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I don't want this. I'm an Airman and I don't care where you get the aircraft, I want it to have Active Duty Airmen as Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator and Boom operator. When the aircraft are on the ground I want them taken care of by Active Duty Airmen of the Air Force Speciality Codes needed to maintain the AIRCRAFT.

And Reserves! There may have been hanky panky on the leasing of 767's, but the delay costs have probably ate up any savings on kick-backs that were stopped.

But they haven't been active duty for sometime now. Grissom Air Force Base in Peru, Indiana used to be the home of a refueling wing. There are still refuelers there singet he base closed, but now they are flown by air national guard members.

I taught classes for the pilots for a few years. Most of them have quite a number of combat-associated experience.

I want it to have Active Duty Airmen as Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator and Boom operator.

Navigator!? You're living in the past, Airman. The 3 most insignificant things about a flying mission are the altitude above you, the distance behind you and the navigator.

I flew in helicopters most of my career in the USAF. We didn't need no stinking navigators.

There are plenty of contract maintenance folks working USAF aircraft today. Have you had a bad experience with them?

I don't want this. I'm an Airman and I don't care where you get the aircraft, I want it to have Active Duty Airmen as Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator and Boom operator. When the aircraft are on the ground I want them taken care of by Active Duty Airmen of the Air Force Speciality Codes needed to maintain the AIRCRAFT

I'm not an airman, but I am a politician. Picture this scenario, which I consider to be very realistically possible:

We hire the Irish firm to tank our military aircraft. Then a government is elected in the Irish Republic that is militantly anti-nuke, much as New Zealand's was/is. The Dáil Éireann (Irish house of commons) passes a law that prohibits any Irish company from commercial ventures involving nuclear weapons in any way "for safety reasons". Goodbye refuels for B-2's, B-1's and B-52's.

Or....the Dáil gets infected with the currently fashionable European antisemitism and forbids Irish companies from doing business with Israel. Israel is attacked and urgently needs resupply from the US...

You get the idea.

I don't want this. I'm an Airman and I don't care where you get the aircraft, I want it to have Active Duty Airmen as Pilot, Co-pilot, Navigator and Boom operator. When the aircraft are on the ground I want them taken care of by Active Duty Airmen of the Air Force Speciality Codes needed to maintain the AIRCRAFT.

Double ditto.