Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. -- In mid-July while top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods was winning the British Open, the 916th Air Refueling Wing’s ‘Totin’ Tigers’ were also taking home top honors from the United Kingdom. 

The Reserve unit won “Best Livery” at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) held at Royal Air Force Fairford in Gloucestershire, England.

The RIAT, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest military air show, thrilled nearly 160,000 fans with 300 aircraft, 16 hours of flying displays and the chance for the public to mingle with aircrews and maintainers from around the world.
After landing at RAF Fairford, the Reserve tanker from Seymour Johnson was converted from a plain gray KC-135 into a huge winged tiger as part of RIAT’s theme, “Tigers Roar in 2005.” The aircraft had large tiger heads placed on each side of the fuselage, claws on the engines and tiger stripes spelling out “916th ARW” down its sides. The tail was marked with the familiar “Totin’ Tiger” carrying a load of cargo on its back.
The transformation was not easy. After landing at Fairford, the 10-member crew spent more than 10 hours elbow-to-elbow installing the tiger markings. 

“Ops and maintenance worked together to get the job done,” said Master Sgt. Barry Bradley, boom operator, 77th Air Refueling Squadron. “Once the crew saw what the finished product would look like, getting the job done was the number one priority.”
Mr. Timothy Prince, the Air Tattoo co-founder and chief executive officer, commended the Reserve team’s efforts. Witnessing the work in progress as late evening shadows fell across the flightline, Mr. Prince said the 916th crew “demonstrated the spirit of the competition.” 

The judges agreed and awarded one of only six trophies, and the only non-flying award, to the 916th ARW as “Best Livery” (“Livery” is a British term for an identifying design that designates ownership, in American English it would be Best Presentation). 

After the awards were handed out, Mr. Prince said, “You put a lot of work into your jet and it showed. We were glad to have you here and would like to have you back.” 

The invitation to attend the 2005 Air Tattoo came in early January. 

“We were happy to accept the invitation,” said Maj. Eric Jorgensen, 77th ARS mission planner. “But in order to maximize efficiency we combined the show with a cargo mission to Mildenhall and back.” 

Coordination for the trip started early between the 916th Operations Group and the Aircraft Maintenance Group, according to Jorgensen. 

Maintenance personnel, Senior Master Sgt. Dave Theriot and Master Sgt. Adrian Darby, presented the idea to enhance the appearance of the jet with the tiger markings to Tech. Sgt. Michael Berens It was actually Sergeant Berens’ 19-year-old son, Josh, who came up with the design. 

“He drew everything by hand and scanned it into the computer then converted it to interface with our graphics program,” said Sergeant Berens. 

NATO tiger squadrons meet regularly to promote team spirit and camaraderie among member nations. Adding some type of tiger markings (a symbol of strength, speed and hunting prowess) to their aircraft is typical when they meet. The 77th Air Refueling Squadron was designated a “tiger” squadron during WWII and has in recent years been nicknamed the “Totin’ Tigers” as a reminder of its historical past. 

The RIAT 2005 gathering impressed Maj. Matt Young, 77th ARS pilot. “The camaraderie of this group is exceptional,” he said. “I spoke with fliers and maintainers from all over the world--England, Romania, Germany, Italy and others.” 

Maj. Young also spoke with General John P. Jumper, U.S. Air Force chief of staff, as he viewed the aircraft from Seymour Johnson. 

“General Jumper expressed his gratitude that we made the trip and that we were the sole representative for the Air Force Reserve Command,” Maj. Young said. 

Enthusiastic British crowds showed their appreciation for the 916th tiger-ship by taking hundreds of photos and asking for autographs of crewmembers. 

Even with General Jumper’s comments and the huge fanfare, the highlight came from some young British fans in attendance. Four-year-old Brandon and 5-year-old Jeremy of South Wales made the show for the Tarheel crew. The pair showed up in front of the tanker with their faces painted like tigers, pointed to the KC-135 and announced, “the big tiger is our favorite!”