FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- There was no debate, just a simple game of chance between a handful of sticks and a room full of eager, experienced boom operators. Each person made their draw, fate sealed. On the count of three, the sticks were revealed.
A quick glance around the room, then down at his own hand; he had been chosen.
He would be the boom operator to complete the first aerial refueling from a Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.
When the time came, he took his seat in the front of the aircraft. It marked more than a change in posture; it signaled a fundamental shift in the role itself as a new generation of refueling operations took shape. Unlike the KC-135 Stratotanker he was accustomed to, there was no prone position and no window beneath him. Instead, he was surrounded by screens, guiding the boom through a high-definition, three-dimensional remote vision system that projected the receiver aircraft onto large displays.
Through the intercom, he heard the call that the receiver was approaching. His hands settled lightly onto the controls. The F-16 Fighting Falcon filled the screen, its gray fuselage sharp against the sky, the clarity almost unreal. Breathing slowly and steadily, he guided the boom forward, one deliberate movement at a time. When contact was made, fuel flowed smoothly as the two aircraft remained locked together at speed.
“I was nervous, but I was also confident in my ability,” recalled retired Chief Master Sgt. Lindsay Moon, former command chief of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing. “Every experience I had prior allowed me to grow and opened more doors for new opportunities.”
That moment was the culmination of a career shaped by taking chances, one that began with a simple desire for change and ultimately earned Moon the title of “Golden Boom.”
Initially, Moon planned to attend college after graduating from high school. However, he soon realized his top priority was to travel the world. With that realization, his path shifted from college to enlisting in the Air Force.
Although his test scores qualified him for his ideal job in a helicopter, the wait for basic training was approximately eight months. Recognizing Moon’s passion for travel, his recruiter suggested he explore becoming an in-flight refueling specialist. With limited information available about the career field, Moon was hesitant.
“When I went home and discussed the job with my parents, my mom mentioned that our neighbor was a boom operator and suggested I speak with her,” Moon recounted. “I didn’t know her, but I went and cold knocked on her door.”
While the job did not involve a helicopter, Moon decided that working on a fixed-wing aircraft was the next best option. That decision ultimately brought him back to his hometown, where in May 2002 he was assigned the KC-135 Stratotanker, and his duty station: Fairchild Air Force Base.
In his first three years of service, during the post-9/11 era, Moon deployed frequently, spending roughly half his time overseas, often in six-month rotations.
As his experience grew, so did his opportunities. Moon said he completed three temporary duty (TDY) assignments to Edwards AFB, where he augmented refueling operations for aircraft supporting test missions.
Once he discovered the possibility of being assigned there full time, Moon began closely monitoring Talent Marketplace for an opening. With a small team and limited positions, opportunities were rare.
“I communicated to leadership that this was something I wanted to do,” Moon said. “I was TDY when the advertisement dropped, but my leadership saw it and told me. Their support was what really ended up getting me there.”
After nearly three years at Edwards, Moon’s career took an international turn when he moved to Australia, serving as one-of-two U.S. Airmen in the role.
Years earlier, a short-term exchange program was established at Fairchild between the U.S. Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots and boom operators.
“I found out the exchange was being stood up and they were looking for someone with all the experience I had, air refueling, instructor and evaluator, and additionally test experience of bringing new assets online,” Moon said. “Lo and behold, it was a number of the pilots I had known from the exchange.”
Moon spent the next three years stationed at RAAF Base Amberley. Following that assignment, he applied for a position with the 418th Flight Test Squadron Detachment 1 Boeing Field. Though initially denied, his application was later approved.
It was there that Moon once again found himself at the forefront of aviation history, becoming the first person to attempt, and successfully complete, aerial refueling using the KC-46.
“Even though boom operator is one of the best jobs in the Air Force, I was glad I was willing to take assignments that were on that road less traveled. It opened the door to so many opportunities for me,” Moon explained. “I hope young boom operators look for other opportunities as well and then pay it forward to the next generation.”
After 24 years of service, Moon’s career came full circle. He finished his career as the 92nd ARW command chief, the same base he began his history-making career as a brand-new Airman.
“I’m so impressed with what I see when I go downrange to visit our folks, or here as we execute missions and exercises. I’m ready to hand off the torch to the next generation,” Moon said. “And they’re ready to take the torch and to continue on the legacy.”