What follows is some commentary from a veteran who fought in the Gulf War. This is what he had to say about it.
Name: Hugh Allen McClure
Branch: Marine Corps
Rank: Seargent
Occupation: Flight Engineer aboard KC-130 aircraft
At the age of twenty-four, I was a US Marine Sergeant and a Flight Engineer on the KC-130 aerial refueler/transport aircraft. We flew out of the Bahrain International Airport to a position just south of Kuwait. We provided aerial refueling to Marine F/A-18 and EA-6B aircraft twenty-four hours a day.
On a typical mission, each KC-130 would refuel six jets, giving each six thousand pounds of fuel; all of which was done in radio silence. Utilizing specific aircraft, other missions provided aerial command and control and radio relay for the Marine ground offensive as needed.
It was a dangerous environment and at times we would have to refuel jets with one of our engines shut down due to a malfunction or operate the aircraft with other deficiencies that peace time operations would not allow us to fly.