# How does the US military pay for things when abroad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2021, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284 "2021-08-21T20:10:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284/21 "2021-08-23T17:24:31Z")
Not military but there was a TWA Purser, Uli Derickson, who paid for fuel with her Shell Oil credit card when Flight 847 was hijacked back in 1985. > **[TWA Purser Paid Fuel Tab for Hijacked Flight With Credit Card](https://apnews.com/article/b6f9a3b900df68047f637536efce8db4)** > > NEW YORK (AP) \_ TWA purser Uli Derickson, who was widely praised for heroism aboard hijacked Flight 847, twice used her personal credit car to buy gas - $11,000 in all - as the jet shuttled between Algeria and Lebanon, airline officials say. ... ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284/22 "2021-08-23T17:35:06Z")
And here when I buy gas for a car with my credit card the pump clicks off at $50 (sometimes $35) and I have to start again. Good luck filling up a commercial jet. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284/23 "2021-08-23T19:07:17Z")
Sure, there would be a line of jets behind me waiting to fill up, but they don’t have horns to honk, so it wouldn’t bother me. (Waiting for someone to drop in and tell me about horns on jets) ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2021, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284/24 "2021-08-23T19:23:12Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Sure, there would be a line of jets behind me waiting to fill up, but they don’t have horns to honk, so it wouldn’t bother me Yeah, but you just _know_ you’d get behind the guy who got his 737 up to the pump, and only then remembers that the fuel tank lid is on the _co-pilot’s_ side, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284/25 "2021-08-25T00:16:06Z")
It was a long time ago (1980s) but I was on a US Navy aircraft that had to divert to a civilian airport. We stayed in a hotel arranged by the airport management and the senior pilot gave the desk a form, signed by him, with instructions to send this to the US Embassy and they will pay the bill. Everything seemed routine to the crew and the hotel. Me, not so much. It was one of my first flights on a P-3 and the landing was waved off in the last seconds by the pilot commanding. It didn’t go down well with the pilot flying. 🙂 All I knew was that was no ordinary landing and when the pilot was relieved and came back to the crew he was pissed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-the-us-military-pay-for-things-when-abroad/949284.md?page=1)