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Fuels management flight fuels 20th FW success

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Jonathan Bass
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  Acting as a 'middle man' between the Defense Logistics Agency and the 20th Fighter Wing, the 20th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels management flight service center ensures the continuity of all fuel for the 20th FW.

The job of the fuels management flight is essential to the mission of the wing because of the necessity to provide combat ready airpower and Airmen to meet any challenge, anytime, anywhere.

As a small section within the shop, the service center has two positions; a controller who dispatches trucks to refuel and handles the integrity of aircraft's information, and the accountant who mediates the purchase of fuel between the DLA and the aircraft's unit.

"We get a phone call from the maintenance operations center saying that they need fuel on an aircraft, wherever it's located; we put that into our database and we take the tail number and the location. Once we have the pertinent information we dispatch a driver," said Staff Sgt. Kiel Ragan, 20th LRS fuels service center controller.

Each aircraft's maintenance unit is individually billed based on information provided by the MOC, said Ragan. He continued to say that this process is done for every aircraft that touches down on Shaw AFB. In addition, the controller maintains contact with the driver after being dispatched to refuel as per Air Force instruction requirements, Ragan said.

While the controller talks to the MOC and the drivers, ensuring positive control over all of the flightline and the POL flight, the accountant handles the finances and the billing associated with each unit's account.

"I make sure all our customers get paid and billed accurately," said Staff Sgt. Adam Bowles, 20th LRS fuels service center accountant.

Bowles compared the service center accountant position to balancing a gigantic checkbook.

"We're dealing with millions of gallons of fuel," said Bowles. "Just last Friday our total sales were more than 20,000 gallons."

At just under $4 per gallon, in one day the 20th FW spent more than $72,000 in jet-A fuel.

"That's a very low day," said Bowles. "We have days where we'll sell over 100,000 gallons in a day."

At the current price of jet fuel, that would be more than $360,000 in one day.

The fuels management flight not only handles all fuel for aircraft, but also for every government owned vehicle that the 20th FW operates, said Bowles.

This results in millions of dollars spent every year by units across the Air Force and mediated by the fuels service center, ensuring the ability for not only the 20th FW to succeed at its mission, but the Air Force as a whole.