News>Deployed Airmen scramble to replace 200,000 gallon fuel bladder
Photos
Airmen assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron position a 200,000 gallon fuel bladder inside a containment area at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia April 4, 2013. Sixty Airmen operate the fuels farm, moving anywhere from 300,000 to 600,000 gallons of fuel each day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christina M. Styer)
Airmen assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron unroll a 200,000 gallon fuel bladder inside a containment area at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia April 4, 2013. Sixty Airmen operate the fuels farm, moving anywhere from 300,000 to 600,000 gallons of fuel each day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christina M. Styer)
Airmen assigned to the 380th Air Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron arrange a 200,000 gallon fuel bladder inside a containment area at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia April 4, 2013. Sixty Airmen operate the fuels farm, moving anywhere from 300,000 to 600,000 gallons of fuel each day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Christina M. Styer)
by Staff Sgt. Timothy Boyer
380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
4/10/2013 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFNS) -- Like oxygen to the human body or sunlight to a tree, fuel is essential to an aircraft getting off the ground.
The Airmen of the 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels flight worked together April 2 and 4 to replace a 200,000 gallon fuel bladder.
"We have a crane come from the Civil Engineer Squadron to lift the bladder up, bring it over and lay it into the containment area," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Cosentino, 380 ELRS fuels operations section chief and Bronx, N.Y., native. "Then we unroll the bladder and connect all the hoses to it."
The flight maintains, inspects and replaces equipment to ensure the mission can be accomplished safely.
"Maintenance is important so we can keep the integrity of not only our equipment, but the fuel inside," explained Tech. Sgt. David Bricker, 380 ELRS fuels facilities NCO in charge, deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. "If the fuel gets contaminated, it could lead to problems with the aircraft causing in-flight emergencies and ultimately risking lives."
With only 60 people, the flight can move up to 600,000 gallons of fuel per day, depending on the demands of the Air Tasking Order.
Cosentino, deployed from McGuire AFB, N.J., said one of the best parts of the job is knowing how important the fuels flight is to the overall mission.
"Everybody contributes to the mission," he said. "But we actually deliver one of the key components to propel an airplane into the air."
With the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing transitioning into a more enduring location, maintaining the fuel supply is essential to the success of the ATO.
"Fuel matters because it is used to get aircraft in the air, and that's what is important," said Bricker, a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., native.
Comments
4/12/2013 10:49:24 AM ET I agree with Ken the headline is misleading...makes it appear they did this due to some emergency.
Sgt Snorkle, USA
4/11/2013 11:59:41 AM ET The article states why Ken. It makes perfect since that they would replace these bladders in order to ensure the integrity of the fuel that is used to fill our aircraft. 300000 to 600000 gallons of fuel per day is a lot so you would want to go extra lengths to ensure that there are no IFE's caused by contaminated fuel from deteriorating bladders. Just like with aircraft you time change items in order to prevent things from happening not just because something happened.
Observant, Maintainer
4/10/2013 4:14:21 PM ET I imagine the fuel bladders degrade over time especially in desert conditions. The better question is when are photographers going to stop adding in an undisclosed location to Southwest Asia cutlines It's not undisclosed -- it's Southwest Asia.
PB, US
4/10/2013 2:30:18 PM ET Why did the Airmen scramble to replace the 200000 gallon fuel bladder The article explains how the bladder was replaced says it is important to keep fuel from getting contaminated and stresses the importance of fuel but it never explains why this was done. Who Check. What Check. When Check. Why Unknown. How Check.
