'Sumos' support Northern Edge with aerial refueling

  • Published
  • By Marine Sgt. Zachary Dyer
  • Northern Edge Joint Information Bureau
ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  With approximately 200 aircraft taking to the Alaskan skies for Northern Edge 2009, thousands of pounds of fuel are needed to keep pilots and their jets in the air to get the vital training they need. 

To help keep those jets in the air, the "Sumos" or Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 152 brought two of their KC-130J Hercules to Alaska to support one of the Department of Defense's premier joint training exercises June 15-26. 

"What the KC-130 brings to the Northern Edge exercise is we're able to allow the F-18s to have a longer on-station time, therefore they are able to have longer, what we call 'play time,' in the exercise," said Maj. James Nixon, the Sumos' detachment officer in charge for Northern Edge 2009. 

Because the Northern Edge training areas in the Joint Pacific Alaskan Range Complex and the Gulf of Alaska are some distance away from here, the Sumos and their tankers allow aircraft to spend several hours training instead of the handful of minutes they would get on their own fuel, according to Nixon. 

During a mission, the Sumos can refuel two aircraft simultaneously with the drogue and hose that trail behind each wing. While the pilots keep the giant tanker steady, the loadmasters back in the cargo area closely watch the refueling aircraft to make sure nothing goes wrong. 

"A loadmaster is the eyes in the back for the pilot," explained Cpl. Joshua Balbontin, a loadmaster with VMGR-152. "We let the pilot know where the plane we're refeuling is at all times. We tell them where to move the aircraft in relation to our hoses. Without us, we wouldn't be able to do an aerial refueling mission." 

The pilots the Sumos give fuel to aren't the only ones benefiting from VMGR-152's presence in Alaska. The individual Marines of the squadron are gaining valuable experience while operating in a joint environment. 

"As a squadron, we're getting maintenance training and flight training for both the aircrew and the pilots," said Lance Cpl. Paul Millis, a loadmaster with the Sumos. "It's also showing us how different services do different things. Navy pilots refuel differently than Marine pilots. It's not only giving us personal and professional advancement, but its helping us adapt to working with the different services." 

It is that same joint operability needed to successfully coordinate an aerial refueling mission that Northern Edge is designed to give to the Sumos and their fellow servicemembers. 

"As people from other services would definitely say about the Marine Corps, we are unique, and we're proud of that," said Nixon. "But the ability to work well with those other services, and know what their capabilities are and what their quirks are, and for them to know what our's are - it definitely helps when we go to the real world environment having experienced it during an exercise." 

It also gives the young Marines of the squadron some perspective on how the military works together, according to Millis. 

"Working with joint services is great," said Millis with a smile. "Obviously, we know Marines are the best, but it's been good working with other services and seeing how they do things. The people I'm working with, I see them every day, but they're a great bunch of guys. I couldn't ask for better crews or better pilots."