APRIL 25, 2025 – The 54th Air Refueling Squadron from Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma, refueled the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds in flight on their way to the Wings Over West Texas Air Show at Dyess AFB, Texas, April 17, 2025.
The Thunderbirds, America’s premier F-16 Fighting Falcon demonstration team, travel the globe to showcase precision flying and inspire the next generation of Airmen. But even the world’s most iconic jets can’t go the distance alone.
That’s where the 54th ARS and KC-135 Stratotanker come in.
The KC-135 is a long-range aerial refueling aircraft that allows fighters like the F-16 and other aircraft to extend their reach by refueling mid-flight. With the KC-135’s support, aircraft can stay airborne longer to reach distant destinations and project global airpower, all without touching the ground.
At the heart of the operation is the boom operator, lying prone in the back of the aircraft with eyes locked on the sky. Guiding receiving aircraft into place, they transfer fuel with precision at up to 6,500 pounds per minute.
Staff Sgt. Gage Fontenot, 54th ARS KC-135 instructor boom operator, had a front-row seat to a rare sight as six Thunderbirds slid into tight formation behind the aircraft.
“That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Fontenot.
His path to this moment started years earlier.
“When I was a freshman in high school, I went on an orientation flight for JROTC,” Fontenot said. “That flight planted the seed of wanting to have a future in something aviation related in the Air Force.”
While boom operators manage the critical task of offloading fuel, the mission begins and ends with the pilots up front. From planning routes to coordinating with receivers and ensuring mission success, KC-135 pilots are constantly navigating challenges in the air.
“The longest mission I’ve been on was eight days long for an air medical evacuation out of Fairchild AFB, Washington,” said Capt. Peter Kuzniewski, a KC-135 instructor pilot with the 54th ARS. “The mission was to fly from Washington to Hawaii to Guam to Japan and back home. While in Japan, we were short-notice tasked to fly to South Korea to pick up a premature NICU baby. We needed to fly the baby to Hawaii so he could get the care he needed. The whole mission came out to about 38 hours of flight time which was a taxing job to continuously fly every day, but it was rewarding to get that child and his parents where they needed to be.”
Whether enabling combat operations, transporting patients in need, or fueling aerial demonstration teams, the 54th ARS proves that behind-the-scenes roles are anything but ordinary.
“Our job is to be there to support our own force along with our allies,” Kuzniewski said. “And we’ll always be there when they call on us.”
For more than 60 years, the KC-135 Stratotanker has been a cornerstone of American airpower. With air crews like the 54th ARS, the aircraft will continue to deliver fuel, flexibility, and force – anytime, anywhere.
Story by Airman 1st Class Jonah Bliss
97th Air Mobility Wing