134th Air Refueling Wing The 134th Air Refueling Wing ( 134 ARW ) is a unit of the Tennessee Air National Guard , stationed at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base , Knoxville , Tennessee . If activated for federal service , the Wing is gained by the United States Air Force Air Mobility Command . The 134th Air Refueling Wing ' s KC - 135 mission is to provide vital air refueling and airlift , as directed by the Secretary of Defense . It has been stationed at McGhee Tyson Airport since December 1957 , though the ANG facility at the airport has been redesignated several times . Their radio callsign is " Soda " Overview . The 134th Air Refueling Wing ' s KC - 135 Stratotanker mission is to provide the core aerial refueling capability for the United States Air Force and the Air Guard . This unique aircraft enhances the Air Force ' s capability to accomplish its primary missions of Global Reach and Global Power . It also provides aerial refueling support to Air Force , Navy and Marine Corps and allied nation aircraft . The KC - 135 is capable of transporting litter and ambulatory patients using patient support pallets during aeromedical evacuations . Units . The 134th Air Refueling Wing consists of the following units : History . Authorized by the National Guard Bureau in 1957 to replace the active - duty 355th Fighter Group ( Air Defense ) at McGhee Tyson Air Force Base , Knoxville , Tennessee . Extended recognition as a new unit on 15 December 1957 and assigned to the Air Defense Command Montgomery Air Defense Sector . Air Defense . The third Tennessee Air National Guard unit was equipped with F - 86D Sabre Interceptor s with a mission of air defense over the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the strategic Alcoa aluminum manufacturing facilities in the area . The active - duty Air Force 469th FIS was inactivated on 8 January 1958 , with the 151st taking over the ADC daytime readiness alert mission in October , a status that was estimated to take two years . The F - 86Ds were replaced by supersonic F - 104A Starfighter interceptors in 1960 . The 151st Fighter - Interceptor Squadron was federalized in November 1961 as a result of the 1961 Berlin Crisis , deployed to Ramstein Air Base , West Germany , and assigned to the USAFE 86th Air Division . In May 1962 while still deployed to Ramstein AB , the unit set an All - Time US Air Force jet fighter flying record of 836 hours 5 minutes . In addition , the unit had the highest flying time per aircraft assigned ever recorded in the Air Force for a jet fighter in any one month to that date . Following the defusing of the Berlin crisis , the 151st was returned to Knoxville in August 1962 and reverted to Tennessee state control . Air Refueling . In April 1964 the F - 104s were transferred to active ADC squadrons , the 319th and 331st FIS at Homestead AFB , Florida as part of the 32d Air Division . With the transfer of the interceptors , the 134th was transferred from Air Defense Command to Tactical Air Command and was equipped with the Boeing KC - 97G Stratotanker , and assumed an air refueling mission . With no previously qualified aircrew or maintenance personnel assigned , the 134th was still the first Air National Guard flying unit equipped with KC - 97 ' s to achieve operational status . They did so in eight months , the previous " normal " time for the conversion was two years . In 1966 the squadron began a rotational deployment to Ramstein Air Base in support of Operation Creek Party . which provided USAFE an air refueling capability . The Creek Party deployment rotations lasted until 1976 , and over the decade the 151st saw millions of pounds of jet fuel off - loaded and millions of miles flown , all accident free . In July 1976 the KC - 97s were retired and the parent 134th was transferred to Strategic Air Command , receiving jet KC - 135A Stratotanker s . Once again the 134th achieved combat operational status in record time . These aircraft were later upgraded to " E " models in 1982 and finally replaced with " R " models in 2006 . The unit flew 177 sorties and off - loaded 4 . 5 million pounds of fuel in Operation Desert Shield . During Operation Desert Storm , one hundred and nine members of the unit were activated and deployed to Jeddah , Saudi Arabia and Dubai , United Arab Emirates . There the unit was part of the 1713th Air Refueling Wing , Provisional , commanded by Colonel Frederick H . Forster of the 134th ARW . During Operation Desert Storm , the 1713th ARW ( P ) flew 568 sorties and off loaded millions of pounds of fuel to combat and support aircraft . With the inactivation of Strategic Air Command in 1992 , the 134th became operationally - gained by the newly established Air Mobility Command ( AMC ) . 60 personnel and three planes from the Air National Guard ' s 134th Air Refueling Wing based in Knoxville were sent overseas to support the NATO ' s Operation " Allied Force " in Kosovo in April 1999 . The 134th ARW transitioned to the KC - 135E Stratotanker and following the recommendation of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) action , transitioned to and currently operates the KC - 135R Stratotanker aircraft in world wide support of the U . S . Air Force . The unit provides aerial refueling to all types of U . S . Air Force bomber , fighter , airlift and support aircraft , plus many NATO aircraft , as well as other air mobility support as directed by AMC . In recent years they have been deployed to Iraq , Kuwait and Afghanistan in support of military operations associated with Operation Iraqi Freedom and the War in Afghanistan . In addition to these operations , members of the 134th are commonly deployed to locations such as Egypt , Germany , South Korea and Curaçao .