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# DLA Energy Aerospace Energy visits Matheson, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland 

By Shonda Rizo and DLA Energy Public Affairs

                FORT BELVOIR, Virginia  –              
Defense Logistics Agency Energy Aerospace Energy supports more than 200 United States Air Force and Navy customers with their aviator’s breathing oxygen and liquid nitrogen requirements. In April, members of the Customer Operations and Supplier Operations divisions visited the Matheson Air Separation Unit facility and Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland to see firsthand how they support the warfighter.

“Aerospace Energy Supplier division leveraged the strong partnership with Matheson, a local chemical industry vendor, enabling the entire aerospace team (both the DLA Energy Aerospace Supplier and Customer Facing divisions) benefit from this valuable training tool,” said Stephen Nichols, DLA Energy Aerospace Energy Customer Operations deputy director. “We tapped a unique opportunity to educate our employees on the product they make.”

Matheson is a local Aerospace vendor that produces and supplies the aviator’s breathing oxygen, liquid nitrogen and argon to their customers. The visit offered a unique opportunity for the new and experienced employees to follow the supply chain from the producer (Matheson) to the customer (JBSA-Lackland).

Training new customer account specialists to reach the journeyman level can be a one-to-three year process, Nichols explained. In February, Nichols and four Aerospace Energy employees had the opportunity to be part of the test of the RS-25 Space Launch System rocket engine at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The development opportunity offered a better understanding of how Aerospace Energy contributes to the customer’s mission.

“We are trying to develop customer account specialists to be the main point of contact for all our customer concerns,” Nichols said. “This is one more opportunity to educate. Our new teammates get to see the challenges associated with producing a highly specialized product and gain an appreciation for why our customers’ requirements are so stringent.”

The facility tour provided DLA Energy Aerospace Energy customer account specialists, contracting officers and contracting specialists a chance to see how their work translates into product production, transport and delivery for the company. They observed how a telemetry system monitors a customer’s inventory and sends notifications when a customer’s tank reaches the reorder level and scheduling a tank truck delivery for the customer.

“It was interesting to observe how the distillation tower operates to produce the major product(s) that Matheson delivers to our customers,” said Mary Helen Martinez, customer account specialist.

The next stop was to JBSA-Lackland to view the 502nd Fuels Management Flight facility. Their flight chief, Roger Shaw, provided an overview of the fuels operations and tour of the facilities. He stressed the importance of performing the tests and providing clean, dry fuel to the aircraft and vehicles assigned to JBSA-Lackland, as well as transient aircraft. DLA employees visited the fuels lab where technicians explained how fuel and cryogenics were tested. Cryogenics are used to support the Texas Air National Guard F-16 aircraft and fire suppression and cooling blanket for the C-5 aircraft.

Fuels Dayshift Distribution Supervisor Oliver Ezell provided an overview of the cryogenics storage facility and the liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen storage tanks. He explained the procedures for receiving and issuing cryogenics as well as showing the members the personal protective equipment required to perform the operations.

“Our customer requirements for high purity products to meet military specifications can be very demanding,” Nichols said. “Quality assurance has to be exact or accidents can result."

Aerospace Energy employees gained a new appreciation for how their combined efforts contribute to the mission for the vendor and the customers.

“I was amazed that Matheson can produce liquid oxygen and liquid nitrogen at 99 percent purity,” said Asia Powell, customer account specialist. “I was also amazed at how Lackland customers request products through the control center and receive products from the Matheson facility using the personal protective equipment.”  

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