Infrastructure team makes the 'POInT'

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ken Sloat
  • 506th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
KIRKUK AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  A group of Air Force civil engineers huddle in front of a large wall map at the back of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), 1st Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters here. The red and green lines that meander from dot to dot across the large white map command their attention.

They are the Power and Oil Infrastructure Team, or POInt, part of the only Air Force public works team embedded with Army units in Iraq. The three Airmen assigned to the Kirkuk team are involved in the construction, refurbishment and security of key infrastructure facilities.

They are currently responsible for tracking more than $32 million worth of construction projects.

Building truck scales and guard towers are just two of the many projects they’ve tackled since the original members came here nearly a year ago.

The Airmen represent a small portion of the 3,000 or so “in lieu of,” or ILO, forces in a joint-service role supporting the Army as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. They are officially assigned to Detachment 16, 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron at Balad Air Base.

The concept of ILO forces began in 2003, said Chief Master Sgt. Paul Kaplan, the electrical liaison officer deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. He said, the Army asked the Secretary of Defense for personnel from other services to support shortfalls in areas such as convoy drivers, working dog handlers and civil engineers.

There are less than 15 Det. 16 members in the entire country of Iraq, and they are at three different locations in the country.

Nearly a third of the POInT’s time, is spent meeting with representatives of the state-owned refineries and power plants that produce the oil, natural gas and electrical power for northern Iraq, said Tech. Sgt. Billy Tramel. The oil infrastructure liaison officer is deployed from Hill AFB, Utah.

“We meet with these people to listen to what they’ve got to say,” Sergeant Tramel said. “Some of the issues are simple; others are not.”

Recently, when a large volume gas turbine generator -- one capable of producing enough electricity to power 200,000 homes -- was having problems running with a lower quality natural gas, the group came up with a solution. While their long-term solution is still pending, their short-term solution was relatively simple and involved re-routing the supply lines to pull from a different well.

“None of us had really thought about it until we got our heads together,” Sergeant Tramel said.

Many problems are solved easily enough once the right people get together, he said.

“Sometimes we see if we can get them working together to solve mutual problems,” Sergeant Tramel said.

One of the biggest challenges at these meetings, is tactfully asking questions to get answers, but not so direct as to offend Iraqi partners.

“You got to ask them the direct questions,” he said, adding that it’s not in their culture to ask for the things they need.

“If (we’re) not asking pointed questions, then they won’t give us the feedback we need,” he said.

Feedback will allow the team to report problem and recommend solutions to higher headquarters. That is a necessary first step to getting the supplies and support their Iraqi partners need.

“That’s the whole goal, to push infrastructure forward,” Sergeant Tramel said.

When something, like a fire happens at one of the wells, the team assesses the damage and provides senior leadership with an overview of how the damage might impact the country’s oil or natural gas production.

“The ones maneuvering forces and making this whole process move towards total Iraqi control, have to know what the impact is of an infrastructure attack,” said Maj. Don Treanor, officer in charge of the POInT here. He is deployed from Eglin AFB, Fla.

“We don’t have the in-depth knowledge to do that,” he said, “We depend on the locals who do have that knowledge.”

Because their mission takes the team off base anywhere from 15 to 20 times a month, they are often in harm’s way. For Sergeant Tramel, it’s just part of the job.

“It’s just what I’ve been tasked to do,” he said. “Sure, there are dangers, but at the same time we have a mission to accomplish.”

He’s not naive about the dangers. The vehicle he was riding in was disabled by an improvised explosive device and he’s even discovered an unexploded one.

When he was sent to inspect a well after an explosion, he and an Iraqi firefighter were walking up to the damaged natural gas well when they saw what turned out to be an IED.

“I never thought I’d be the one discovering an IED” he said, adding that he was thankful for the special training he and his team received.

To fill this mission he and the other POInT members had to attend a three-week course at Fort Carson, Colo., before deploying. During this course -- 14-hour days being the norm -- they learned land navigation, map reading, radio operations, convoy operations, weaponry and specialized battlefield medicine.

“They teach you how to be a Soldier. The things that young privates learn from day one, they’re throwing down our throats in 21 days,” he said.

The team then went to the Udari Range in Kuwait for an additional week of training en route to the air base.

Although Sergeant Tramel is likely to downplay the significance of what his team is doing in Iraq, even he can’t deny it will have an effect on the future of the country.

They are working to improve the infrastructure and production capability in an area that produces 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, equating to nearly 20 percent of all the oil produced in Iraq. With the still untapped natural gas deposits estimated to be large enough to fuel the whole eastern world, the capabilities they provide to their Iraqi partners are the foundation of a stronger nation in the future.

“I will know that I was here at the very beginning,” said Major Treanor.