Feature Search

  • O-T-(YES): The journey from enlisted to officer

    Being selected for officer training school is regarded as a prestigious honor for some of those who wish to commission. The 9-week course takes enlisted members and civilians, who hold at minimum a bachelor’s degree, and teaches them the foundations of military leadership, and affords them the

  • McConnell says goodbye to Cherokee Rose

    McConnell is the home of 18 KC-135 Stratotankers. Each one has its own story to tell, but one in particular has made its name in history. A record breaker, war hero, and valued member of Team McConnell – Cherokee Rose left McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, on Friday, April 25, 2025.

  • Precision under pressure: Training the next generation of tactical experts

    Over the jagged and unforgiving canyons of the Death Valley mountain range, a KC-135 Stratotanker banks hard right and left, dips up and down. The jet, equipped with a sharp and laser focused crew of three pilots, one boom operator and two crew chiefs, navigates with confidence in this uncommon

  • Detachment 8 – where KC-46 crew chiefs are born

    McConnell is the original home of the KC-46A Pegasus. The KC-46 took its first flight in 2014, and in 2019, the 373rd Training Squadron’s Detachment 8 began to train crew chiefs on the new airframe. It takes a village of Airmen to raise a young aircraft, and it all starts here.

  • McConnell’s new veterinarian

    The smell of a chemical cleaner lingers in the room and stings my nose as I enter. The bright fluorescent lights cast a harsh shadow on everything in sight. The tile floor feels especially cold against my exposed feet. My nose finds a mat of peanut butter and I almost don’t feel the needle slip

  • The Quiet Guardians of McConnell: DAF Police Officers

    The Department of the Air Force (DAF) police officers work alongside Air Force security forces. These personnel, clad in dark blue, are not enlisted. They do not wear the Air Force camo, yet they stand at the gate, patrolling the base to ensure that nothing goes sideways.

  • Tornado Season: Be Prepared, Not Scared

    MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- As winter fades, the reality of tornado season sets in. In Kansas, tornado season runs from March through June, with April and May being the most active months. However, tornadoes can–and do–occur at any point of the year, making preparedness a year long priority.

  • Jonathan Murphy: Occupational Safety Civilian of the Year

    Jonathan Murphy, 22nd Air Refueling Wing occupational safety manager, won 2024 Air Force Occupational Safety Civilian of the Year.Murphy’s hard work and innovative efforts set him apart when it came to protecting personnel and assets. His ideas saved the Air Force money and labor over a multitude of

  • From Law Studies to Foreign Skies

    “I was in college to become a lawyer, but I started college when I was 16, and by the time I was in my early 20s, I was already burnt out. It was all just sitting in an office, pushing paper. I wanted something different.”

  • From High School to High Altitude

    Lt. Col. Christopher Smith awaited a bittersweet connection as he embarked on his last flying mission as the 349th Air Refueling Squadron commander at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, March 11, 2025.