WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The last JSTARS plane at Robins Air Force Base was ready for take-off Wednesday morning.
JSTARS has been slowly retiring their fleet of 16 E-8C jets as they transition to new missions. All that's left of the JSTARS planes on the base is a model plane in the JSTARS headquarters building.
The men who loaded these planes and sat in the seats say each goodbye gets a little bit harder.
"Goodbye ole' girl. It's been nice knowing you," James Ireson said before take-off.
Ireson came to see off the plane he dedicated almost 20 years too.
"This was my old jet, so it's kind of important to see it leave," he shared.
Before civilian life, he worked as a crew chief on the E-8C.
"We traveled all over the world on them and supported various missions here and there," Ireson said.
JSTARS soared across the globe, making stops across Asia to gather information and offer surveillance.
"The most important thing we did was support the warfighter, namely the Army," he said.
Chris Rhonemus says the aircraft's impact is incomparable.
"It's really hard to beat the legacy of JSTARS. It's unique in what it does," Rhonemus said.
He says he served about 15 years with the plane.
"Loved every minute of it," he said.
He loved it so much, he couldn't let it go.
"Got back into JSTARS again after being retired and a civilian, and spent six years over there until the divestment order came in to retire the fleet," Rhonemus said.
He summarizes his time with the aircraft into one word, "Family, I mean really it's a family."
That tribe stood together one last time, as they watched the last of the 16 jets fly away.
"Every one of them has been a challenge. They're all sad to see go. It's good to see all the ones that have gone to other places to be a trainer. This one is going to be a trainer as well, so it's been good but sad at the same time," he said.
The new missions are technology-heavy. That starts with the E-11a plane that arrived in May.
They're working towards a future-focused approach to support warfighters in the sky but from a hub on the ground. A lot of the work needed to bring the Advanced Battle Management System to Robins should be completed by 2027.