The Million Gallon Flight; POL specialist pump up mission effectiveness

Published May 31, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Tarelle Walker
379th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- The Airmen of the Fuels Management Flight are no strangers to hard work.

The members of the Fuels Management team work together to distribute millions of gallons of fuel to various aircraft on base. The flight consists of 92 people and is responsible for numerous tasks including cryogenics, flyaway missions, testing and receiving fuel, delivering ground products, managing the military service station, accounting, dispatching and their main task, refueling planes.

"The 379th LRS petroleum, oil and lubricant flight pumps more than 350 million gallons of fuel a year, that's about 800,000 to a million gallons a day in support of U.S. Air Force, sister-service and coalition aircraft," said Chief Master Sgt. Roger Shaw, 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels manager. "We are the busiest base in the Air Force when it comes to refueling aircraft."

Doing their mission became a lot easier May 29 as they cut the ribbon to mark the grand opening of their new facilities. They are meeting the wing's expeditionary to enduring vision through the use of an in-ground fuel storage system, stepping out of trailers and mobile facilities to fixed structures.

Their new state of the art system includes three-2.1 million and three-630,000 gallon fuel storage tanks, with underground hydrant fuel lines connecting 23 refueling outlets throughout the flightline, which helps to streamline the refueling process, and cuts down on manpower and maintenance needs, the chief said. Additionally, they opened a new Military and AGE Service Station along with 8 brand new truck fill stands allowing better turn around time back to the flightline.

"With the flip of a switch, we can pump up to 600 gallons of fuel a minute to the ramp and into the aircraft with our Type III Hydrant system. It would take four Mobile refueling units one hour and ten minutes to fill a KC-135 with 20,000 gallons of gas, but the new storage tank and hydrant line system cuts refueling time to about 38 minutes," he said.
While the hard work, extreme temperatures and high operations tempo may seem daunting, the Airmen in the POL flight are up to the challenge.

"The Airmen come here with an incredibly positive attitude. Even though the majority of them are a little overwhelmed, they're ready to hit the ground running," said Chief Shaw.
A typical day for a POL Airman starts with a safety briefing ensuring the receiving shift is updated on any changes, issues or scheduling from the previous shift. Next, they are handed a clipboard and sent out to the flightline where they will spend the majority of their day.

"When you come to this installation as a POL specialist, you get to see everything you read about in your career development course books. You see things you wouldn't normally get to see at home station and by that I mean we have all of the expeditionary equipment here," the Abilene, Texas native said.

Being in a deployed environment allows Airmen to see the fruit of their labors,
allowing them to develop a stronger job identity while motivating them to hone their skills, said Chief Shaw.

"I feel as though I have grown professionally, I feel much more confident in my job with the fast pace. There's really not much room for insecurities," said Airman 1st Class Jamie Mihaloew.

Many Airmen in the fuels flight set similar personal and professional goals during their deployment. One of the most popular goals set, is to become a member of the "Million Gallon" club. To qualify, individuals must pump one million gallons of fuel in a month's time. Airman Mihaloew has almost reached that peak due to the high operations tempo. She is just short of reaching the one million mark for this month with 855,000 gallons under her belt.

Some Airmen kick the challenge up a notch and try to achieve this same goal each month for all four months of their deployment," Chief Shaw said.
The healthy advancement and well-being of the Airmen is a chief concern for leadership in the fuels flight.

"What I tell them is to take baby steps. Take your time and understand your job. Stay in the books, know more than your supervisor and keep a professional attitude so that you will be able to speak up when something doesn't seem right. I also encourage them to come up with good ideas and share them," said the chief.

Despite the austere desert environment and physically demanding job supporting the wing's mission, Chief Shaw looks forward to helping his specialists achieve their personal and professional goals.

"My favorite part of my job is taking care of the people here, giving them everything they need to do their jobs and being able to walk in and out of this building seeing the smiles on their faces. The fact that they are happy and want
to do their jobs is very rewarding to me," Chief Shaw said.