Authorized newspaper of Joint Base Lewis-McChord
·
“If the fuel don’t flow, the Army don’t go,” said Sgt. Mark Richard, 528th Quartermaster Company. To provide the Army with that fuel, he and other Soldiers from the 528th Quartermaster Company conducted fuel handling and distribution certification Feb. 19 to 20.
The event was a culmination of class-room training and hands-on procedures to ensure that all Soldiers are well versed in the equipment that will serve them when deployed.
“We want to make sure that they’re up to speed on the different systems that we have,” said Staff Sgt. Jeff Wilkes, 528th QM Co.
The company trained by using a tanker to set up a refuel-on-the-move, or ROM, system. Lines run from the tanker to points along the ground served as a short-term gas station. Used in theater, the system would be located near the units being supported, allowing vehicles to simply pull up and receive fuel.
“As a young fueler, we really don’t have the opportunity to do this much; so actually coming out here and putting things together is a good feeling,” said Spc. Brian Wiese, 528th QM Co. “It’s given a lot of the new Soldiers a good chance to get hands-on with the equipment before going downrange.”
The company also established a Fuel System Supply Point, which consisted of two bags, each with a 10,000-gallon capacity, Wilkes said. The bags serve as a fuel supply point, usually held in the rear in a war zone.
The Rapidly Installed Fuel Transfer System is new to the 528th.
“The new system is much lighter than the previous one and allows fuel to be connected over longer distances,” said Warrant Officer Rodney Rogers, who was in charge of the training.
The system consisted of 1,400 feet of fuel hose rolled on a spool on the back of a truck. To deploy the system, one Soldier operated a motor that unwound the piping, another Soldier drove the truck slowly forward, while a third anchored the uncoiling fuel line.
“We had good hands-on training, no accidents, everything was safe and went very well,” said Sgt. DeJuan Dunn, who served as an instructor on the rapid install system.
Without this kind of training, Soldiers would not be able to pump fuel, Wilkes said.
“This training is definitely necessary for us to deploy,” Richard said. “This is what our unit specializes in, bulk fuel supply and transporting fuel, and this training allowed the Soldiers to step it up and enhance their job skills to be able to perform in the theater.”
Print
E-Mail