Pease’s last KC-135 tanker departs New Hampshire National Guard base

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — The Pease National Guard Base is ready for a new era.

Seacoastonline.com reports current and retired New Hampshire Air National Guard men and women said farewell Sunday to the last KC-135 tanker plane on duty at the New Hampshire base.

The Stratotanker, an Eisenhower administration-era aircraft that’s the oldest plane on duty in all of the U.S. Air Force, was bound for redeployment at Goldwater Air National Guard Base in Phoenix.

RELATED

US Air Force receives new KC-46 aircraft, an event decades in the making

The Air Force is set to get its first long-delayed Boeing KC-46 Pegasus air-refueling tankers at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas.

By Valerie Insinna and Jeff Martin

The new KC-46A Pegasus air refueling tanker is arriving later this year.

Among the last plane's missions was its part in Operation Rolling Thunder, the sustained bombing of North Vietnam over a three-year period.

RELATED

TRANSCOM working to defer KC-135 retirement as delays with KC-46 continue

Some squadrons might have a capability gap as KC-135s retire and KC-46s come online — and lawmakers are concerned.

By Valerie Insinna

“Bittersweet” was the word of the day as several hundred active duty Guard and Air Force members, retirees, family members, and others attended the ceremony.

In Other News

VA to resume new electronic health record rollout in mid-2026

The project was scheduled to take 10 years and cost $16 billion. Nearly eight years later, only six of VA’s 170-plus medical sites are using the software.

Suicides among veterans remain unchanged despite federal focus

The figures are the latest available from federal census data and suggest limited progress on the issue of suicide prevention by Veterans Affairs leaders.

Looming government shutdown could hurt military families, veterans

Plans to avert a partial government shutdown starting this weekend appeared scuttled after President-elect Donald Trump opposed the bipartisan deal.

Live in the Tricare West Region? Do this before Dec. 31.

Beneficiaries in the West Region who don't provide recurring payment information could risk losing Tricare coverage.

Senate finalizes plans for a massive junior enlisted pay boost in 2025

Troops ranked E-4 and below would see a 14.5% raise and all other troops a 4.5% raise under legislation headed to the White House.

Load More