U.S., Afghan forces unite to open fuel depot

  • Published
  • By Maj. Carie A. Parker
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  The Afghan assistant defense minister and other senior Afghanistan national army officials inaugurated Afghanistan's most modern Class III fuels depot Feb. 28 at Khuja Rawash in Kabul.

Afghan Lt. Gen. Jawhari, chief of acquisition, technology and logistics, led the ceremony that brought the ANA and U.S. servicemembers from Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan together to open the $14.5 million facility three years in the making. 

The new depot boasts modern systems to determine fuel tank levels as well as temperature. Central controls also allow operators to accurately transfer fuel with the touch of a button.

"Today we've unlocked the key to sustaining our military," General Jawhari said. "We appreciate the commitment of the coalition to the success and independence of Afghanistan."

The previous fuels facility, known as Khair-Khana, was a facility built around 1977 with a manual, gravity-fed system without electricity or pumps. Not only was it an outdated facility with an inadequate distribution capacity, but also it was environmentally unsound and unsafe for operators. There was also no scientific way to determine fuel levels on either the trucks or within the storage tanks.

Recognizing this, members of the 755th Air Expeditionary Group, Logistics Embedded Training Team, took on the challenge of transitioning to a modern facility when the project started in 2006.

"We wanted to build an organic capability here because you can contract all day but there's a security risk involved," said Lt. Col. Jennifer Murphy, the 755th AEG deputy senior adviser for Afghan national security forces. "With the ANA running their facility, there's more care taken in safeguarding the resources."

With the new facility came a steep learning curve. The ANA soldiers not only transitioned to a new location, but also they were catapulted to a new era. Before, haggard plastic tubing was stretched from refueling trucks to a rusty 55-gallon drum where a rubber-gloved inspector caught the unfiltered fuel in a clear glass coffee mug looking for sediment. The process was inaccurate and risky to both the workers and the environment.

The new 28-acre distribution facility not only increased fuel storage capacity by 500 percent, but also boasts a filtration system within its tanks. On top of that, the project also delivered dozens of $200,000 bulk fuel delivery trucks with a system to filter the 5,000 gallons they transport.

A laboratory was built to evaluate fuel quality, and the pump house is also modern with systems to determine fuel tank levels as well as temperature. Central controls allow operators to accurately transfer fuel with the touch of a button. There's also a scale to precisely weigh trucks delivering fuel.

"This facility will allow us to support our army by providing units with a better quality fuel more rapidly," said Afghan Col. Mahtabudin, the ANA class III fuels depot commander. "This is significant for the progress and development of Afghanistan."

The joint team transformed the fuel supply chain, cutting processing time from 10 days to one hour and increasing distribution 200 percent.

"This fuel facility has come a long way from the former facility," said Lt. Col. Joe Biggers, the Logistics Embedded Training Team senior adviser. "It is helping to modernize the ANA fuel distribution process."

The ANA handles fuel requisition, storage and distribution for the army and ministry of defense. The fuels depot will store and dispense aviation fuel, diesel, motor gasoline, propane and wood to keep the ANA moving.

According to the mentor team, it's the first time Afghans have supplied their own air corps and the goal is to have the ANA fuels program self-sufficient by June 2010.

"Our goal is to minimize misuse of fuel, putting true teeth behind the supply discipline," said Senior Master Sgt. Chetan Sawhney, the 755th AEG Logistics Embedded Training Team superintendent and lead adviser of the ANA fuels branch.

That isn't the only goal of the Logistics Embedded Training Team Airmen. Gainful employment of the almost 500 area residents the facility is likely to employ is another hope.

"We want to keep these workers from becoming insurgents," Sergeant Sawhney said.

The advisory team of five members has made a significant investment in Afghanistan. As an example, Tech. Sgt. Brett Rudish and Staff Sgt. Jason King realized early in the process that even though the facility was slated to store high-octane aviation fuel and kerosene, but the service had no need for the varieties. An estimated $2.1 million in fuels inventory was saved as a result of their observations. The elimination of the unnecessary fuels freed up two of the facility's 10 underground storage tanks for diesel and aviation fuel.

Other members of the team were Tech. Sgt. Marty Phillips and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Hicks.

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