Fueling adventure

Our flight plan was fairly simple.

We would take off from the Utah Air National Guard base around 8:35 a.m. in a KC-135 Stratotanker; fly to a place north and west of Twin Falls, Idaho; fly in an orbit while A-10 planes — and possibly some F-16s from the Boise Air National Guard — come in for refueling; land back in Salt Lake City about two hours later.

For the crews of the the two ANG units, it was nothing more than a routine refueling training flight.

For the invited guests on board, however, it was a chance to get an up-close look at what their friends, employees

and family members in the Guard do on a regular basis. It was also one big, giant thrill ride.

"This is awesome," said Ginger Riggs, who was invited along because she has a daughter and a son-in-law in the UTANG. "This is the chance of a lifetime."

Michael Russell and Anthony Wenzel agreed. They were there because one of their employees at Progressive Insurance is in the Guard. "He was telling us how he flew to Germany last month. Now, we get a chance to see how he flies," said Russell.

"There are a lot of jealous people back at the office," added Wenzel.

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The 151st Air Refueling Wing of the Utah Air National Guard invites family members, employers, civic leaders and educators along on these training flights three of four times a year, says Community Manager Lt. Col. Kurt R. Davis. "It gives people a better understanding of what Guard members do."

In many ways, these citizen soldiers are silent soldiers — much of what they do is done quietly and behind the scenes. Only in times of conflict, such as with current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war on terrorism, are they brought to the forefront. The training flights help people understand how the ANG fulfills its mission of being "Ready, Reliable, Relevant," says Davis.

These flights are almost as fun for the guard crew as for the public, adds Crew Chief Ray Lund, who will soon retire after 30 years of military service, 17 of which were in the UTANG.

Get people up in the plane, Lund says, and no matter who they are or how old they are, they get excited. "It's like watching kids in a candy shop. I love watching grown adults act like kids. You know they are having the time of their life. There's a lot of joy in watching that."