Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Danielle Repp, right, pictured above at age 15, flies on a KC-135 Stratotanker in 2005. Today, as a senior airman, Repp is a boom operator with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron from Spokane, Wash.This was Repp’s first experience with aerial refueling and sparked her interest in the career field. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)140905-F-XX123-003
                        
                        
                        Danielle Repp, right, pictured above at age 15, flies on a KC-135 Stratotanker in 2005. Today, as a senior airman, Repp is a boom operator with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron from Spokane, Wash.This was Repp’s first experience with aerial refueling and sparked her interest in the career field. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Senior Airman Danielle Repp performs aerial refueling in a KC-135 Stratotanker. Repp, assigned with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron, Spokane, Washington, followed the same career path as her father and became a boom operator in 2012. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)140905-F-XX123-002
                        
                        
                        Senior Airman Danielle Repp performs aerial refueling in a KC-135 Stratotanker. Repp, assigned with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron, Spokane, Washington, followed the same career path as her father and became a boom operator in 2012. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Retired Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Repp performs aerial refueling in a KC-135 Stratotanker. Repp enlisted in 1981 and retired in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)140905-F-XX123-001
                        
                        
                        Retired Chief Master Sgt. Daniel Repp performs aerial refueling in a KC-135 Stratotanker. Repp enlisted in 1981 and retired in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Daniel Repp)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Following in her father's flight planPublished Sept. 8, 2014
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Dillon Johnston
                    
                    
                    100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
            **RAF MILDENHALL, England (AFNS) --**Some families have a history of military service, whether it be cross-service or within the same branch. It is somewhat less common however, to have two consecutive generations not only serve in the same branch of the military, but to pursue the same career field.
This is the case with Senior Airman Danielle Repp, 351st Air Refueling Squadron boom operator from Spokane, Washington, and her father, Daniel Repp.
Both Repps chose to be boom operators, with Danielle entering the Air Force in 2012 and Daniel entering in 1981.
Danielle's desire to become a boom operator stemmed from her father's career, which she got to observe first-hand growing up.
"Boom operator was definitely number one on my list," Danielle said 
Her first exposure to the boom operator world was all it took to peak her interest in the career field. 
"I got to fly space-available once on a flight from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington, to Hawaii and I got to watch (my dad) during the (refueling)," she recalls. "Seeing pictures and hearing how much he likes the job made me think 'You know, I don't want to sit at a desk all day, I want to be out there doing something.'"
Daniel, now a retired chief master sergeant, supported Danielle in her decision as soon as he heard about it.
"I'm proud my daughter chose to serve her country in a job that motivates and challenges her to be her best," he said. "It's been fulfilling for me to see the community I served for 30 years is solid, with a sound formal education process, and filled with strong leaders, instructors, and professional aviators."
Although they were never stationed together, they have a bond through their mutual love of the career field.
"Our enlisted aviators are a little closer to the pointy end of our nation's will than many, and being a boom operator provided a sense of mission and purpose," Daniel said. "The support of our tankers enables our nation to feed the hungry, protect the threatened, and bring hope to the despondent."
"It's such a cool job," Danielle said. "I love when you take passengers on a flight and you get to see their eyes get all big when they see the jet behind us. It reminds you how cool the job actually is."
While they are both familiar with the same job, things have changed since Daniel joined. "When I was a senior airman, we flew with navigators, the boom operator made celestial observations with a sextant to aid the navigator in position keeping, and night lighting for air refueling was poor and unreliable at best," he recalled. "There weren't the high-fidelity simulators we have today for pilots or boom operators; training relied on more live-flight learning."
"It's still the same job, but the mission is a lot different," Danielle said. "I can still call my dad up any day and be like, 'This happened on the jet today and I thought that was weird' and he will sit there and talk me through everything, break it down and put it into terms that I'll understand a lot better."
In the end, it's still the same over-arching mission. The father and daughter duo helped enable global reach and made the Air Force a more capable force. They just happened to do it decades apart.KC-135 



father 



daughter 



RAF Mildenhall 



England 



boom operator Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil