Givin' it the gas: airmen at Grand Forks keep the fuel flowing and the mission running

Airman, June, 2003 by Chuck Roberts

The terrorist attacks against the World Trade Center left many feeling afraid and helpless. Not so for Capt. John Pantleo. As a member of the 319th Air Refueling Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D., the tanker pilot knew he would fight back.

"I remember after 9-11 I thought it was the greatest thing in the world that I could do something about it," said Pantleo, assistant director of operations for the 912th Air Refueling Squadron.

He was right. Within hours, the "Warriors of the North" were called into action to refuel an F-16 transporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency director from Montana to New York. Military transport was required because commercial airplanes were grounded.

"Within 10 days, we deployed folks not knowing where they were going or how long they would be there, but they knew they were going out to fight for freedom," said wing commander Col. Keye Sabol.

Since then the wing has maintained a grinding pace to provide aerial refueling to U.S. and allied aircraft around the world supporting Operations Noble Eagle, Northern Watch, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The wing saw its flying hours double just after setting a record the year prior, and its airmen were deployed more than 200 days a year. Sabol said his people have met the challenge.

"They haven't complained," he said. "They have smiles on their faces because they know they're doing the job."

Mission minded

Senior Airman Rob Zafke, a boom operator with the 905th Air Refueling Squadron, personifies that praise. Boom operators, along with aircraft commanders, are in great demand in the tanker world, so Zafke has been away from home for the greater part of his married life.

Since his June 2002 wedding, life has been a series of 40-plus-day deployments separated by two-week stints at home. During a December training mission at home station, he down-played the effects of the "pretty much nonstop" ops tempo and expressed an earnest enthusiasm about his job and the mission.

"It's an awesome job. You get to see the world. You have the best office back there," Zafke said of his perch in the tail of a KC-135 Stratotanker where he lies stomach-down, peering through a small window to maneuver the refueling boom to waiting aircraft thirsty for fuel.

The mission requires personal sacrifice, but Zafke echoed a sentiment that seemed prevalent among the approximately 2,600 military and 300 civilians assigned to the base.

"That's what keeps me going," the Grand Forks native said above the roar of jet engines. "I signed up to do this. I have no regrets at all. I'm really proud to serve my country. It has its headaches at times, but you know it's for a good cause."

Folks here are quick to point out they're not at the tip of the sword, but that the tip of the sword requires the might of everything behind it to deliver its lethal blow.

"These young people carry the war forward," Sabol said. "The mission doesn't happen without gas in the air. They're not second fiddle. There's no soloist in the Air Force," Sabol said.

Also on the training mission with Zafke was 1st Lt. Jim Cucchiara, a 23-year-old co-pilot with the 905th who recently returned from an Operation Enduring Freedom deployment. The Northampton, Pa., native was acclimating himself to Grand Forks where he'd flown only a few training missions after arriving for duty from flight school. Soon after, on his two-month wedding anniversary, Cucchiara was headed to his first deployment.

A team thing

He expressed his sense of purpose as a co-pilot during the long missions as he watched the rugged terrain of Afghanistan unfurl beneath his cockpit window: "You're just a co-pilot, but everybody is equally important."

Master Sgt. Mike Grau of the 319th Maintenance Squadron routinely spreads the message to his people about how they fit into the puzzle.

"I tell the guys they're not just glorified grease monkeys," Grau said. "They do fit and are a very integral part of the big picture. A lot of things wouldn't get done without us," Grau said.

And that especially applies to Grand Forks where temperatures in 1936 ranged from a high of 121 degrees to minus 60. However, average temps aren't so extreme. The summer average is 70 while the winter average is 7.

Grau estimates the maintenance workload increases by approximately 40 percent between summer and winter when equipment is more prone to factors such as dead batteries and moisture in circuits. And with summertime comes mosquitoes -- the likes not seen by most Americans.

"It's the nature of the beast here in Grand Forks," Grau said. "The mosquitoes, humidity and cold weather are something you just deal with. I've been stationed all over the world -- hot and cold -- the job still gets done either way."

One of those who likes getting the job done is Airman 1st Class Jacob Falk, a 19-year-old aerospace ground equipment apprentice from the 319th Maintenance Squadron. His brief Air Force career has revolved around the war on terror. His report date for basic training was delayed because of Sept. 11, and the war has continued as a force in his life since arriving at his first duty station at Grand Forks, That suits him fine.