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Got fuel? There's an old saying that "the army runs on its stomach." Well, the Air Force runs on jet fuel and lots of it!

Combat Edge, July, 2004 by Geoff Janes

The job of running fueling operations plays a critical role in maintaining the high ops tempo for aircraft supporting Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (OIF). As far as the job goes, there are two ways to provide fuel in a forward operating location. According to Col David King, commander of Detachment 3, Air Force Petroleum Office in Fort Belvoir, Va., "a plane can land at an international airport for a one-time shot, but for any type of sustained military activity, and for force protection and political considerations, we set up our own facilities." Fuel bladders containing 50,000 to 210,000-gallon bags are used to hold fuel that can be used in all types of military vehicles and air-craft. With high-tempo operations, these bladders and the fuel personnel that conduct fuel operations play an important role in the way the USAF does business.

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When petroleum specialists are dealing with vast amounts of fuel like the amounts now being used in the war on terrorism, safety becomes a daily priority. The potential for mishaps is ever present during fuels maintenance so it's important that all written procedures and operating instructions are followed. Along with standardized procedures, there are many precautions that must be in place due to the high-risk nature of fueling operations, especially during hot pit refueling and fuels maintenance on fuel cell bladders. "When the new people first arrive in the area of operations, they are briefed on all the things they can and can't do," MSgt Shawn Simon, a refueling equipment manager said. "Then, we have a safety briefing everyday before beginning operations."

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According to Col King, providing air and ground support from a bare-base or deployed location is a prime example of what fuels people are doing to support the warfighter. All personnel involved in fuel handling and maintenance are trained on all aspects of the operation and on procedures that relate to: fire prevention and protection, static electricity, lightning (adverse weather conditions), personal protective equipment. These safety procedures all play a significant role.

"We are presenting our forces differently and quickly to the war fighter," King said. "It's leading edge stuff. What our new way of doing business means to fuels is that a guy goes in and lays out the base quickly and efficiently. By day three, a bare-base is supposed to be open for aircraft business, and deployed personnel accomplished that in several deployed locations during OIF, all without compromising safety."

Fuel personnel set up refueling stations within 72 hours, and crews were servicing aircraft. Once in operation, the fuels personnel only took an hour and a half from the time a single KC-135 Stratotanker (used for in-flight refueling operations) landed, to load up roughly 20,000 gallons of fuel, and get back in the air.

Once a refueling point is set up at a deployed location, caution is always exercised in day-to-day operations. "The fuel bladders are kept in a dike area," MSgt Simon said. "If you were in the area with the bladders and a 210,000-gallon bladder ruptured, there would be no way you could get out. Because of that, we keep people out of the (area) as much as possible--there are times when you have to go in, like if a hose were to rupture, but we keep people out of them as much as we can." On the occasions when a person does have to enter the dike area, they wear a harness with a rope attached to it. The other end of the rope is held by another service member, whose job is to pull the pit worker to safety in the event they are overcome by fumes or faced with danger. The vapors are strong, the fuel has a flashpoint of 100 degrees, and the fuel can dry out your skin. But Simon said it's just part of the job.

The service members who deploy and operate fuel facilities are pooled from across the Air Force. The work is hard at deployed locations. In an average day during OIF, many fuel points pumped several hundred thousand gallons of fuel per day, and the people working the stations pulled 12-hour shifts. "In the really hot locations they split up the day so no one shift had to bear the burden of the heat," Col King said.

MSgt Simon related that when he was deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, people weren't allowed in the fuel berms from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. unless there was an emergency. That was because the chance for a bladder to burst increased during that time due to the desert heat which can reach temperatures of 130 degrees.

Although the refueling stations have been set up and operated in a safe and effective way in the past, there are still obstacles to overcome. "A lot of this equipment is 10 to 15 years old and we're abusing it like crazy," Col King said. "But the demands of the war are taking its toll, and we have to be thinking about new technology, new materials and concepts for deployment and employment." We are fighting this war in the fuel community in a way we've never fought before," Col King added. "Force protection concerns demand that suppliers deliver fuel outside the fence line. It's the Air Force's responsibility to move it from the fence line to the flight line."

Got fuel? There's an old saying that "the army runs on its stomach." Well, the Air Force runs on jet fuel and lots of it!

Combat Edge, July, 2004 by Geoff Janes

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