505th Quartermaster Battalion
(Petroleum Pipeline) (Terminal Operations)
The 505th Quartermaster Battalion provides Bulk Petroleum, Quality Control, and Surveillance Support to all U.S. Military, all Government Agencies, and Select Japanese Air Self Defense Forces on Okinawa. It supports Contingency Missions in the Pacific Theater as a Deployable Battalion Headquarters.
The 505th Quartermaster Battalion (Petroleum Terminal and Pipeline Operations) in Okinawa, Japan, operates the Army's only active fuel pipeline. On a daily basis, soldiers assigned to the 505th Quartermaster Battalion perform a real-world petroleum mission in line with the Army's responsibility for inland distribution of bulk petroleum to support US Forces.
The 505th Quartermaster Battalion serves as a defense fuel support point that stores products owned by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The battalion supplies JP-8 fuel to Kadena Air Force Base, JP-5 to Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, and automotive gasoline and diesel fuel to all services on the island of Okinawa. Also, the battalion offloads aviation fuels at Naha Port to support the Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF). The battalion's workforce consists of US Army soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and local nationals who are contract employees.
The 505th Quartermaster Battalion is responsible for providing support of bulk petroleum products to all Department of Defense agencies on Okinawa. It operates and maintains a 100-mile petroleum pipeline system that reaches from Futenma Marine Corps Air Station in the south of the island, through Kadena Air Base, to Chimu Wan and Tengan near Camp Courtney.
The battalion receives, stores, and issues, all aviation fuel (JP-8/JP-5), automotive gasoline (MOGAS), and diesel fuel (F76) used by the United States Forces on Okinawa. Additionally, it operates an area laboratory capable of providing quality surveillance support for all bulk fuels and lubricants handled by all services on Okinawa.
The number of oceangoing petroleum tankers received per year is approximately 90, about 50% of which comes from the Japanese Self Defense Force. With the exception of rail transportation, the 505th Quartermaster Battalion encompasses every phase of military petroleum operations.
As a defense fuel support point, the 505th QM BN stores Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) owned products in petroleum terminals. The 505th primarily provides JP-8 to the Air Force at Kadena Air Force Base; JP-5 to the U.S. Marines at Marine Corps Air Station, Futenma; and automotive gasoline and diesel fuel to all services and agencies on the island. The 505th also offloads aviation fuel at Naha Port in support of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
The battalion maintains three offload facilities: a single-point mooring system more commonly known as a monobuoy, a three-legged mooring system, and a White Beach pier. To discharge large ocean going tankers, they use the monobuoy located one mile offshore of Camp Courtney in Kin Bay, Okinawa. The battalion sponsors the Habu-Sakusen exercise every year. 300-500 Army Reserve personnel travel to Okinawa every summer to train on the only pipeline pumping fuel in the active Army.
In line with the Army's mission to provide inland petroleum distribution, the 505th QM BN is capable of command and control of 5 pipeline companies and can deploy within 96 hours. This capability is a combat multiplier in an undeveloped theater, where petroleum infrastructure is nonexistent.
The 505th plays a vital role in the logistical support of all DoD organizations on Okinawa. They provide quality petroleum training to Reserve Component soldiers while ensuring the soldiers are trained and ready to support all contingency operations within the Pacific.
The battalion maintains 56 million gallons of petroleum storage in its six terminals, operates 100 miles of pipeline, conducts over 10,000 annual laboratory tests, offloads over 75 tankers annually, and receives and issues over 90 million gallons of fuel. Also, the battalion trains 300 to 500 Reserve Component soldiers each year on operating and maintaining a fixed, bulk storage and issue site.
Annually, the 505th Quartermaster Battalion sponsors Exercise Habu Sakusen (Snake Exercise). Other exercise participants stationed on Okinawa include the US Marine Corps' 9th Engineer Support Battalion, 3d Forces Support Group, and the US Air Force's 18th Supply Squadron, 18th Logistics Group. Two to four US Army Reserve units travel to Okinawa every summer to train on the Army's only active fuel pipeline. The two-month Exercise Habu Sakusen '99 began 10 Jun 99. The three US Army Reserve units that rotated through Okinawa were the 173d Quartermaster Company from Greenwood, MS; the 328th Quartermaster Detachment from Kingswood, WV; and the 347th Quartermaster Company from Farrell, PA.
The Battalion maintains and operates the following:
- 2 offshore tanker mooring systems
- Pierside load/off-load facility
- 6 hardened tank farms with computerized monitoring
- Fire suppression systems and closed TV monitors
- Over 100 miles of 8-inch underground welded steel pipeline with cathodic protection
- 2 booster pump stations
- 4 tank farm pump stations
- 6 truck fill stands
- 2 pipeline maintenance shops
- Watercraft and dive shop
- A petroleum testing laboratory
The petroleum system in Okinawa traces its beginning to the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. It was designated as Petroleum Distribution System, Okinawa (PDSO), a separate organization under the United States Army Japan, in September 1980. On February 18, 1986, it was redesignated as the 266th Quartermaster Battalion (Provisional). The 266th Quartermaster Battalion dropped its provisional status on October 16, 1987 and was redesignated as the 505th Quartermaster Battalion.
The first tank farm on Okinawa consisted of 1000 barrel (42,000 gallon) aviation gasoline storage tanks near the mouth of the Hija River. They were filled from tankers by means of pumping barges. From these storage tanks, the gasoline was then pumped to storage tanks at the Yomitan and Kadena airfields through a four-inch victaulic pipeline. Construction on the first tank farm and pipeline on Okinawa commenced on 8 April 1945.
