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MAINEiacs scrambled to New York on 9/11
During a recent interview in Bangor, Maj. Gen. John W. Libby, Adjutant General of the Maine National Guard, reflects on Maine's response to the 9/11 attacks.
The mission and scope of the Maine Air National Guard base in Bangor — the state’s only active military base and home to the 101st Air Refueling Wing — developed into something new in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“We’re a lot more active,” MAINEics pilot Lt. Col. Adam Jenkins, who is the 132nd Air Refueling Squadron commander, said recently.
After 9/11, the Bangor-based air refueling wing added approximately 150 full-time active-duty personnel to its roster and now handles or manages nearly 15 percent of the air refueling missions worldwide, according to Lt. Col. Debbie Kelley, a spokeswoman for 101st.
The MAINEiacs have 10 KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft, which essentially are flying gas stations that can refuel other airplanes — a crucial function during wartime — and now plays a key role in most military missions the U.S. undertakes, Maj. Gen. John W. Libby, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard, said last week.
“When America goes, we go,” Libby said. “That’s a big change for the air guard.”
The Bangor airbase was designated as a strategic reserve base before the terrorist attacks a decade ago and now is an operational reserve unit, he said.
“The air guard was seen as a 9-5 unit before,” MAINEiacs wing commander Col. John D’Errico said recently during an interview in his office. “We haven’t been a 9-5 for a long time.”
The Bangor airbase began operating the Northeast Tanker Task Force in 1994 with the 157th Air Refueling Wing at Pease International Tradeport in New Hampshire and after 9/11 added the 171st Air Refueling Wing in Pittsburgh, Pa., and an Air Force reserve unit and the 108th Air Refueling Wing at McGuire Air Force Base, N.J.