Keeping it in the family – A pilot and boom operator

Seeing A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft taking off at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Mich., led Josh Hansen to join the Air National Guard. Serving as a maintenance crew chief on the A-10, Hansen enlisted with the permission of his reluctant parents to provide direction in his life and pay for college. While he had hoped to one day fly the A-10, now Air Force Maj. Josh Hansen is a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot assigned to the 63rd Air Refueling Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. After a 25-year career serving in the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, he’s preparing to pass the torch to his nephew.

Hansen’s nephew, Senior Airman Kolby Spurlock, a boom operator assigned to the 63rd ARS, recalled visited his uncle in Tampa when he was 12 years old and was inspired after seeing the KC-135 Stratotanker on MacDill AFB.

“I got to see the unit, the aircraft, and learn what they do,” said Spurlock. “It was then I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

Following in his uncle’s footsteps, he enlisted in the Air Force at the age of 17 – now with the full support of the family. This year, Spurlock joined his uncle as he went on his first temporary duty assignment to support the 2024 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

“It’s pretty cool for both of us to fly together – being able to hear him on the radio and communicate with him while refueling,” said Hansen.

Hansen took the opportunity to mentor Spurlock during one of the refueling flights at RIMPAC, explaining how the exercise is good preparation for deployments.

“It provides that bridge and a glimpse at the real-world environment,” said Hansen. “Exercises, while not exactly the same as a deployment, are still very different than training flights at home on MacDill.”

According to Hansen, they bridge the gap between training flights, which focus specifically on the aerial refueling – what he calls “the most dangerous part of the job,” and the command-and-control requirements of a real-world mission. He also explained to Spurlock the need to continuously communicate and the importance of gaining knowledge for future operations.

“It’s more bare bones here at the exercise,” said Spurlock of his first exercise outside of home station training. “I’m learning how to operate on a different airfield and refueling different aircraft.”

RIMPAC was Spurlock’s first time refueling Navy F/S-18s, using the drogue outside of a simulation, and working as a team with his uncle. With Maj. Hansen and a co-pilot in the cockpit, Spurlock is responsible for clearing receiving aircraft within 50 feet of the tanker, safely conducting the transfer of fuel from the back of the aircraft, and relaying information.

“He does a really good job providing a mental picture up front for the pilots as we are not able to visualize what is going on in the back on the plane,” said Hansen. “It provides us with situational awareness. The amount of work he and other boom operators must do is tremendous.”

Since joining the Air Force Reserve, Spurlock hopes of attending his uncle’s alma mater to earn a bachelor’s degree and becoming an Air Force pilot.