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171st Air Refueling Wing Wins Omaha Trophy

  • Published
  • By Shawn Monk
  • 171st Air Refueling Wing

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. – The 171st Air Refueling Wing has added its name to an elite list of U.S. Air Force units, earning the prestigious Omaha Trophy for 2024 — a rare achievement for a KC-135 tanker unit, especially an Air National Guard Unit.

The Omaha Trophy, awarded annually by U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), recognizes units that demonstrate outstanding performance in support of the nation’s strategic deterrence mission. The 171st won in the Global Operations category. For a tanker unit like the 171st to receive this honor highlights the wing’s critical role in sustaining global operations and national security.

General Anthony J. Cotton, Commander of USSTRATCOM and Mike Cassling with the U.S. Command Consultation Committee presented the Commander of the 171st Air Refueling Wing, Col. Ray L, Hyland the Omaha Trophy during a ceremony held at the 171st Air Refueling Wing, May 1, 2025. 

“This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our Guardsmen,” said Hyland, “It reflects our team's ability to execute complex air refueling operations that are vital to maintaining global deterrence.”

The 171st earned the award through exceptional operational performance in 2024. The unit generated 1,114 sorties, flew over 4,300 hours, and offloaded 15.1 million pounds of fuel to support global mobility and air dominance. The wing also executed Iron Keystone/Steel Forge in 2024, the largest wing-level exercise in Air National Guard history, involving 750 Airmen across five locations under contested and degraded conditions.

“The truly innovative and challenging concept was combining multiple potential mission sets into one comprehensive exercise. It validated that the 171st can achieve nuclear deterrence even when severely limited in manpower, equipment, and resources due to conventional global requirements.”  said Lt. Col. Dana Stockton, Chief of Wing Plans at the 171st.

Exercises like Iron Keystone/Steel Forge and Worthy Phoenix further tested the unit’s readiness, validating aircraft survivability, emergency procedures, and real-time tactical information sharing. Following the guidance of General Michael A. Minihan, Commander of Air Mobility Command, the 171st approached several experimental tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), that advanced the ability of the 171st to provide fuel in rapidly changing environments.

Developing TTPs during an Air Mobility Command Readiness Evaluation like Iron Keystone is very rare, especially when conducting a separate exercise, Steel Forge, simultaneously and in parallel with each other. 

The 171st’s innovative approach to hosting exercises also led to the development of a best-practice checklist for future training events.

The Omaha Trophy was first awarded in 1971 by the Strategic Air Command's Consultation Committee, a group of business leaders from Omaha, Nebraska. Today, it remains one of the most coveted awards within the Air Force, typically going to bomber, missile, or nuclear support units. The 171st’s win marks a rare and significant achievement for a tanker unit.

Since 2013, the trophy has been awarded in five categories: global operations, intercontinental ballistic missile operations, strategic bomber operations, submarine ballistic missile operations, and strategic aircraft operations. Tanker units are seldom recognized in this group, highlighting the 171st’s exceptional contribution to the Air Force’s deterrence mission.

Winning the Omaha Trophy reinforces the 171st’s reputation as a key player in the Air Force’s global strategy. The wing’s ability to provide uninterrupted air refueling support ensures that U.S. and allied forces remain ready to respond to any threat, anywhere in the world.

“The 171st’s performance in 2024 demonstrated not only operational excellence but also innovation and adaptability,” Hyland said. “This award reflects the critical role we play in strengthening global security.”