Bulk fuel gases up Marines in Iraq
Marine Corps News
Release Date: 3/18/2004
Story by Sgt. Nathan K. LaForte
AL ASAD, Iraq(March 18, 2004) -- Fuel fumes drift through the air as the warm, Iraqi sun cuts through the rolling dust cloud that precedes the approaching convoy of rumbling vehicles.
A sergeant signals his Marines, who have been milling about waiting for the convoy since dawn, to get ready for the approaching vehicles. He doesn't want to be caught off guard. The convoy is almost upon them when the Marines spring into action, rushing forward with their ... fuel nozzles?
After the smoke clears and the convoy is gone, Sgt. Adam L. Miller, section leader, Combat Service Support Battalion 7, and his crew of Marines locate a comfortable spot in the shade of their supply boxes and relax until the next set of trucks roll through.
"This is our mission," said the Macungie, Penn., native. "We support all operations out of the Al Anbar Province with fuel. This is our area of operation."
The Al Anbar Province in western Iraq is a huge area to cover, according to the 26-year-old Marine sergeant.
"We have to dispense to tactical and civilian vehicles and later to (helicopters) on the flightline," Miller described. "We won't issue the fuel there, but we'll supply it."
The Marines will work with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is operating here, Miller said. To help CSSB-7 with this, they have made some allies within the Wing, he added.
"We are working together with Marine Wing Support Squadron 273 to get the fuel to the helicopters," he said.
MWSS-273 has set up a Tactical Airfield Dispensing System to refuel the helicopters. The TAFDS will hold its own fuel but will draw fuel from the main body of fuel set up at another location.
Fuel for the TAFDS will come from the main fuel storage point called an Amphibious Assault Fuel System, said Miller.
The AAFS in Iraq is slightly modified from the average set up, he explained.
"Normally, a ship would push fuel to us," he said. "This can be designed to push about five miles inland."
The fuel is pushed to the AAFS through a series of hoses and sets of booster stations that are set up as a precaution in case there is a break in the line.
When the fuel gets to the AAFS it is stored in four 50,000-gallon storage bladders. This is where this operation deviates from the norm, explained Miller.
"I've done small deployments, and we usually have to keep our storage and dispensing to a minimum," he said. "This is huge compared to anything I've ever done, but you never really have a really large scale mission unless you're in combat."
The initial effort of getting started was the hardest part of the fuel operation, said Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Duke, bulk fuel specialist, CSSB-7.
"At first it's a lot of work to build and set up," he said. "Once you get going, it's a lot smoother."
One of the reasons for the initial hardship is the building of berms, or dirt barricades, to hold the fuel bladders, Miller said.
"Building a berm is hard work," he explained. "It has to hold the bag and all the fuel if the bag breaks."
The berms have been built, but the Marines are running into other snags in the process, said Lance Cpl. Michael B. Toler, bulk fuel specialist, CSSB-7.
"The gear has been a problem," said the 23-year-old Roanoke, Va., native. "A lot of it leaks, but we've been able to fix it for the most part."
This can sometimes be aggravating for the Marines, said Miller.
"You put the gear together, but you don't know if there is a solid connection unless you run fuel through it," he revealed.
Although a leak is a serious problem for a bulk fuel Marine, it is nothing new for a deployment, Duke said.
"We've run into this before, but we just change stuff out and do what we can," the 21 year old explained. "This is stuff you just can't prevent."
Through all the problems, the Marines of bulk fuel will keep the fuel flowing, Duke said.
"It's all little problems, and we'll compensate the best we can," said the Kokomo, Ind., native said. "It works out.
"We have to supply our forward troops in a fast and expedient manner," he said. "We do this so they can keep doing what they do and not worry about it."
The Marines are accomplishing this mission under adverse circumstances, and that is what matters, Miller concluded.
"We work long days, but what makes the difference is the Marines taking charge and doing their jobs," he said. "They get tired, but regardless, the fuel is still running all the time."
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