Flying over Iraq
By Wolf Blitzer
CNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- They make it look so easy. Way up in the sky, the U.S. warplanes and their crews on missions over Iraq take a break to get some fuel. When I was at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia last week, I had a chance to meet some of the flight crews who keep those U.S. warplanes in the skies over Iraq.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Ronald Marasco's job is to "fill her up." He operates one of those fuels booms on a KC-135 tanker. He's on assignment at the Prince Sultan Air Base where the U.S. Air Force maintains many of those tankers. His mission requires coordination and precision. The two planes are flying at high altitudes and they are flying fast. One slip-up could mean disaster.
I mentioned that to U.S. Air Force Capt. Laura Lenderman, who has been flying KC-135 tankers for quite a while. "We've trained hard," she told me. "I've been doing this for nine years. But every mission provides its unique challenges. But here, we are ready. We are ready to tackle this mission."
Capt. Lenderman has refueled F-15s, F-16s, AWACS, RC-135's, and other planes. So far, while at Prince Sultan, she has not had to refuel any of the stealth planes. "We are capable of refueling those aircraft, but we haven't at this time."
Until recently, the most advanced U.S. warplane -- the B-2 stealth bomber -- had to refuel several times as it flew from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to its targets in Afghanistan. Recently, however, the United States has built up special facilities at an air base on the British island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to accommodate the unique needs of the B-2. That means the stealth bomber will require fewer midair refueling missions if ordered to drop bombs on Iraqi targets.
U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Fritz Koennecke told me he's been flying tankers for 10 years. "The troops here are very well prepared," he says. "We have been here for about 10 years now and so everyone is very familiar with the environment and the theater. So whatever the president tells us to do, I think we'll be ready to go."
During our stay at the Prince Sultan Air Base, we kept hearing that refrain over and over again.
