US Air Force Tests VENOM FORGE With 5 Wings at Creech, Certifying Hot-Pit Refueling
Updated
Updated · DVIDS · Jun 29
US Air Force Tests VENOM FORGE With 5 Wings at Creech, Certifying Hot-Pit Refueling
2 articles · Updated · DVIDS · Jun 29
Summary
June 17’s VENOM FORGE exercise at Creech AFB brought together five wings, seven groups and 17 squadrons to test Agile Combat Employment and train maintenance leaders in realistic spoke-base operations.
A multi-platform hot-pit refueling site certification underpinned the event, enabling contingency hot-pit and Integrated Combat Turn training and helping spin up four crews on those procedures.
Creech’s unfamiliar host-base setting forced students to manage logistics, movement timelines, medical planning and airfield constraints rather than rely on home-station assumptions.
A simulated heat-stroke inject added pressure as HH-60W crews integrated critical-care air transport while F-35As and F-16Cs underwent hot-pit refueling and rearming in overlapping airspace.
The Air Force said the certification and multi-agency coordination created a repeatable model for future VENOM FORGE iterations with more students, partners and aircraft.