| Balad Attack FARP
FARP, depending on who you ask, could stand for one of two things; either Forward Arming and Refueling Point, or Fueling And Rearming Point. But no matter what it is called it has but one purpose, to recover, replenish and launch aircraft.
The Attack FARP in Balad, Iraq, has the duty of receiving aircraft that need both fuel and armaments, and sending them back out to complete their mission. The Balad FARP has received the OH-58 Kiowa, AH-1 Cobra, and the AH-64D Apache, and stands ready to receive many more types of aircraft.
The high operational tempo of the FARP can have aircraft arriving every twenty minutes, and the aircraft needs to head back out as quickly as possible to provide support to the troops on ground. The FARP personnel stand ready to receive them, and get the crews what they need as quickly and safely as possible. A full turn around can be achieved in as little as 15 minutes, at full combat speed.
FARP personnel achieve their quick turnaround, when an aircraft starts its approach into the FARP, the person in the watch tower quickly yells out “BIRD!” This sets the rest of the personnel into motion. Everyone dons their head protection, be it a FARP helmet, flight helmet, or a Kevlar, and puts on their eye protection.
Fully protected, everyone runs to the pads where the aircraft are waiting. At this point the pad chief approaches the aircraft, electrically grounds it and asks the pilots what they need.
The pad chief signals over the fuelers, who begin to fuel the aircraft. Simultaneously, the pad chief, who is an armament specialist, rearms the aircraft with rockets, rounds or missiles. After the aircraft has been refueled and rearmed, it will take off and continue its mission providing support.
Written by SGT Jose Isales
D Co., 3-159th ARB Unit Public Affairs Representative
28 Nov., 2008
Balad Ready FARP
The Ready Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, is operated by Soldiers of A Co., 834th Aviation Support Battalion and has the responsibility of receiving and refueling aircraft as well as providing fuel to the Balad Attack FARP. The Balad Ready FARP has received UH-60 Blackhawk, CH-47 Chinook, and V-22 Osperey helicopters as well as numerous other aircraft types. They have fueled upwards of 2,370 aircraft and handled upwards of 825,000 gallons of fuel since arriving in country in late August. This averages out to about 7000 gallons a day.
The Ready FARP is a "hot" FARP. Which means that the aircraft does not shut down during refueling, operations” according to 1Lt. Jared Annexstad, Fuel and Water Platoon Leader, A Co., 834th ASB. Due to the multiple moving parts safety always comes first. Most refueling in theater is known as cold refueling when the aircraft is shut down making the A Co. mission more unique than others.
The operational tempo of the Ready FARP can change by the hour. Soldiers may be very busy for several hours and then sit and wait for the rest of their twelve hour shift. The FARP never shuts down due to the fact that aircraft are always flying which means a need for fuel. Soldiers wait in a tower built by Soldiers of A Co. When an aircraft is making an approach the Soldier in the tower will alert other personnel. The Soldiers then grab all of their Personal Protective Equipment and head out to the aircraft. Once they arrive at the aircraft they wait for passengers to unload to the waiting area and for the Crew Chief to motion them in. Soldiers then hook up to the aircraft and signal to the truck to begin pumping. The Crew Chief will signal them when the aircraft is full.
Soldiers at the Ready FARP take part in many different activities to keep busy while readily waiting to fuel aircraft. The FARPS Recreational activities include a weight bench, Xbox©, card and board games. The Soldiers also find time to do online classes and Army Correspondence Courses. The Soldiers at the Ready FARP even had a Rock Band© ‘Battle of the Bands’ as part of their New Years celebration.
Written by SPC Richard Brown
834th ASB Unit Public Affairs Specialist
5 Jan., 2009
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