Air Mobility Command KC-135s and KC-10s have flown 14 air refueling sorties, as of Feb. 12, to support the US and Canadian aircraft providing overflight patrols for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, refueling principally USAF E-3 AWACS and Canadian CF-18 aircraft. AMC’s 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., has overseen these refueling sorties and planning for aeromedical evacuation flights. “We started laying out the aeromedical evacuation plans to support the 2010 Winter Olympics in July,” said Lt. Col Duncan Smith, chief of the 618th TACC aeromedical evacuation division. He added, “We’re poised to support any and all Aeromedical evacuation needs if we get the call; at the same time, we have daily requirements in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other locations.” In 2009, the AMC medevac force flew an average of 52 patient movements per day. (618th TACC report by Capt. Justin Brockhoff)
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
