Fuels Airmen and Marines support Northern Edge 2015

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Kirsten Wicker
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  During Northern Edge 15, approximately 450,000 gallons of fuel per day kept nearly 60 aircraft operating out of Eielson fueled up and flying the skies over Alaska accomplishing critical joint training.

To help support the increased aerial operations, up to seven additional Airmen and four additional Marines trained to re-fuel aircraft arrived at Eielson from Japan, North Carolina and Kansas. Up to five additional service members are supporting re-fueling operations at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.

"We were pretty excited for the opportunity to come to Alaska and help out with this exercise," said Senior Airman Steven McCarthy, a 22nd Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management technician from McConnell Air Force Base, Ka. "I'm used to re-fueling the tankers at McConnell, but here I've had the opportunity to re-fuel the fighters and learn more so the experience has been very rewarding for me."

The long days and busy schedule flying sorties twice per day, keep the fuels augmentees on their toes. Maintenance crews call for fuel as soon as the jet has landed and they have done their part to ready the aircraft for the next flying sortie.

"We generally work about 10-hour days," said Airman 1st Class Anthony Jackson, an 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management technician from Kadena Air Base, Japan. "We wait for the first group of jets to land in the mornings and after they are parked and the crew chiefs have had a chance to work on it, we drive the fuel truck to their location and fill it up."

The fuels augmentees fill their trucks back up after the first group of jets have recovered, then begin the process over again for the jets returning from the afternoon aerial training sessions. Often, the Airmen and Marines can re-fuel until eight or nine o'clock at night and up to 40 total aircraft, until the last one is full.

"Some of the aircraft take a little longer to re-fuel than others because they have larger tanks or smaller fuel lines and we can't pump as quickly," Jackson said. "But it generally takes about 10 to 15 minutes per jet."

Eielson is equipped with fuel lines that run from the tanks underground to a mobile fuel stand located on the flight line. The Airmen and Marines are able to re-fill their trucks without driving off the runway and back on again.

"It's really nice having the underground hydrant loop because it expedites the re-fueling process," said McCarthy. "Our goal is to get fuel to the jets as fast as possible, and the mobile fuel stand reduces our response time so we are able to get them the fuel they need quickly and efficiently."

Fuel is essential to keeping aircraft flying and any mistakes could cost a service member's life. While the fuels augementees work quickly, ensuring all the aircraft receive enough high-quality fuel to complete their mission safely is top priority.

"If we don't do our job right, someone could die," said Jackson. "That's why we take re-fueling seriously and we make sure it's done properly. It's not just about speed, it's about a job well done."

At the end of the day, McCarthy added, augmentees can go home knowing we've done our part for the mission and they've done it well.

Northern Edge 2015 is Alaska's premier joint training exercise designed to practice operations, techniques and procedures as well as enhance interoperability among the services. Thousands of participants from all the services, Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen from active duty, Reserve and National Guard units are involved.