At least twice a week, these non-descript blue-grey jets pull in to Travis Air Force Base, carrying injured soldiers one step closer to home from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, a waystation of sorts on a long and often painful journey.
Capt. Neftali Cabezudo, Travis Aeromedical Evacuation: "It can range anything from gunshot wounds, explosive device, shrapnel injuries, all the way through to post-traumatic stress disorder."
On this day, there are nine soldiers on this KC-135. Some are able to walk under their own power while others still confined to a stretcher or "litter."
They emerge from a plane that's far from luxurious after a long journey from Maryland's Andrews Air Force Base, and before that, a military hospital in Germany.
As always, the three Marines on this flight are met by one of their own.
Sgt. Mathew Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps: "Obviously we're not medical technicians. We can't do anything from a medical point of view, but we're there for moral support. We take care of them, give them phone cards to call home, make liasons with the next plane, where it's going to land at."
For the injured soldiers coming back from places like Iraq or Afghanistan, their stop here at Travis Air Force Base is a very short one, often less than 24 hours.
Sgt. Mathew Hoffman, U.S. Marine Corps: "Sometimes it's less than five minutes. Sometimes we take them right off one plane to another one that's going to Hawaii."
From Travis, these soldiers will embark on the final leg of their trip home to bases in California and other Western states, ready to pick up the pieces of lives forever changed by their service overseas.
Capt. Neftali Cabezudo, Travis Aeromedical Evacuation: "First of all we always thank them for the service they provided over there defending their country and then we try to make them feel at home as much as possible."