#Winning

  • Published
  • By Capt. William-Joseph Mojica
  • 916th Air Refueling
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  The 916th Air Refueling Wing has a long history of leading the way. Over its storied past, the unit has been the home of the first Reserve flying unit in the state of North Carolina, the first KC-135 Active Associate Squadron in the U.S. Air Force, the first Integrated-Wing in the U.S. Air Force, and the first Air Force Reserve Command home of the KC-46. No wonder, then, its motto of “First in Flight,” has morphed to include loftier goals: First in U.S.A.F., First in Air Force Reserve Command, and First in Combat. Just recently, the men and women of the 916th added yet another moniker: First in Fourth Air Force!

During the 19th annual Raincross Awards dinner in Riverside, Calif., the 916th ARW was honored with the 2017 Raincross Trophy. This award recognizes the 916th ARW for their outstanding accomplishments and celebrates the wing as the best wing in Fourth Air Force.

“The Raincross Trophy, given each year to the #1 Wing in Fourth Air Force, has come back home to the 916th ARW for the first time since 2002,” said Col. Scovill Currin, 916 ARW commander. “Out of the 17 wings in our NAF, our team rose to the top. And to be honest, it wasn’t even close!”

Over the course of the past year, some of the significant wing highlights include:
- Standing up the first Integrated-Wing in U.S. Air Force history
- Becoming the first AFRC home to the KC-46, managing over $100 Million in construction projects
- Persevering through 4 Nuclear Generation exercises, qualifying for the first Type 2 Nuclear Operational Readiness Inspection in AFRC history
- Dominating that Nuclear ORI with a real-world hurricane barreling down on the east coast
- Crushing the Capstone Unit Effectiveness Inspection (UEI) with no critical findings
- Executing a real-world Hurricane Evacuation, saving 60 F-15s and 6 KC-135s
- Having the #1 AFRC Tanker Flying Hour Program…for the 3rd straight year
- Welcoming back the Maintenance and Operations team from Turkey after surviving and thriving during a Turkish coup
- Sending out the largest Ops/MX deployment in unit history
- Being selected as the Air Mobility Command nominee for the General Welsh One Air Force Award, the AFRC Hoyt Winner for best tanker aircrew, AFRC AFE Program of the Year, AFRC Crew Comm Airman of the Year, and AFRC FSS Airman of the Year
- Welcoming more than 150 Airmen from Pope after the closing of the 440th Airlift Wing

This list is only a small portion of what the 916th ARW has accomplished this past year and this award is indicative of what the wing continues to achieve as the “Premier Integrated Wing of Combat-Ready Airmen.”

“The rest of 4th Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, Air Mobility Command, and the entire Air Force now understands what we’ve known all along – when it comes to getting the mission done, caring for each other, and passionate service – no one comes close to matching our Airmen,” Currin said. “I am incredibly proud of the men and women of our wing for this accomplishment. They have surely earned it!”

The Raincross Trophy originates from the Riverside Trophy which was initiated more than 40 years ago. For additional information regarding the history of the Raincross Trophy, please visit http://www.march.afrc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/675378/history-of-the-raincross-trophy/.