From a Marine veteran from another war, God bless them all. Bless all the seargents and W O ones, bless all the corporals and there Marine sons...

All praise to the refuelers and the refuelees, whose skill, training and practice made this possible, also to those who designed, manufactured and service the planes....and all broken-hearted desires that we collaborate in creating a world where there will never again be a need to do this.

I love these guys.

Great video. Wish I could have been sitting there taking the pictures.

Great video. Reminds me of VMGR-152 over Viet Nam 68-69.

Taking those photos is something I'd love to have done. Thanks for sharing it with us. God bless these men and women who serve, and their families back home.

Isn't the world an amazing place! I am 60 years old but I can sit and watch the refueling of a jet over Iraq! The skill of those pilots was awesome. I noticed how the camera bucked and jiggled but those planes held steady and got what they needed.

The call signs for the aircraft are the same as those used in Vietnam for Covey FACs.

As a Navy C130 Flight Engineer from the '60 I say "Go Marines - Go Herky!"

What can you say except that these guys are exceptional, the courage and skill it must take is awesome. As somebody said before our boys, English or American are doing a wonderful job, its a pity that more people don't realise and appreciate it. Without them where would we be!

I do this sort of photography for a living. If you ever need any tips or have questions please feel free to ask. So glad you were able to experience such a unique part of the Navy, Marine, and Air Force operations.

Should they give out so much info such as names? Do they still have C-130s? Obviously they do but they must really be updated from the one I came back from Vietnam in 1966. Semper Fi.

This is really cool. Was the sound bad? God bless America and all our men, especially the Marines!

Having done this as an A7E driver from 1973-1979 I can tell you that it is an everyday thing but takes a lot of attention. Once you rendevous with the tanker, you get a pretty steady hand at this. Try it at night with a rotating beacon flashing in your face and you will know the true meaning of vertigo. These guys are the BEST!

There are not enough superlatives to describe the skills, courage, dedication, and professionalism of our military and the many sacrifices they and their families voluntarily endure and overcome every day so that we and the rest of the world can live in or attain freedom and peace. As I learned during my 30 years in the USAF, the services of our military men and women often go unnoticed by most Americans, but what positive praise they do receive pales in comparison to the positive good they provide the free world. Our military forces and those of our allies are the best in the world BAR NONE!! May it ever be so.

Awesome,Truly amazing video. Keep up the great work. Thanks to all the military serving everywhere.

The thing that I have always found incredible is that this sort of thing is that this is done routinely,in all sorts of weather, and at night, right at the edge of stall-speed for these fighter/attack aircraft and if it takes more than one run at it, the squadron commander will hear about it.

These folks are the best and they know it too--May God's Grace follow them as they take on our enemies, As as interesting side-note, I see that both of these are D-mods carrying both a aviator and a weapons systems officer (or whatever the Marines call them) -- definitely setup for a little ground support, something which the Marines have excelled in for as long as they've had aircraft to do it. My thanks, gentlemen in both the 130 and the two F/A-18s.

During VietNam, I was in the USAF, stationed in W.Pakistan.
We loaded & unloaded C-130's inbound & reloaded them to
leave. Some of the C-130's did not have the rollers on the
floor, which was really a chore to load & Unload. We then
started getting the C-141's ( Jets) made for a more pleasant
job to unload. I said that if I had to go home on a C-130
I would not ever go, then the C-141's started coming.
This was in 1966-67. 6937 Comm Gp., Peshawar, W. Pakistan.

As the son of a Marine Pilot (Vagabonds VMA-324). Thank you for all the you guys do up in the air and on the ground. My Dad's call sign was "Benjo", he was in from 1969-1975. Be safe out there.

God bless you all. Be safe.

What amazing technology ! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were able to use it to truly benefit all mankind instead of just continuing to enlarge our empire ? We have 300,000 troops stationed in somebody else's country and 800 bases worldwide. God Bless each and every one of our troops but let's become a better citizen of the world.

Why weren't they using a C-135 instead of a C-130?

Beyond amazing to watch the beauty of that level of expertise! How grateful I know I am, and my family is for the services of all our military forces! We owe each of you a debt of gratitude that defies definition! For God and country!

We have the absolute best soldiers, sailors, marines & air force in the world. Moments like these show us why.

I flew to Vietnam in 1965 in a C-130 with my dog in an operation called Project Top Dog that took the first war dogs to Vietnam. It was considered an old aircraft then. Wow very cool video.

