GANCI AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFPN) -- Where were you on 9-11? This is a question almost every American has asked or been asked since that tragic day. Lt. Col. Murf Clark, 22nd Expeditionary Aerial Refueling Squadron commander, has given the same answer to that question for three consecutive years – flying.
Clark, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot, flew on an air-defense mission over Alaska on the day of the attacks. A year later, he was airborne over Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. And this year Clark was at it again, flying an aerial-refueling sortie from here on yet another OEF mission.
Though Operation Iraqi Freedom has been getting much of the world’s attention lately, OEF is still very active. This year’s mission included several aerial refuelings of Dutch F-16s over Afghanistan.
According to Clark, he was fortunate to fly on 9-11.
“Ironically, I’ve always felt I was lucky to have flown that day,” he said. “We weren’t striking back at the enemy yet, but I didn’t have to sit feeling helpless like so many Americans that day. I felt I was doing something to protect our country.
“I’ll never forget the eerie feeling I got when I asked for clearance from Anchorage Center … on Sept. 12,” Clark said. “The controller told us we were cleared to anywhere in Alaska. ‘You’re the only aircraft flying.’”
One year later, he found himself over Afghanistan on the first anniversary of the attacks.
“We were flying out of a Southwest Asian location in support of Marine F-18 (Hornets) from Ganci Air Base,” he said. “Last year, we were just starting to send tankers (here). It was a much longer flight to Afghanistan from Southwest Asian locations than it is from Ganci.”
On his third deployment supporting OEF, the week of Sept. 8 marked Clark’s 18th week in the theater. He said that is not a lot when compared to line crews who do the majority of the flying.
“I’ve been away from home about 145 days since Sept 11, 2001. I know of crewmembers who have been away for 400 days or more since then,” Clark said.
The pilot on this mission, 1st Lt. Brian Ewasko, is one of those airmen who have been away a lot.
“In the past two years, I’ve seen my wife a total of seven months,” he said. “But if I have to be away, I want to be doing something like this, especially on Sept. 11.”
The excitement to be flying a mission over Afghanistan could be seen in all members of the crew. Not because they were carrying future memento flags on the flight, but in their attitudes and actions.
“We get a satisfaction from accomplishing a mission such as (this one) like no other,” Clark said. “Unfortunately, that satisfaction is hard to pass on to our families. No matter what we’re doing, we’re still gone to them.”
Still, Clark is excited to be where he is today.
“I’m pretty young, but I’m old enough to remember Strategic Air Command and the alerts we sat during the Cold War,” he said. “Now I’m flying out of a former bomber base in the former Soviet Union. I think some great things have come out of the terrible events of 9-11.”