Wisconsin Air Guard members prepare to support Middle East mission

MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker, Maj. Gen. Don Dunbar, Wisconsin adjutant general, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson and senior Wisconsin National Guard leaders joined community members and families at a Sept. 29 sendoff ceremony for members of the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 128th Air Refueling Wing, who will begin deploying to the Middle East to support Operations Inherent Resolve and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.

Col. Dan Yenchesky, commander of the Milwaukee-based unit, explained that five KC-135 refuelers and more than 140 Airmen would deploy in a series of rotations beginning Sept. 29 and over several weeks to support the Air Force’s largest combat squadron.

“The five KC-135s from the 128th will be just a fraction of the fleet of coalition and U.S. tankers that it takes to run an air campaign day after day, night after night for operations in support of Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf and Yemen,” Yenchesky said. “This is a historic time. Our nation is relying on the Air National Guard, and the tanker community in particular, more than at any time in our history. And our Air National Guard continues to deliver.”

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