It began like any other mission, 1530 hour launch and we would be back in time for dinner. Little did I know that my helicopter would not be shut down until 17.5 hours later. I saw tremendous acts of bravery that day - night and day on the battlefield. I also witnessed extraordinary acts of diligence and teamwork at the Forward Arming and Refuel Point (FARP). Our four helicopters were organized in teams of two. Each of our teams cycled through the FARP at least one dozen times during the course of the battle - I lost count. The FARP team members did outstanding work. As they untiringly refueled and rearmed our helicopters, they offered words of encouragement and stuffed sandwiches and bottles of water down our unwilling throats. As men that are scared and focused on other things, our minds did not register that our bodies required food and especially water. But these guys knew and coaxed us into complying with their urging. All total, they rearmed us with 87 rockets and 64,000 rounds of 7.62 mini-gun of which we fired 63 rockets and 48,000 rounds of mini-gun. There was never a delay, even though they cleared jammed guns and wrestled with obstinate rockets. Those guys were superb, dedicated to their mission and the aviators and aircraft they were assigned to support. I'm very proud of my association with men of such dedication.

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