Moody trains Airmen to perform FARP operations

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jarrod Grammel
  • 23rd Wing Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  A forward area refueling point is the process of landing and refueling aircraft in between forward operating bases downrange. During the week of Nov. 14, Moody Air Force Base, Ga., held training to qualify Airmen to perform FARP operations.

This training is for Airmen who are about to deploy to perform FARP operations downrange. The training is three stages: classroom, rehearsal and real world application.

"This training is very important for us," said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. TC Cunha, 920th Operations Support Squadron commander at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. "You don't have time to train and learn this stuff in a hostile area. The more you learn and practice here, the better you can do these things downrange when it matters most."

The Air Force is the only service to use this capability and until recently it was only used by a few bases under Air Force Special Operations Command, before being adopted by Air Combat Command.

"In ACC, it is just Moody and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and we are the leading base," said Tech. Sgt. Tim Ramsey, 23rd Logistics Readiness Squadron FARP NCO in charge. "We currently have about five Airmen qualified in FARP."

To bring FARP capabilities into ACC, Ramsey and Staff Sgt. Michael Jacoby, 23rd LRS assistant NCO in charge of fuels distribution, were trained at Hulburt Field, Fla., to become cadre and pass on the knowledge.

"I was one of the two guys who trained at Hulburt Field as the initial cadre," Ramsey said. "The training is intense. You're running 300 feet back and forth all day carrying equipment weighing up to 100 pounds. We also conduct physical training five times a week."

Staff Sgt. Zachary Beggin, 23rd LRS fuels distribution supervisor, was one of the Airmen training to become qualified.

"It's physically demanding and it takes a lot out of you," he said. "You just have to keep going and push through it because it's for the mission. I'm proud to be a part of this. It's a special duty that not many people get to do.

"You can't be slow or delayed when it come to the real thing," he added. "Everything has to go smoothly."

While FARP is mostly used to refuel military aircraft between FOBs, it can be used by almost any aircraft, civilian or military.

"This capability can also be very useful for humanitarian efforts," Cunha said. "During relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, not all aircraft could perform aerial refueling, but FARP could refuel Coast Guard aircraft and civilian helicopters."

Airmen from Moody and Davis-Monthan train in FARP for the unique missions that they perform downrange and at home.

"You need to have readily available fuel for rescue missions, and we provide that," Ramsey said. "We have to be ready at any time to go anywhere. If we are called on we pack up and go."