Recently I had the opportunity to travel down to the Utah National Guard base in Salt Lake City and participate in some exciting events in preparation for Air Force Week.

After a short briefing that took place at 8 a.m., I and a handful of other media were bussed across the base where we boarded a KC-135 Stratotanker.

The tanker’s have been in use since being deployed in 1956, and provide the core aerial refueling capability for the United States Air Force. The aircraft is powered by four turbofan engines and can carry up to 200,000 pounds of fuel.

Once onboard the KC-135 we situated ourselves on a varying array of seats.

I was lucky enough to snag a retractable red mesh seat that folded down from the side of the tanker.

At 9:20 we took off and headed for the Utah Test and Training Range, which covers much of the sparse West Desert.

We had roughly 45 minutes of flight time before arriving at our destination. Luckily, shortly after takeoff we were allowed to roam about the cabin of the plane. Salt flats, the Great Salt Lake, and other landmarks slid by silently below the aircraft.

In the back of the plane, under crew supervision, we were allowed to step down into the boom operator’s cockpit.

Once down I lay flat on these blue mats, and quickly gained an appreciation for a can of sardines. That sensation faded quickly though as I looked out the boom operator’s window and saw the panoramic landscape below

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Further investigation revealed the purpose of our mission.

Almost like a surreal dream, an F-16 Fighting Falcon was perched squarely off the KC-135’s left wing.

After receiving a signal, the F-16 slipped silently behind and below the tanker, where the boom operator, with the precision of a skilled surgeon, preceded to lower the boom into the correct port on top of the jet.

Once the Fighting Falcon was refueled, the pilot and boom operator exchanged a wave and the F-16 fell away from the behind the tanker before reappearing off the right wing.

The entire refueling process took no more than a minute, and I watched in awe as nine more of the sleek fighters pulled in for a pit stop – always following the same pattern.

All told, 10 F-16’s were refueled on the mission and then we headed back to Salt Lake City and the National Guard base.

At 11:30 the plane touched down, making the entire process a little more than two hours long.

However, seeing the amount of execution that goes into a procedure like this and the miniscule window of error allowed, I have a new appreciation for our Armed Forces and what they go through.

During this Air Force Week, and for the many to come – this was an experience I’ll never forget.