OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- The 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels flight conducted their first ever joint F-16 Fighting Falcon hot-pit refueling training with U.S. Army soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Nov. 29, 2023.
More than 30 Soldiers from Camp Humphreys, ROK, visited Osan to undergo the hands-on training, fostering valuable teamwork and operational procedure exchanges between U.S. Army and Air Force personnel.
“The training allowed us to learn and compare techniques the Air Force applies to their daily operations, helping us improve our own services,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Samuel Oppong, 2DSB petroleum and water systems technician quartermaster. “It’s a good opportunity to show what we can do together.”
Hot-pit refueling allows Airmen to resupply aircraft while the engines are running, in order to minimize the turnaround time for their return to flight. This practice enables aircraft to swiftly take flight during attacks, ensuring rapid response and presence in the Indo-Pacific region for defense purposes.
“During contingencies, aircraft don’t have time to park,” said Tech. Sgt. Turner Prue, 51st LRS fuels distribution noncommissioned officer in charge. “When we are issuing fuel to an aircraft while the engines are running, the main purpose is to get them back in the air as soon as possible.”
The 2DSB brought three military occupational specialties to the joint training, including petroleum supply specialists, laboratory technicians and water treatment specialists.
“It’s all about figuring out how we can effectively execute large-scale operations,” said Oppong. “What does the Army have that can work for the Air Force and what does the Air Force have that the Army can implement.”
Not only does the training allow for different services to experience new missions sets, it provides an opportunity to build interoperability. The 2DSB plans on continuing the joint operations by inviting the 51st LRS fuels flight to train at Camp Humphreys in the near future.
“I highly encourage leaders to start incorporating training where different branches of service can work together,” said Oppong. “It is key to sustaining the warfighter.”