their heritage to the Army Air Corps’ 6th Reconnaissance Squadron (Heavy) at March Field in California, according to the 15th Wing. In 1942 the unit was re-designated the 39th Bombardment Squadron (Medium) and operated from Hickam Field, Tarawa, Manila and Okinawa.

The 96th Air Refueling Squadron was reactivated in 2010 at Hickam “in response to an increased demand for in-flight air refueling support throughout the Pacific theater,” the 15th Wing said.

Since its reactivation the 96th has flown more than 1,800 sorties and participated in operations Enduring Freedom, Inherent Resolve and Noble Eagle, as well as numerous exercises.