ISTRES, France (April 27, 2001) -- F-16s from Aviano Air Base, Italy, drop away from the fuel boom after gassing up from a KC-135 Stratotanker over the Adriatic Sea. The jets were refueled by the New Jersey Air National Guard's 108th Air Refueling Wing, McGuire Air Force Base, N.J. The New Jersey unit arrived here April 25 for a month-long deployment to fly aerial refueling operations in support of the ongoing NATO operations in the Balkans, Operations Joint Forge and Joint Guardian. U.S. refueling tanker aircraft based here refuel U.S. and NATO aircraft flying air patrols over the Balkans. The 108th ARW is part of the 16th Expeditionary Operations Group, a small U.S. Air Force detachment located on this French air base. Air National Guard refueling units take the lion's share of the rotational duty at Istres. The 16th Expeditionary Operations Group is a unit of the 16th Air Expeditionary Wing, U.S. Air Forces in Europe. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Tech. Sgt. Dave Ahlschwede)
31 CS, Aviano AB, Italy, TSgt Dave Ahlschwede
2001-04-27
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