| 203rd Air Refueling Squadron | |
|---|---|
 203rd Air Refueling SquadronKC-135 Stratotanker[note 1] | |
| Active | 1993–present |
| Country |  United States |
| Allegiance |  Hawaii |
| Branch |  Air National Guard |
| Type | Squadron |
| Role | Aerial refueling |
| Part of | Hawaii Air National Guard
|
| Garrison/HQ | Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Mottos | 'A'ole Mamao Loa (Hawaiian: Never too Far) |
| Insignia | |
| 203rd Air Refueling Squadron emblem |  |
| 203d Air Refueling Squadron emblem(c. 1994)[1] | .png) |
| Tail Code | HH |
The203rd Air Refueling Squadron (203 ARS) is a unit of theHawaii Air National Guard's154th Wing located atJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Honolulu, Hawaii. The 203rd ARS is equipped with theBoeing KC-135R Stratotanker.
The 203rd Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the154th Wing. It is an associate Unit with the96th Air Refueling Squadron atJoint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam.
The squadron flies theBoeing KC-135R Stratotanker, which provides the core aerial-refueling capability for the Air Force and has been in this role for more than 50 years. It also provides aerial-refueling support to Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps and allied-nation aircraft. The KC-135 is also capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations.
Established in 1993 to provide theHawaii Air National Guard an air refueling mission and to establish an air refueling capability over the middlePacific Ocean. It began as a small 4 aircraft squadron until 1995 when it was authorized to grow to 8 aircraft and increased personnel.
From late February to April 1998, four KC-135R aircraft from the 203rd, and over 200 154th Wing maintenance and support guard members deployed toIstres Air Base, France, to participate in Operation Deliberate Forge. As real world hostilities began, the focus turned to Operation Allied Force. Seventy combat sorties were flown with a 100 percent mission success rate and zero ground/air mishaps or injuries, and over 3.9 million pounds of fuel were transferred to U.S. and NATO aircraft.[citation needed]
When political and military tensions built up in Southwest Asia, a KC-135R and guard members from the Squadron and 154th Logistics Group were deployed toEielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to support Operation Phoenix Scorpion in November 1998. The unit took part in exercise RIMPAC 2000, taking place in June 2000.
In February 2001, a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft from the squadron provided assistance to the U.S. Department of Defense humanitarian aid airlift to earthquake stricken India. A 203rd KC-135 tanker took off fromHickam Air Force Base to refuel the first India-boundLockheed C-5 Galaxy cargo aircraft laden with relief supplies. The U.S. Air Force C-5 aircraft had departedTravis Air Force Base, California, loaded with heavy equipment and other relief supplies needed in the disaster areas.
On 4 February 2003, two squadron KC-135R Stratotankers from the squadron refueled two Air Combat CommandRockwell B-1B Lancers over the Pacific Ocean while the bombers finished up a 19-hour, more than 15,000-mile, global power mission.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
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