Life cycle of AF fuel: to the aircraft & beyond

  • Published
  • By Samuel King Jr.
  • Team Eglin Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  (Editors note: this is part three of a three part series about Eglin's petroleum, oil and lubricants flight.)

"No one goes without the hose," is one of many popular slogans describing the mission of the 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants flight.

The "hose" is the delivery mechanism that brings the fuel to its endpoint of the aircraft before burning out in an afterburner's fire.

The Airmen of POL's fuels distribution ensure that JP-8 makes it to its blaze of glory safely, quickly and continuously.

"What we're doing out there is serious business," said Master Sgt. Matthew Renner, the fuels distribution section chief. "It may sound like we're just pumping gas, but we (POL) are connected directly into every mission of every flight in the Air Force every day."

Last year, more than 14 million gallons of fuel and cryogenics products were delivered to fulfill the 8,000 test and training missions here.

Fuel is pumped from the operational fuel tank into the green R-11 6,000-gallon tanker truck at a rate of 600 gallons per minute. JP-8 remains in the big green truck until it's time to go.
More than 20 R-11s are full of fuel and ready to go when a call comes into the fuel service center for the next fill-up.

"Nobody wants to go out to an aircraft and discover the truck is two or 4,000 gallons light," said Renner, a 20-year POL Airman. "Then another truck has to come out and complete the fill. That's wasteful and not good customer service. We have fill-rules in place to prevent that."

The customer can be anyone from the test, training or reserve wings, special ops, or the vast amounts of transient aircraft that fly into Eglin. Distribution's goal is to have fuel to their customers in '30 minutes or less.'

Customers pay for their fuel in the same way people pay-at-the-pump at a service station - with a card. Units have a card that gets swiped through a point of sell device, then it records the amount of fuel pumped into their aircraft. The data is forwarded and recorded by the fuel service center.

"We (at POL) do not own the fuel," said Capt. James Martinelli, the POL flight commander. "We're just moving it and storing it. The customer is actually paying the Defense Logistics Agency."

Over the years the payment methods have changed. Fuels Airmen have used the carbon copies of the card and signatures to a pay at the pump method located inside the tanker to account and charge for fuel pumped. Now, Eglin's POL Airmen use a wireless hand-held, automated point of sell device that communicates with the truck and the FSC.

"Before the automation, there was some confusion over payment and responsibility, but the Air Force has standardized it all now," said Renner.

To maintain quality customer service and meet the demands, the distribution team ensures their Airmen are qualified and their vehicles are without flaw. With each new task, such as refuel, defuel, Airmen must be certified before they're allowed to perform those procedures alone.

Also, every R-11 and C-300 diesel truck in the fleet is thoroughly inspected daily to include checking the seals, lights, the hoses for tears or gashes and taking fuel samples from the bottom of each tank.

The processes and procedures of fuels distribution continuously repeat themselves with each fill-up and refuel. Checklists annotating each step are memorized or learned so the procedures become second nature and there's no hesitation or delay about what to do next. This repeated process allows Airmen to notice instantly if something is out of place either with the fuel or their vehicles.

"It falls back to the training," said Staff Sgt. Danny Blowers, of refueling maintenance. "Those processes are in place for a reason. If they focus on the details they were taught within those steps they'll spot a problem easily."

The JP-8 began its journey by boat, then through pipes, tanks, hoses, trucks into its final destination - the aircraft. There, it's burned at approximately 100 gallons per minute at full power with afterburner. But in the operational Air Force where the mission comes first, miles-per-gallon is irrelevant.

"As a squadron commander, I want to ensure my aircrews are getting the most out of the fuel used," said Lt. Col. Thomas Seymour, the commander of the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. "In our case, we're measuring test points accomplished per pound of fuel. It's not about the mileage, it's about using our fuel effectively."

JP-8's journey undergoes twists, turns and some testing before it's sacrificed to send aircraft toward the heavens and each day the lifecycle of the blood of the Air Force begins again.