Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. -- The 117th Air Refueling Wing was announced as the strategic aircraft winner of the 2018 Omaha Trophy here on June 3.
U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of United States Strategic Command, announced the 117th as a winner in recognition of outstanding support to the strategic deterrence mission.
The 117 ARW is the first Air National Guard tanker unit to win this prestigious award.
The citizens of Omaha presented the first Omaha Trophy to the Strategic Air Command Commander on the 25th Anniversary of the SAC in 1971. The citizens requested that it be awarded every year to the outstanding wing in SAC. USSTRATCOM stood up in place of SAC in 1992. The Omaha Trophy continued to be awarded each year to the outstanding STRATCOM unit. It was expanded to five units within the following categories: Strategic Aircraft, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Submarine Ballistic Missile, Strategic Bomber and Global Operations.