Two Airmen Killed in KC-135 Crash Posthumously Promoted

The Air Force has posthumously promoted two of the six Airmen who died in a KC-135 crash in western Iraq on March 12.

Capt. Ariana Savino was promoted to the rank of major effective Jan. 23, a spokesperson for the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida said in an email to Air & Space Forces Magazine. Savino, 31, was a KC-135 pilot from Covington, Wash.

The Ohio National Guard also confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine that Tech. Sgt. Tyler Simmons, a boom operator from Columbus, Ohio, has been posthumously promoted to master sergeant.

The Airmen were supporting Operation Epic Fury at the time of the crash, which is believed to have resulted from a midair collision. A second KC-135 safely landed in Israel, although photographs showed its tail was severely damaged.

President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine attended a dignified transfer ceremony for the six Airmen at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on March 18.

During a Pentagon press briefing March 19, Hegseth and Caine paid tribute to the Airmen and those like them who operate refueling tankers.

“They loved being part of a great team and a crew, and they loved airplanes and aviation,” Caine said. “Our nation’s tanker crews really are unsung heroes, incredible warriors who put their lives on the line so we can continue to take the fight to an enemy.”

“Yesterday at Dover Air Force Base, President Trump, the Chairman, and I stood in solemn silence as heroes came home [in] flag-draped caskets,” Hegseth said. “We honored them. We grieved with their families and we listened.”