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POL fuels the aircraft, powers the base

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Mindy Bloem
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE, Iraq --  Rain can mean a lot of things to a lot of people: sounds nice while sleeping in bed, signifies the canceling of a particular sporting event or ruins plans to spend a day at the park. However, to the members of the 506th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants shop, it means hours of tedious work. After the rain, the Airmen use pumps to empty the large berms (containers that hold the fuel) of all the water collected from the rain.

The shop at Kirkuk Regional Air Base, Iraq, is responsible for issuing 180, 000 gallons of jet fuel a week to all the outlying forward operating bases, according to Master Sgt. Rodrick Jones, 506th ELRS fuels manager, deployed from Travis AFB, Calif.

Since it's the job of POL workers to provide quality fuel for not only the aircraft, but everything powered on base as well, it's no small task to prevent the rain from submerging the fuel tanks, he said.

"I think a big misconception people have about POL is that we just fuel aircraft; that we're just gas passers," joked Staff Sgt. Dustyn Marek, 506th ELRS fuels laboratory technician, deployed from McChord AFB, Wash. "All the power on base is from POL. We test it, store it, fuel it."

Part of Sergeant Marek's job is to sample the fuel to make sure it's up to military specifications.

"I run a variety of tests on the fuel," he said. "I have an inline sampler and I pull samples through for solid content, water and other additives that are in the fuel. Anything I can't test here, I send to the Area Fuels laboratory in Al Udeid to be tested. Without quality fuel, the aircraft might flame out. You can't run things with bad fuel."

For Sergeant Jones, this is not an option.

"People's lives are at stake," he said. "A bad day in POL can cause fatalities on the ground or in the air. Pilots need clean, dry, serviceable fuel to accomplish their mission. If we slip up, his life support equipment becomes his friend - not going to happen on my watch."

In addition to testing the quality of the fuel here , POL is responsible for fueling the U.S. Air Force aircraft and the aircraft of their Iraqi air force counterparts.

"I like that we 'fuel the fight,' and ensure a quality product to aircraft and equipment that go beyond the wire to aid in stabilizing a government and improve the quality of life for the people of Iraq," Sergeant Jones said.

Although POL fuels both U.S. and allied aircraft, Sergeant Jones said what the shop mainly provides is ground support.

"You have hot showers and hot food, that's POL," he said. "Patients in the triage at the hospital get the best medical care available, that's powered by POL. "Using a computer that uses electricity, that's POL."

That's a lot of responsibility for a shop of nine to undertake, but the smaller environment with more responsibility doesn't bother Sergeant Marek who is enjoying the opportunity to play a more hands-on role rather than a mainly supervisory one.

"I get to do a little bit of everything here," he said. "Back in the States, I do more overseeing of people, but here it's more in depth. It's more fun because I can do everything, which I prefer. It gives me satisfaction to figure out a way to solve a problem and then get it done and see it was the best solution for the problem."

So the next time Kirkuk gets hit with a downpour, thank POL for being able to hit the snooze and stay slumbering in bed for an extra 10 minutes.