At Rio Hato Airfield, three MC-130E airplanes approached the runway, despite numerous ongoing firefights. Landing through the use of radar and night vision goggles, the Talons rolled to a prescribed point on the ground. Once there, these aircraft established a forward aerial refueling and rearming point. While these crews offloaded fuel for two hours, the battle raged around them. One crew had to shut down their number four engine when it incurred damage from flying debris. Disregarding their personal safety, this crew took off with three engines in the dark. According to the crew’s award package, this was “the first recorded three-engine takeoff under such conditions …”