A.V. RESIDENTS GET UP-CLOSE LOOK AT KC-135 TINKER JAUNT AN AIR FORCE OUTREACH TO COMMUNITY.

Byline: JIM SKEEN

Staff Writer

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE -- Inside a nearly mile-long building in Oklahoma, four Antelope Valley residents got an up-close look at efforts to keep an aging air tanker fleet flying.

Visiting Tinker Air Force Base earlier this month, the quartet saw airmen performing major overhauls on KC-135 Stratotankers -- airplanes that are averaging about 45 years of service.

The Stratotanker, whose primary mission is mid-air refueling, is a key part of the U.S. military goal of global reach for global power.

One Air Force official, illustrating concerns over the aging aircraft, noted the 45-year span since the Stratotankers went into service is the same as the time gap between the end of World War II and the first Iraq war.

Flying a KC-135 today to support combat missions is like having a World War II B-17 bomber fighting in that first Iraq war, the general told Bret Banks, Alis Clausen, Rex Moen and Les Uhazy.

"That really drove it home for me," Banks said. "We really can't afford to be sending in our fighting forces with this aging equipment."

The Antelope Valley business and education representatives made the trip to Tinker as part of an Air Force Materiel Command program aimed at informing community leaders about the Air Force's role in national defense. Two to four representatives, depending on a base's size, are selected to represent the community surrounding one of the command's 10 major bases, said Judy Bates, a spokeswoman for Materiel Command.

Twice a year, the community leaders travel -- at their own expense -- to one of the command's bases to learn about the work it does and the local communities' efforts to offer support. The community leaders are encouraged to share their experiences with civic and community organizations.

"That's what we want them to do -- talk to the community," Bates said.

Trips by the community leaders have included visits to the Schriever Air Force Base and the Air Force Academy, both in Colorado; Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee; Brooks City Base near San Antonio, Texas; and Tinker.

"The purpose of the program is to see what the other bases do and how they interact with the other bases," said Clausen, who has been with the program since it was created in 2001. "We get to interact with the senior leadership and with the community leaders of the bases."

Clausen, a representative of Edison International and a member of the Antelope Valley Board of Trade, said the program has enhanced her appreciation of the men and women in uniform.

"Whether they are new airmen just out of their teens or senior leadership, all are very dedicated to their work and very proficient in their work," Clausen said. "We are looking at very dedicated and exemplary people."

Uhazy, Antelope Valley College's dean of math and science, has been involved with the program for about two years.

"We talk about education. Education comes up everywhere we go," Uhazy said. "They are so well aware of education issues, the need for engineers, and the issues community colleges and state colleges can work together on."

At Tinker, for example, Uhazy was impressed with how Rose State College, a community college, works closely with the Air Force to help educate its work force. The college teaches courses at lunch hours and after work on the base.

The visits also offer Antelope Valley leaders a chance to talk about their efforts to enhance engineering education in the region, including a multi-partnered effort to offer a complete four-year education in mechanical and electrical engineering degrees through Fresno State University.

"That's the whole point of this -- to allow for a two-way exchange of information," said Banks, operations manager for the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District.

The Tinker visit earlier this month included a visit to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center. The center repairs and maintains a variety of aircraft, including the B-1, B-2 and B-52 bombers, the Navy's E-6 aircraft and the KC-135 tankers.

"It's amazing that the Air Force has modified and maintained (the KC- 135) for nearly 50 years," Moen said. "How many of us have been driving the same vehicle for 50 years? Furthermore, what would it take to keep that vehicle running if it was driven every day?"

The group also learned about the Air Force's planned KC-X, an aircraft the service hopes to bring online in 2013 to replace the KC-135.

james.skeen(at)dailynews

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