Free Republic

On July 26, 2017, U.S. Air Force commandos in the United Kingdom practiced deploying to an austere airfield to quickly refuel and rearm F-15C fighters. It was the first time that Air Force special operators and their MC-130 transports had teamed up with F-15C fighters at a so-called “Forward Arming and Refueling Point,” or FARP. The exercise, which the Air Force dubbed “Rapid Eagle,” expands on the similar “Rapid Raptor” concept involving F-22 stealth fighters — and could help the flying branch sustain combat sorties during some future war with, say, Russia. Rapid Eagle involved three separate wings — the...

CAMP TAJI — As soon as the vehicle pulls in and is safe to approach, a crew rushes out to do their job. They work together in a swift yet synchronized motion pumping gallons of fuel into the gas tank, air into the tires and refilling other crucial items. They’re not a professional racing pit crew; they are Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s Task Force XII Soldiers working at the Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) here. Every day these FARP Soldiers transfer hundreds of gallons of fuel and thousands of pounds of ammunition into aircraft to keep them in the...