The White Falcon - 08.04.1994, Qupperneq 4

In the spotlight; 4557 TSF
Who*s behind the flying gas stations?
Story and photos by
J02 Carlos Bongioanni
Ironically, the wind chill temperature was
17 below as a KC-135 air refueling tanker sat
stranded on the so-called “hot ramp”with a
fuel leak. Despite the weather, maintenance
personnel endured the frigid outdoor condi-
tions as they hurriedly worked to get the
plane operational for flight.
At the same time, back at the hangar, an
HC-130 tanker aircraft was delayed from
flight due to an electrical problem.
Both cases were recent examples of what
the personnel at the 4557 Tanker Support
Flight (TSF) have to deal with on a day-to-
day basis. As Staff Sgt. George McCauley,
turboprop technician of the 4557 TSF so
aptly put it, “We do, so others can, ’cause if
we don’t they won’t.”
So what exactly does the TSF do, and who
are they anyway?
“We think of ourselves as the linchpin of
the whole operation in Keflavik, as far as the
Air Force is concerned,” remarked Maj. Mike
Cerbin, the operations officer at the 4557th.
“In most cases, the helicopters of the 56th
Rescue Squadron wouldn’t be able to do their
lifesaving mission without tanker support.
Likewise, the F-15s of the 57th Fighter S quad-
ron wouldn’t be able to do their mission
without us.
“One of the things that makes us so unique
is that we’re the only tanker support flight in
the entire U. S. Air Force. As a flight, we
perform all the functions of a regular squad-
ron but have no perma-
nently assigned
planes,” added Cerbin.
KC- 135s, which pro-
vide tanker support for
the F-15s, and HC-
130s, which support the
HH-60 Pavehawk res-
cue helicopters, deploy
to Iceland on a rotating
basis. Each week, a
different unit in the
states sends a plane and
crew to Keflavik. “I’ve
never been in a unit like
this where there are
only two types of
planes, and even those
permanently,” com-
mented Staff Sgt. Greg
Strayhom, electro/en-
vironmental techni-
cian at the 4557th.
With just 26 people
assigned to the flight,
the 4557th is respon-
sible to not only main-
tain the planes and
provide flight sched-
ules for training exer-
cises, but they must
also in-process and
out-process the differ-
ent flight crews they
meet each week.
The 4557th main-
tains tanker aircraft on
around-the-clock alert
status in what’s generally known as the harsh-
est flying environment in the world. Accord-
ing to Cerbin, they launch about six training
sorties per week. That, along with coordinat-
ing with many transient tanker aircraft that
pass through Keflavik each week and even
escorting planes across the Atlantic on occa-
sion, leaves the crew of the 4557th extremely
busy. “We operate with a skeletal crew
without many days off,” noted Cerbin.
When a call is given to launch, personnel at
the 4557th waste no time in getting the plane
ready for take off. With determined preci-
sion, hangar doors are opened, vehicles are
set in place, and within 20-30 minutes, the
plane is pushed out of the hangar, fueled and
sent on its way. Everything is done as quickly
as possible, especially on extremely cold
Tech. Sgt. Jeff Kahn, an electro!environmental technician at the
4557 TSF, goes over the wiring schematics to pinpoint a problem on
an HC-130.
days, to prevent the plane from icing over.
Crewmembers also find it warmer inside, so
the quicker the plane is sent on its way, the
better.
The weather and workload aren’t the only
challenges the 4557 TSF faces. “One of tho|
most challenging things is developing anamB
for ourselves,” stated Tech. Sgt. Jerry Akers^
a communication/navigation technician for
the TSF. “You talk to other Air Force people,
and they don’t even realize we’re here. Every-
body hears about F-15s and helicopters, bait
not of the tankers, much less those who
maintain them.”
Although they are a relatively small unit,
the 4557th TSF is an invaluable asset to the
overall mission of the Air Force in Iceland.
They even provide Space-A seats rat their
tankers back to the
states, as well as
offer spouse appre-
ciation flights to the
Arctic Circle. You
would especially
want to remember
them if you’re ever
heading to the far
north. As it says on
their front door,
they supply “the
last gas before the
North Pole.”
aren’t assigned here A KC-135 stands by before take-off. (Photo by PHl(SW) William Reed.)
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