The World's only Air Refueling Graduate School

Welcome to the fifty-fifth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast! Thanks for downloading and listening.

A three-inch thick manila folder on my desk in my new assignment to the Air Mobility Command Director of Operations or AMC/DO staff ended up being the worst four years of my career and yet the most rewarding looking back on it. This graduate-level curriculum changed the way the US Air Force air refueling community did business... right before 9/11! And nobody wanted us! I was second in command of the Initial Cadre of eighteen airmen tasked with creating the KC-135 Weapons School, now the 509th Weapons Squadron. Twenty-five years later, the 509th Weapons School has produced over 200 graduates. 

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast is sponsored by the book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit, found in all four formats; Hardback, Softback, Kindle, and Audible. Thirty-two pictures taken during air refueling operations are contained in the book. Please buy one or two copies as sales keep the podcast financed and running.

Four, six, and eight-foot-long profiles of aircraft involved in the US Air Force Weapons School printed on vinyl you can peel off and stick to any flat surface can be found at Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. Wall Pilot can create custom profiles of your favorite aircraft with your name, unit patches, tail number, and weapons loads by going to the website and filling out the custom profile print form.

A print of the KC-135 with the 909th ARS markings can be purchased here.

Prints of the 57th Wing Flagship, an F-15C Eagle based at Nellis Air Force Base Nevada, home of the US Air Force Weapons School, can be purchased here. The 65th Aggressor Squadron's F-15C Eagles in the Flanker and Splinter paint schemes are also available from Wall Pilot.

Prints of Nellis AFB 64th Aggressor Squadron F-16Cs in the all-black Wraith,  the Splinter, the Digital, and the Flogger paint schemes are available at Wall Pilot. 

Thanks to all of you for downloading and listening to this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast, found on the Mark Hasara website under the Podcast pulldown.