(Tribune News Service) — The New Hampshire Air National Guard became the first to receive the new KC-46A Pegasus refueling tankers in 2019, and now history is being made again with the first operational deployment of the aircraft across the entire Air Force to the Middle East.

A ceremony Sunday honored the more than 180 Airmen of the 157th Air Refueling Wing and 64th Air Refueling Squadron stationed at Pease Air National Guard Base in Newington who will be deployed this fall.

The 90-day mission will provide air refueling support for ongoing operations in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, which stretches from Northeast Africa across the Middle East to Central and South Asia, according to the National Guard. The mission includes multiple aircraft.

Sunday also marked the first deployment under the Air Force’s new model to deploy as units rather than as individuals.

Typically, the airmen would rotate in and out of deployments in a “combatant command area of responsibility,” using aircraft already deployed to those regions.

“This time we are bringing our own airplanes. We are bringing our own people,” said New Hampshire Air National Guard Lt. Col. Jim Lux, who will serve as the deployment squadron commander. This will be his seventh deployment.

The deployment marks a shift away from legacy tankers, including the Air Force’s 1950’s-era aerial refueling fleet of KC-135s.

National Guard Adjutant General David J. Mikolaities listed accomplishments of the wing, including a 36-hour nonstop endurance mission covering 16,000 miles in 2022.

“The security threats that we face in the Indo-Pacific region are quite substantial,” he said. “I’d also offer to you that there is no air refueling wing in the nation who hasn’t brought the future faster than here at Pease — the 157th Air Refueling Wing.”

Gov. Chris Sununu called the deployment “a big deal” and said the wing is ahead of the game. He also spoke of the sacrifice.

“Have a successful deployment,” Sununu said. “Have a deployment that allows you to embrace new adventures, maybe even have a little fun, but most importantly come home safe.”

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, said the committee spends a lot of time talking about threats of great power competition.

“One of the biggest assets that we have in America that is recognized by both our allies and our adversaries is our air refueling capabilities,” Shaheen said.

She called the KC-46 a “force multiplier that gives us the ability to go into the Indo-Pacific in ways we couldn’t without that.”

Also speaking were U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan and U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas.

Col. Nelson Perron and Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Reiter amped up the entire refueling wing.

“This wing is ready,” Perron said. “They are ready to deploy and be the first KC-46 unit to go out and do the nation’s business.”

The Air Force now operates under what it called the Air Force Force Generation model, which includes four phases in a 24-month cycle.

New Hampshire Air National Guard Maj. Erick Earle said the deployment has been a longtime coming. He joined the unit in 2010.

“Since the new aircraft it has kind of been a lot of time training, a lot of time going through the growing pains of a new unit,” Earle said. “ A lot of new faces have joined us as well. It is more about watching the next generation come up and take the reins.”

The deployment is a culmination of all the training the wing has done, he said.

“You come together as a team and unit,” Earle said.

Deployments are challenging for every family, especially over the holidays.

“I can’t say they are looking forward to it,” Earle said. “They have been incredibly supportive throughout my entire career.” Next spring, another 110 airmen from the 157th will deploy for six months in support of the same mission, according to the Guard. Lux, who has served 19 years, said he adapts to being away on deployment by coming up with a routine on base. “It is always tough to leave your established environment and go somewhere else for 90 days,” he said.

He said there is excitement around the upcoming historic deployment.

“We come here for our one weekend a month, two weeks a year, and we train for this,” Lux said. “It is good to put into practice what you’ve been training for.

(c)2024 The New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.)

Visit at www.unionleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.