‘We are America’s best’: 116th Air Refueling Squadron celebrates 100 years of service in Spokane

Twenty-nine different aircraft, three military bases and several missions.

The 100 years of the 116th Air Refueling Squadron can be described as a “history of change,” according to Col. James McGovern, commander of the 141st Air Refueling Wing, which includes the 116th squadron.

“We have navigated countless transitions and our commitment to service has never wavered,” McGovern said. “We are a Guard family that continues to serve selflessly and thrive in an uncertain and ever-changing environment.”

McGovern and other high-ranking officials of the Washington Air National Guard’s 141st Air Refueling Wing addressed a crowd of airmen, retirees and civilians who, under a light drizzle, celebrated the 100th birthday of the 116th squadron Sunday morning at Fairchild Air Force Base.

The celebration included a presentation of colors, singing of the National Anthem and two flyovers − the 141st’s flagship KC-135 Stratotanker and a C-130 Hercules from the Montana Air National Guard’s 186th Airlift Squadron.

Aircraft displays, a car show, food and other celebration events highlighted the rest of the day’s festivities.

The 116th Air Refueling Squadron, originally dubbed the 116th Observation Squadron, was federally recognized Aug. 6, 1924, at present-day Felts Field.

Local officials quickly raised the necessary $10,000 to beat out Seattle and Tacoma for the right to have the squadron in Spokane. Spokane leaders sent a telegram notifying Maurice Thompson, adjutant general for the Washington National Guard, the city had raised the money.

Thompson had left Spokane on a train bound for Tacoma when he received the news.

Lt. Col. Brian Gliniak, commander of the 116th Air Refueling Squadron, acknowledged the effect Spokane civic leaders had in shaping the squadron one century ago.

“Without your support, we’d have no story to tell,” Gliniak said. “Thank you for 100 years that all started in 1924 with a wire that read, ‘The $10,000 has been raised. Stop. We want the squadron. Stop.’ ”

Gliniak said the original 116th was a “ragtag group of World War I veterans” who once tried to figure out how to transport JN-6-A2 “Jenny” aircraft, which were not assembled and lodged in crates at a rail yard, to Felts Field.

Members of the 116th assembled the aircraft and constructed buildings at Felts, Gliniak said.

“The heritage of the 116th is one of ingenuity, volunteerism and adaptation to near-constant change,” he said.

The 116th shifted into a fighter squadron and moved in 1949 to Geiger Field, now the Spokane International Airport, so pilots could use a longer runway for the jets. It transitioned again, this time to air refueling missions, and moved in 1976 to its current home at Fairchild.

Aircraft occasionally drowned out Gliniak’s history lesson to the crowd on the squadron Sunday.

The ceremony was held outside at the memorial for four 141st crew members who died 25 years ago when their KC-135 went down on the way back to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in Germany after an air refueling mission.

Generations of families have served in the 141st, Gliniak said.

For examples, Col. Mark Scott and Maj. Jon Cael are fourth-generation members of the wing.

“The people, the family, the camaraderie is what has allowed the 116th to thrive through all the ups and downs that we’ve faced,” Gliniak said.

As they celebrated Sunday, McGovern asked those in attendance to remember what the 116th has accomplished and to look forward to what it will achieve in the future.

“Let me remind you, we are America’s best,” McGovern said. “We are the nation’s premier Air National Guard KC-135 unit with a long and distinguished heritage of service to back it up.”