From the ground up, POL makes missions happen

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  While the vital mission of RAF Mildenhall is air refueling from KC-135 Stratotankers, it's the guys on the ground who ensure mission success.

The 100th Logistics Readiness Squadron Fuels Management Flight, commonly known as "petroleum, oils and lubricants," are the people refueling the tankers and all transient aircraft coming through here.

Assigned to the fuels management flight are fuels distribution, fixed facilities, fuels service center, refueling maintenance, fuels lab and training support. They also have a forward area refueling point team who travel to deployed locations, land in hostile environments and refuel aircraft using another aircraft while both are still on the ground.

While they all play a vital role in refueling aircraft, the fuels distribution and fixed facilities sections are the bread and butter of POL, said Tech. Sgt. Shane Powell, 100th LRS fuels distribution.

"It's our mission to make sure aircraft get off the ground," he said. "Fuels management is manned 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year, and each year we pump approximately 32 million gallons of JP-8 [jet fuel]."

Fuel is pumped onto base from a supplier in the local area, then piped to the bulk storage areas at strategic locations around base. From there, it's transferred either to fuel trucks or piped to a storage area at each hardstand. Portable metal piping, known as a pantograph, connects the hydrant system and allows fuel to travel from the outlet to the aircraft.

RAF Mildenhall has multiple fuel trucks, the majority of which are R-11s and hold 6,000 gallons of jet fuel. Smaller C-300 vehicles hold 1,200 gallons of either gasoline, petrol or diesel, and are used to fill alternate service stations for government vehicles, fork lifts and aerospace ground equipment, said Staff Sgt. Mark Sawtelle, 100th LRS refueling maintenance.

"We have five [Airmen] here who do all the maintenance on the trucks," he said. "We work closely with vehicle maintenance and have one guy from that shop assigned to us. He works on the chassis maintenance, and everyone else works on the pumping systems."

According to Sawtelle, keeping those trucks in good working order and ready to fuel aircraft, vehicles or equipment at any time, is vital. If they don't constantly have the fuel they need and aren't ready to go when required, they can't be used for their purpose - to complete the mission.

Working with fuel all day can be a dangerous job, so attention to detail is crucial.

"Because we work with flammable liquids and cryogenics on a daily basis, it would be very easy for someone to get hurt," said Powell. "Because we're constantly driving on the flightline, safety is key."

He explained they use personal protective equipment when refueling an aircraft, consisting of hearing protection, steel-toe boots and gloves.

"We also have to be aware of everyone and everything in the fuel servicing safety zone - there should be no equipment or people in that zone that are not part of the serving," he said.

To maintain a safe working environment, the fuels Airmen make training a priority.

"Our new [troops] are trained by qualified Airmen and NCOs until they are completely comfortable," said Powell. "They're then evaluated by an NCO before they are allowed to work on their own. This goes for any operation within the fuels flight, not just distribution.

"Until some alternative form of energy becomes available, we're what make the whole Air Force run," he said.

Pilots know exactly how important the fuels management folks are. Because it's their mission to refuel other aircraft, they can relate to an old POL saying, "Without POL, pilots are pedestrians."

"The tanker mission is anything but a singular effort," said Capt. Chris Redmond, 351st Air Refueling Squadron pilot. "It requires a top-notch team across the board, with every piece pitching in and giving their best work. POL is a vital part of that team.

"When we're operating from home station, they get the word through the system about how much fuel is required for a specific mission, and they make sure it's there," he said. "When we land off-station on a multi-leg sortie, we tell them how much fuel we're going to need for the next mission, and they make it happen."

Redmond said that it's essential to have the correct amount of fuel on board the aircraft.

"It's a domino effect - if we don't have the fuel on our aircraft, our receivers down the line don't get their fuel. Therefore, without our fine POL Airmen, pilots truly do become pedestrians," he said.

Senior Airman Matthew Tidball, 100th LRS fuels distribution operator, is one of the people who physically refuels the aircraft while they are on the ground, and added that he gets a lot of job satisfaction from what he does.

"I enjoy the job environment and seeing an aircraft take off; I know it wouldn't be possible without my career field," he said. "My recruiter was a prior fuels troop. She described what she did on a day-to-day basis and all the travel opportunities there were to the job. It just sounded like a good fit for me.

"Knowing I'm personally helping get RAF Mildenhall's mission accomplished brings a great deal of pride to me," Tidball said.