We saw a lot of the KC-130 during Vietnam. We took our F8Es from MCAS Kaneohe Hawaii to Vietnam in September 1966 and returned to California with the same birds a year later. We used KC-130s both ways. The trick was to rendezvous with the tankers at the right place and time, far from land and any divert airfield. We would descend from cruise altitude, 40,000 ft plus to around 20,000 ft, try to catch the tankers on the outbound leg of their racetrack pattern and have them drag us in the direction we wanted to go while taking on fuel. Seeing the tankers, hoses streaming was a welcome sight. Getting plugged in and watching the fuel gage climb was even better. The 130 crews were great. Semper Fi. Bruce Martin, VMF(AW)232 1964-1967.

Absolutely awesome. Patience, talent, finesse... How proud and grateful we should all be for their commitment and sacrifice for us and our great country!

I was a Command Pilot flying the KC-135 Tanker, the F-100 D & F, and a tour in Nam (67),in the O-1E as a FAC/ALO (Tonto 40)- (2 DFC & 19 AM). Having been on both ends of a tanker is awsome using the boom or basket, but It takes a very steady hand to hit the basket and hold it in place for refueling...yes, it is an every day flight maneuver now, but at times, very hard to do. The 135 refueled at 420 knots and is a lot easier, compared to about 210 for the KC-130's. Got to hand it to the Navy & Marine pilots, they fly just above stall speed to take on fuel, and as they get heavier, A/C control gets harder to stay on the basket. They are good Pilots. If you know one, shake his/her hand and thank them for what they do or have done.

It makes me rest easy, knowing we have the most talented soldiers and most powerful military in the world. God bless each and every soldier who is serving and has served to protect our freedoms in the greatest country in the world. God bless America!

Wm. Hobbs: The KC 130 is the Marines refueler -
there are no 135's in the Marine Corps inventory.
remember, we (the Marines) do more with less).
semper fi.

God bless our military and may He keep them all safe.

Awesome - simply awesome. may God bless our servicemen

Merry Christmas, and Semper Fi!..

It makes you proud that you pay your taxes.....

The F/A-18D Hornets refueling remind me of our backyard Hummingbirds fueling up from our flowers.

God bless our young men serving our Country in Foreign lands.

The Marines' secret material with which the drogue is lined, helps young pilots in their refueling efforts.

Best wishes to all who serve our country! May all of you return home safe and sound. Thank you for your past and continuing service from a greatful vet.

WOW that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

As a former Gas Station Operator, this is the Ultimate Gas Station in the Sky! Do you give Green Stamps with "fill up?"
Would you call that Self Serve? Cash or Credit? LOL Great work guys, on both ends, I'm proud of you!

Great event, but nothing like the old AF KC-97G up over the North Pole refueling a solid white RB-47 with the rotating beacons reflecting off the cirrus clouds. That was fifty-one years ago and that event still stands out so vividly in my memory. These air refueling events happen everyday twenty-four/seven and make air firepower available to the ground troops around the clock.

I was in V M G R 152 1967-68,I still think the C-130 is the
best plane I ever worked on and flew on. Without us the F-4
couldn't have done the bombing of Hanoi, we gave them fuel
on the way, and then again to get back. Our 130 pilots were the best I ever flew with, I must have worked on 30 different kinds of planes in my 20 years, but the HEWRK is still my favorite.They've been upgraded since I retired,but they still do the job, and our MARINE crews still do a good job. Bless them all.

I made my first in-flight refueling attempt in 1956 in a FJ-3 Fury. The tanker was a (I think) R4Y "Trade wind". Needless to say, it was a disaster, what with the tanker losing an engine and me coming in too fast and trying to go under the tanker while plugged in. I returned to base with the probe sticking straight up trailing about 10 feet of hose. My Skipper was highly pissed and I was grounded for two weeks and didn't attempt it again until we got F8U-1s and A3D tankers.

Wow Is it really worth spending > $25 bucks a gallon for fuel for the navy to fly in afghanistan and iraq? Why don't they just let the AF do the mission from local bases???

I guess the Navy is trying to justtify its mission. That is definitely worth wasting tax money!

I served in the Air Force as an HC-130 crew chief. Although I witnessed many refuelings with helicopters, I never had the chance to see something so cool!

I am amazed that the two aircraft could perform at the same air speed. The C-130 must have been at full throttle and the F-18 near stalling speed!

Thanks to all our men and women in our armed forces for all that you do! Special thanks to Staff Sargent Micheal Torres, the loadmaster in the shot above.....My little step brother kicks ass!