+EleventyBillion
Sorry Krusty, as far as I'm concerned you're just flat out wrong on this one. Nothing gamey about GVs refeuling aircraft, no more so than a box of supplies magically repairing, with the click of a button, a tank that has had its tracks blown off, engine shot out, and turret destroyed.
Look - many things in this game are in place because......:drumroll:......It's a GAME!
You think heavy bombers like Lancs and B-17's dive bombed tanks in WWII?
Why can aircraft rearm ordinance on a "rearm pad" at a field with no ords?
How many WWII aircraft had radar displays on a magical "clipboard" in the cockpit that rivals present day AWACS?
It's not about "getting your name in lights." That argument is a cop-out, in my opinion. Like Grizz said, it's about adding another entirely new element to gameplay for GVing missions. Successful refuels of a ditched aircraft would earn you GV perks just like resupplying a field would.
Hell, I think it should be expanded to be much bigger than just refueling aircraft with a Jeep (or M3 or 251 for that matter) but give us RESCUE missions! Think about it: People have asked for the PBY-5 Catalina, now we can rescue a downed airman at sea. The evil red icons will have another slow moving target to attack.... and likewise the friendlies have something else to defend and fight to protect. The text bar could read "XXXXXX has been rescued" and you would avoid the "You have been captured" message. Heck, I'd drive a Jeep or fly a goon or PBY as far as I had to in order to pick up and "rescue" a downed squaddie," and I'd have a blast trying to keep from getting killed in order to do so.
In the same vein as what MUZIK said, some of the most heroic actions in the history of warfare have been conducted by aircrews and ground forces in efforts to rescue other downed airmen or ground troops who fell behind or were shot down.
In my opinion, it has nothing what-so-ever to do with getting your name in lights and everything to do with adding additional challenges and possibilities to the game. To say otherwise is to completely and totally miss the point.