TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. – Airmen with the 9th Air Refueling Squadron, fly a KC-10 Extender to Los Angeles to refuel three F-15E Strike Eagles that were performing security measures during Super Bowl LVI Feb. 13, 2022.
“Our main goal for this mission was to keep the fighters in the air to ensure the safeguard of the 70,000 people attending the game,” said Capt. Rachel Van Breeman, 9th ARS pilot.
A KC-10 is capable of carrying up to 200,000 pounds of fuel, which is over double what was needed for this mission.
“For the duration of our flight we performed 10 refueling operations for the three aircraft,” said Van Breeman. “By the end of our mission we offloaded over 83,000 pounds of fuel.”
The fighters with the 144th Fighter Wing stationed out of Fresno Air National Guard Base were able to provide security for the full duration of Super Bowl LVI because of Travis AFB KC-10’s capability to refuel aircraft mid-flight.
“The fighters were working as security to keep all unauthorized aircraft out of the airspace above the Super Bowl stadium,” said Senior Airman Daniel Proben, 9th ARS boom operator. “Any aircraft attempting to enter this zone would be deterred by these fighters.”
Proben said after three years of completing air refuels, he felt very confident in his ability to get the job done.
“This is why I joined the armed forces, it feels great knowing I am part of a process that is keeping thousands of people safe,” said Proben.
After Super Bowl LVI ended the KC-10 crew maintained their position with the fighters and provided extra refueling to ensure all civilians were able to leave the stadium without incident.
“We had a great crew that came out tonight,” said Van Breeman. “Everyone was motivated and ready to fulfill the mission. This is something only a KC-10 crew can do and we accepted the challenge head on.”
