John Glenn: “I rise today to comment on a subject that I have followed closely during my years of service with the Senate Armed…”

“I rise today to comment on a subject that I have followed closely during my years of service with the Senate Armed Services Committee--the modernization of the KC-135 tanker fleet used by all of our services. Mr. President, the successes our American fighting men and women achieved during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm would not have been possible without the Air Force tanker fleet working around the clock in support of some of the most massive airlifts in this Nation's history. In that effort, it is important to note that 33 percent of the Desert Storm aerial refueling missions were flown by the Air Force Reserve. Today, Mr. President, the Air Force, demonstrating their commitment to a total force doctrine, is in the process of transferring much of this vital aerial refueling mission to the Air Guard. I agree with this effort and would like to further support it by stressing that, while all of the active KC-135 units in the force structure are being reengined into the modern KC-135R configuration, the Reserve components still have over 140 aircraft in the older KC-135E configuration.”