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Fuels Division Keeps 'Lifeblood' Flowing

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030428-03
Release Date: 4/28/2003 11:03:00 AM

By Journalist 2nd Class Mark Elrod, USS Kitty Hawk public affairs

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK, At sea (NNS) -- Like blood flowing through veins and arteries to keep a body functioning, JP-5 aviation fuel flows through pipes and pumps to keep USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 mission ready.

JP-5 is the primary fuel for aircraft, emergency diesel generators and ground support equipment, such as tractors and forklifts, according to Aviation Boatswain's Mate (AW) Salvador Rosario, Kitty Hawk's air department aviation fuels division (V-4) below decks leading petty officer. And in addition to fueling aircraft and support equipment, JP-5 can be used as a substitute fuel for the ship's boilers, according to Rosario.

The Hawk/5 team has been going through an average of 100,000 to 120,000 gallons of JP-5 per day in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, stated Rosario.

V-4 division is responsible for storing JP-5, as well as maintaining the equipment used to transfer the fuel.

"If you see a Sailor walking around the ship in a purple jersey, he is in the JP-5 business," said Senior Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (AW) John Floyd. "We are the only people who operate and maintain the JP-5 systems."

V-4 is divided into three work centers, including below decks, flight deck and flight deck repair, according to Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Mark Rimando, V-4's training petty officer.

Below decks' main purpose is to keep the fuel flowing, according to Rosario. Sailors in V-4 below decks have a total of eight transfer pumps that can pump more than 1,000 gallons per minute, which they use to move the fuel to areas where it is needed, he said.

"We have two pump rooms," said Rosario. "In each pump room, we have four service pumps that provide fuel to the decks." Rosario said another responsibility of V-4 below decks is to receive fuel during underway replenishment evolutions.

V-4 flight deck is responsible for fueling the aircraft, stated Rosario.

Maintaining the equipment used to transfer fuel and for fueling aircraft and support equipment are not the only things V-4 does, because just as a body needs contaminant-free blood to remain healthy, Kitty Hawk's machinery and CVW-5 aircraft need the cleanest fuel possible to prevent damage to the equipment. That is where the V-4 flight deck quality assurance laboratory comes in. The quality assurance lab inspects the fuel to ensure that the fuel is clean.

"We make sure our fuel is as contaminant-free as possible," said Airman (AW) Johnnie Perry, one of V-4's quality control sentries.

"Without the fuel, you can't tow the aircraft, and without fuel the aircraft can't take off, and some of the ordnance that is used with the aircraft can't be used," said Perry.

"They don't fly off of Kool Aid," added Floyd. "We've got to have fuel."

America's oldest active warship, Kitty Hawk with embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 and Destroyer Squadron 15 recently operated with coalition forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.