Feeding Fairford

[Spitfire88]

https://www.501csw.usafe.af.mil/News/Ar ... -overcome/

[Pune]

Interesting article, thanks for sharing..

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2,000 deployed airmen huh, at Fairford, right-oh.

[Spitfire88]

2,000 deployed airmen huh, at Fairford, right-oh.

I agree with your scepticism, living in Fairford I don’t think there are 2000 airmen on base not even 1000 but the article does say some very positive things about Fairford going forward, it’s seems it will be fully active very soon.

[jingernut]

Two pallets of water a week... do they not have running water in Fairford? Or is this special American water?

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"They’re there to make Fairford a full operational base again." - he means the small number of temporarily deployed people (currently the 420th EABS) will be replaced by a small number of permanently deployed people (420th ABS) who'll support a small number of temporarily deployed people (99th ERS)......

[Spitfire88]

"They’re there to make Fairford a full operational base again." - he means the small number of temporarily deployed people (currently the 420th EABS) will be replaced by a small number of permanently deployed people (420th ABS) who'll support a small number of temporarily deployed people (99th ERS)......

Plus BTF and eventually RJs

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Sorry, yes, the 420th E/ABS also supports the TDY'ing BTFs (if they're ever allowed back after Covid-19) and as for the RJs, well toss a coin to get this week’s answer about whether or not they’re ever likely to move to Fairford.

[Typeflyer]

Two pallets of water a week... do they not have running water in Fairford? Or is this special American water?

This will be water with additives!

[CHINOOKER]

Excuse me for being "thick", but if they are delivering food and supplies,(including palletised water!),from Croughton to Fairford,how does it get to Croughton in the first place?. Article does say that they also collect supplies from Lakenheath,so if that's the case,why doesn't the USAF supply Fairford directly from the US,or make a RCH flight do a 2 airfield drop off?.....seems like an awful lot of "ffaffing about" to my mind!!

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Mildenhall is the hub for the most of the USAF's supply chain deliveries to the UK, then local bases go and collect what they need from there. It's similar to how Tescos use small vans with personalised orders to deliver online orders but have HGVs that ferry the stock around the country.

[Pune]

Thanks for all this information, who'd have thought a food and water delivery would attract so much discussion, excellent.
I do have a question, regarding the 'Embassy flights' sometimes mentioned, what are these, what do they deliver/pick up?
Cheers
Pune

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Thanks for all this information, who'd have thought a food and water delivery would attract so much discussion, excellent.
I do have a question, regarding the 'Embassy flights' sometimes mentioned, what are these, what do they deliver/pick up?
Cheers
Pune

Previous FOIA requests say that anyone who actually knows also knows they can't say on the public internet, but a lot of people still share their guesses - I'd imagine it's all the bits and pieces the US Government needs to support its global operations.......

[Pune]

Thanks for all this information, who'd have thought a food and water delivery would attract so much discussion, excellent.
I do have a question, regarding the 'Embassy flights' sometimes mentioned, what are these, what do they deliver/pick up?
Cheers
Pune

Previous FOIA requests say that anyone who actually knows also knows they can't say on the public internet, but a lot of people still share their guesses - I'd imagine it's all the bits and pieces the US Government needs to support its global operations.......

Thanks for the information..

[mushbuster]

Its a gee whizz article for a US military audience, its full of inaccuracies (2,000 personnel at Fairford LOL) with quotes from someone who obviously knows nothing about Fairford's history and probably less about what its future will be. Delivering 18-20 tons and two pallets of water a week to Fairford by road would make a typical LGV Transit van delivery driver laugh by its unremarkable mundanity. These kinds of articles are regularly put up by military media (UK and USAF) to show what 'the support team' does to support the mission. It is referring to food and sundry basic supplies like razors and toilet roll, most of it is road transported around Europe by road as air freighting is far too expensive. Nothing to see here

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Someone I know in USAF public affairs, a reservist who's been in that role for over 20 years, said it's all changed in the last 5 years. PA is now as much about telling the whole Air Force how A1C Joe Smo keeps bombers flying by tidying toolboxes as much as telling the public that bombers are deploying for a NATO exercise. We all know everyone's role is important otherwise their role wouldn't exist, we're beyond the "some roles are more important than others" era, but someone should tell PA there's a limit to how hard to try and find a story out of nothing even for its own internal audiences.

[Nighthawke]

The article is for a US, specifically USAF, audience. It is their style of reporting and maybe not ours. If it was aimed at the British public then fine, pick it to pieces. It isn't!

[Pune]

The article is for a US, specifically USAF, audience. It is their style of reporting and maybe not ours. If it was aimed at the British public then fine, pick it to pieces. It isn't!

Well said Nighthawke