Guardian East October Issue | Page 17

can generally be ready to fuel within 30 minutes,” Scoggins said. Scoggins said the FARP is vital to the success of the aviation mission. The FARP also has the capability to do a jump FARP. “It is very important because it allows the commanders and pilots to come in, be refueled, and get right back out into the mission with limited downtime,” Scoggins said. “A jump FARP is a portable system that we can load up between a tanker and another vehicle and take it to wherever our location is and set up a fueling system,” Scoggins said. “We use the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck aviation refueling system here in Kosovo. We can run the lines right off the tanker and fuel the birds at any location.” U.S. Army Spc. Dawson Stevens, a Petroleum Supply Specialist with the Maryland National Guard and a native of Chestertown, Md., said day-byday they do what they need to do to maintain mission readiness. To maintain that readiness, the FARP is also tasked with testing all the fuel that comes onto Camp Bondsteel. “The job is very important because if the fuel is bad, the pilots’ lives are on the line,” Stevens said. “Also anything that goes wrong in the air could affect a lot of people.” Scoggins said his team is working well together and successfully accomplishing their mission. “They are doing a great job, I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Scoggins said. PG 17