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Fuel facility combines Guard, Reserve, active ingredients
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149th Fighter Wing Public Affairs LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (8/13/2002) — A new Fuel Operations Facility in the National Guard area of Lackland is providing another opportunity for active-duty Air Force, Guard members and reservists and to work closely together … and save the Air Force money. Members of the 37th Supply Squadron and fuels personnel from the Air National Guard's 149th Fighter Wing and the Air Force Reserve Command's 433rd Airlift Wing share the new facility, which officially opened June 7. The facility is located on Billy Mitchell Boulevard, across from the bulk storage area. The Air Force saves money by having one building instead of three. The Guard and Reserve members have separate administrative offices but share some areas, including a laboratory to check fuel samples. "We used to take fuel samples to a lab on Kelly AFB," related Master Sgt. Elias Robles, fuels manager for the 149th FW. "After Kelly closed, we had to run them to Randolph AFB, which is about a 45-minute drive." With the new lab, they can now perform fuel tests themselves and thereby save time. "These tests ensure the product we are delivering to the aircraft meet Air Force specifications," Robles said. "They are done on a routine basis." One way testers check fuel is by determining its temperature when its vapors flash. "For example, JP8 engine fuel has its own flash window," Robles explained. "If it's JP8, then it should flash within a narrow range of temperatures." Besides making certain the fuel quality is what it's supposed to be, they also check for water content. Fuels Management Flight administration also has space in the building. The Resource Control Center, which handles the accounting and dispatching duties, had essentially comprised only a desk, according to Robles. The RCC now occupies an entire room. The 149th FW's Fuels Management Flight includes 16 members, six of whom work full-time alongside their active-duty and reserve counterparts. The flight members are happy with the new building and the higher visibility it provides. Previously known as POL -- for petroleum, oil and lubricants -- the flight still keeps posted an anonymously composed poem to the "unsung heroes" of their career field. The last stanza reads: Full bore down the runway, with nary a cough, And rise in the air, a most thrilling show, POL played a big part in making it go." "Today we only manage the 'P' [in POL]," Robles explained. "But the name has stuck, and we are commonly referred to as 'POLcats.'" Last 10 Stories
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2004 National Guard Bureau |
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