FARP operations keep Apaches flying, shooting

Photo By Winifred Brown | Spc. Rebecca Rodriguez, front right, assigned to 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, is ready with a fire extinguisher as Soldiers refuel an Apache AH-64D during gunnery certification for 3rd Sqdn., 6th Cav. Regt., CAB, 1st AD, pilots at Doña Ana Range, N.M., Jan. 25, 2017.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

01.25.2017

Story by Winifred Brown  

Fort Bliss Public Affairs Office

By Wendy Brown
Fort Bliss Bugle Editor

DOÑA ANA RANGE, N.M. – When Soldiers heard the distinctive sound of an Apache AH-64D approaching for a landing at a forward arming and refueling point here Wednesday, a team of them quickly met the helicopter to restock it with fuel and ammo.
For the next 20 minutes, however, it was the last time anyone hurried. Although a FARP is a pit stop, the flammability of the fuel and very nature of the ammo make it a dangerous place to rush.
“The first priority is to be safe,” said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Moore, a component repair platoon sergeant assigned to 3rd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division.
Pilots assigned to Moore’s unit were conducting gunnery certification on the range, and it was up to the crew of petroleum supply specialists and AH-64D armament, electrical and avionics systems repairers to make sure they safely restocked the helicopter so pilots could takeoff for more training.
As soon as the dust from the landing cleared – perhaps a little before – the Soldiers went about refueling the helicopter, filling the M230 chain gun with 30 mm rounds and sliding rockets into the pods. They worked efficiently, but not quickly.
Staff Sgt. David Alex, a platoon sergeant for the distribution hub also assigned to 3rd Sqdn., 6th Cav. Regt., CAB, 1st AD, said there is no set time for the FARP’s 13 crewmembers to restock a helicopter.
“We want to do it safely,” Alex said.
Sgt. Jong Yoo, assigned to 3rd Sqdn., 6th Cav. Regt., CAB, 1st AD, concurred. Yoo directed operations for several Apache stops Wednesday, ensuring Soldiers knew what the helicopter needed and helping them restock rockets.
“I just make sure everyone stays safe and is doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Yoo said. “I give out directions and try to be the bridge between the pilots and the crews on the ground.”
The emphasis is always on safety, Yoo said.
Teamwork and communication are also key, Soldiers said, and their jobs sometimes entail much more than refueling and restocking helicopters with ammo at a particular location.
Although this training exercise did not require Soldiers to move the FARP, Army personnel have designed FARPs so Soldiers can move them quickly if necessary, Alex said.
“At a moment’s notice, they can be like, ‘Hey, it’s time to jump the FARP’s location,’ and from that time I have two hours to get it from here to a new location and certified by the safety officer,” Alex said.
Moore said he has been doing the job for nearly 19 years, and still enjoys it.
“I like the camaraderie, right now, of being around the younger Soldiers,” Moore said. “Their eagerness to learn is what keeps me going at this stage.”
One of them, no doubt, is Pfc. Joshua Smith, an AH-64D armament, electrical and avionics systems repairer assigned to the 127th Aviation Support Battalion, CAB, 1st AD. He’s been doing the job for a year and 10 months and said he pretty much likes everything about it – but especially the Apache AH-64D itself.
“You work on the big bird, the one that goes out and conquers it all, so that’s my favorite part about it,” he said.

• Date Taken: 01.25.2017
• Date Posted: 02.02.2017 17:59
• Story ID: 222370
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US