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POL fuels the fight

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nathanael Callon
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  It's not an easy job pumping 20.9 million gallons of fuel every month. Add heat, dust, and long hours to the equation and the accomplishments of Airmen in the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Flight are even more impressive.

These Airmen operate the Department of Defense's busiest fuels operation, providing fuel, liquid oxygen, and liquid nitrogen to operational squadrons here, as well as throughout the AOR.

"From the moment they land here, they are expected to be ready to work," said Chief Master Sgt. Anne Reddish, 379th ELRS fuels manager. "Our hours are long and the mission is strenuous, but our POL Airmen are our bread and butter and meet this challenge head-on."

The flight is broken down into sections, which include the lab, fuels support, fuels service center, aviation gas for aerial bulk fuel delivery, cryogenics, preventative maintenance, and the flightline distribution element.

Every section works toward the overall mission of providing this much-need fuel to assets on the ground and in the air.

"One of the biggest missions the fuels flight accomplishes is fueling the aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, a fuels distribution supervisor.

A KC-135 Stratotanker alone requires 31,000 gallons of fuel every time it flies, since it not only carries fuel for itself, but refuels various aircraft flying combat missions. For example, a B-1 Lancer uses most of its fuel just to reach the skies of Afghanistan, and must be refueled by a KC-135 soon after arriving.

"We stay busy out here," said Moore.

Another necessity for the aircraft is aviator's breathing oxygen, especially for high-altitude aircraft, said Tech. Sgt. Grayson Glaze, cryogenics NCO in charge.

"We supply liquid oxygen and nitrogen to eleven forward operating bases in the AOR," said Glaze.

The oxygen and nitrogen--stored in 2,000 and 6,000 gallon tanks--are filled into smaller 400-gallon tanks for shipment, transported, and connected to the aircraft for shipment.

"Some of the larger bases like Bagram [Air Field, Afghanistan] may use as many as two tanks of oxygen a week," said Glaze.

Behind the operations side of POL is the preventative maintenance section. This 5-man team ensures every refueling unit that belongs to the flight is in operational status. They inspect and repair 43 refueling units so the fuels distribution operators can fuel aircraft and get them in the air.

During these inspections, the Airmen inspect the hoses, gauges, and grounding wires, as well as various vehicle functions.

"We start our mornings at 4 a.m. to inspect all of our fleet," said Staff Sgt. Joseph Ridenour, a refueling maintenance technician. "Because mission success depends on reliability of refueling equipment, one slipped seal can cause a leak, or one loose bolt can cause mission degradation."

The preventative maintenance team also checks the fuel in every truck for water and sediment, which could indicate that the fuel integrity has been compromised.

The POL flight plays an important role in successful flying missions for not only aircraft here, but throughout the region.

"Fuel is a major component of this wing, especially with such a large refueling mission," said Reddish.