Shaheen Attends Departure Ceremony at Pease Air National Guard Base, First International Deployment of the KC-46 Refueling Tanker
(Portsmouth, NH) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, attended a departure ceremony at Pease Air National Guard Base for approximately 300 members in the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing who are deploying over the next year in several waves for up to six months in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Photos from the event can be found here.
“As they prepare to deploy, I’m grateful to the men and women of the New Hampshire Air National Guard for their service and their commitment to keeping Americans safe,” said Senator Shaheen. “The National Guard fills critical capability gaps that ensure the U.S. maintains the most capable fighting force in the world, and this crew will be leading the way with the first overseas deployment of the KC-46A Pegasus refueling tanker.”
In response to strong advocacy by Shaheen, Pease?was selected?as the Air Force’s first Air National Guard KC-46?main operating base. The KC-46?replaces the Air Force’s 1950’s-era aerial refueling fleet of KC-135s and will serve as the backbone of American air operations for decades to come. The last KC-135 departed Pease in March 2019 to make way for the KC-46. Shaheen participated in the arrival event for the first KC-46 to Pease in August that same year. In 2021, Shaheen attended the ceremony for the delivery of the 12th and final KC-46 refueling tanker to be stationed at the Pease.
Shaheen has continued to support the members of the New Hampshire National Guard, including by pressing the National Guard Bureau to exempt New Hampshire from any changes to its personnel who operate and maintain the KC-46. Due to Shaheen’s advocacy, the Guard Bureau granted New Hampshire an extension to implement the policy. The FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a provision from Shaheen that would require the Guard Bureau to grant a similar extension to any state who requests one, and report to Congress on any operational impact of future force re-leveling.
Shaheen has also been a fierce advocate for ensuring the KC-46's Remote Vision System (RVS) stays on schedule and keeps the KC-46 fully operational. This has ensured that the New Hampshire National Guard’s full fleet of tankers can fly real-world missions. In 2021, Shaheen joined senior Air Force leadership at Joint Base Andrews for a briefing on the KC-46 refueling tanker program and participated in a KC-46 air refueling mission on a tanker and with a crew from the 157th Air Refueling Wing out of Pease.
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