FROM THE

Navy Rear Adm. Kurt Kunkel, SC, USN

Commander, Defense Logistics Agency Energy

Commander

Navy Rear Adm. Kurt Kunkel

Deputy Commander

Patrick Dulin

Executive Director

Mike Scott

Chief of Staff

Navy Capt. Charles Race

Public Affairs Officer

Susan Lowe

Editor

Susan Declercq Brown

Energy Source is an official publication 

distributed by and for the Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy and fuel-oriented clientele. 

Contents of this publication are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. 

government, Department of Defense, 

Defense Logisitics Agency or Defense 

Logistics Agency Energy. Energy Source is 

prepared by desktop publishing applications. 

Photos not credited are courtesy of DLA 

Energy sources.

Address correspondence to:

ATTN: DLA Energy-DCA

8725 John J. Kingman Rd.

Suite 4950

Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6222

Commercial: 703-767-4108

Address email to:

EnergySourceMagazine@dla.mil

2 www.energy.dla.mil

Across the Defense Department 

as throughout the federal government, 

stewardship excellence continues to be 

of the utmost concern—and the Defense 

Logistics Agency Energy is committed to 

managing our processes and resources to 

deliver effective warfighter support at the 

optimal cost. This issue of Energy Source focuses on how DLA Energy supports 

and promotes strong stewardship as we continue providing consistently outstanding support for the warfighter’s energy needs.

The Fuel Card Program Office is one of the many DLA Energy programs doing 

their part to be good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars. The SEA Card® provides customers a way to order and pay for fuel electronically, thereby eliminating additional 

administrative costs. The SEA Card® program, along with the DoD Fleet Card and 

the U.S. Government AIR Card®, continue to grow and provide warfighters and 

other customers effective and efficient energy solutions while remaining fiscally 

responsible.

DLA Energy’s stewardship efforts in supply chain management are producing 

higher quality and better communication as we support the warfighter. Validating 

and consolidating end-to-end requirements for our customers and ensuring that 

those requirements are met in a way that saves the customers’ money comes from 

many hard-working links in our supply chain. From the models used in the acquisition process to inventory and quality management throughout the process, DLA 

Energy is working to make the best use of taxpayer resources. 

Support for stewardship reaches around the world, with DLA Energy managing hundreds of defense fuel support points and the sustainment, restoration and 

modernization efforts necessary to keep that DFSP infrastructure in working order. 

Maintaining that network is essential to protecting the environment and helping 

keep our customers fully mission capable. Worldwide stewardship continues with 

DLA Energy’s pipeline partnerships and improvements. Inventory management 

improvements in the Turkish National Pipeline System will result in huge savings 

and DLA Energy recently saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in storage fees 

while assisting the six partner nations 

in the Central European Pipeline System. This CEPS partnership also allows 

for partner nations to establish valuable fuel exchange agreements, making efficient use of resources between 

countries.

While fiscal stewardship is a source 

of pride for DLA Energy, the sentiment 

also extends to our efforts of environmental stewardship. Preservation of the 

environment through prevention and 

remediation measures is a mission of 

great importance to DLA Energy, with 

results that have engaged communities 

and assisted in the rehabilitation of a 

once-believed extinct species of butterfly at DFSP San Pedro, Calif.

My 2011 Commander’s Guidance 

emphasizes our support of the DLA 

Director’s strategic focus areas which 

include Stewardship Excellence, along 

with Warfighter Support Enhancement 

and Workforce Development. Future 

issues of the Energy Source will further 

illustrate the roles we play in supporting these strategic focus areas as a part 

of America’s combat support agency.

As we go to print, the DLA Energy team is working hard to provide 

outstanding support to humanitarian 

efforts and U.S. missions in Japan as 

well as to Operation Unified Protector, formerly Odyssey Dawn, in support of the ongoing missions in Libya. 

As usual, their expertise is delivering 

mission-ready support!
April 2011

Energy Source l April 2011 3

pg 38

pg 10

pg 43

pg 30

Look, Ma, no handoffs! 4

The secret to a supply chain management practice that exemplifies good 

stewardship is banishing the handoff mentality. 

Myriad programs protect environment 6

Because commodities DLA Energy handles are potentially hazardous to health

and environment, the organization takes environmental stewardship seriously.

Rainy days and MOGAS 10

Centrally-managed infrastructure and SRM projects help ensure fuel storage

and distribution assets are mission-ready.

DLA environmental specialists meet with community 12

Meeting with stakeholders is an ideal way to determine community interest.

DLA Energy collaborates on European pipeline 14

A unique stewardship alliance among six NATO nations helps ensure fuel flow. 

Stewardship: more than money 19

Finance team improves and streamlines processes to use dollars effectively.

Supply chain management fortifies every link 20

Knowing any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, energy experts 

integrate stewardship in every link of the supply chain to ensure robust support.

Natural gas team reduces winter’s sting 25

Market expertise provides economical solutions to a blizzard of interruptions.

Division makes alternative solutions reality 26

A new division encourages development of AFRE sources, quality products.

Closures target savings in Korea 28

Some fuel facilities in Korea have been closed and other closures are underway.

Joint team hones management at Bagram 30

New contracts improve fuel management and accountability. 

LSS team improves pipeline inventory procedures 32

Aerospace Energy aids Discovery in last flight 34

36

42

43

Government fuel card program still going strong

QARs ensure mission-ready fuel for CENTCOM warfighters

Hail and Farewell: T-5s make way for new tankers

The face of the Defense Logistics Agency Energy.

Visit www.energy.dla.mil to see Energy Source Online Exclusives, additional 

stories and photos only available in the e-version of Energy Source. 

News from around the Defense Logistics Agency.
4 www.energy.dla.mil

By Susan Declercq Brown

DLA Energy Public Affairs

In sports, the handoff is that moment when the ball 

or the baton ceases to be your responsibility. When 

you have done all you can from your position and 

have passed it on to a teammate who, you hope, will 

carry it to victory. After the handoff, the original 

runner often slows to a crawl, no longer responsible 

for maintaining the momentum. What happens next, 

what happens at the finish line, is no longer that 

team member’s responsibility.

But, supply chain management is not a sport. 

And, the secret to a supply chain management 

practice that exemplifies good stewardship is banishing that handoff mentality, said a Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy senior leader.

“I think we’ve always been very good in that 

respect,” said Mark Iden, deputy director of Operations. “We follow through from initial requirement 

all the way to the customer—end-to-end supply chain 

management—even ensuring successful execution 

for the parts of the chain that we don’t own,” Iden 

explained. 

For instance, if a bulk fuel shipment is to be 

moved by an oceangoing tanker, DLA Energy doesn’t 

contract for the shipment. The organization’s Tanker 

Branch coordinates this requirement with the Navy’s 

Military Sealift Command who arranges the transportation.

“But, if the tanker is late, we are ultimately held 

responsible by the customer for the delayed fuel 

delivery, so we work that part of the chain too to 

ensure the deliveries are completed. Even though we 

don’t ‘own’ that part of the supply chain, it is still part 

of the chain we have overall responsibility for. So, 

we can’t just put the fuel on the ship and wash our 

hands of it. We can’t shirk that responsibility,” Iden 

explained.

The same is true of free on board destination 

contracts like those DLA Energy uses to support the 

warfighters in Iraq, said George Atwood, director of 

the organization’s Mobility Fuels Directorate.

“When a truck leaves Turkey on an FOB destination contract, the transportation company retains 

responsibility for the fuel until it is delivered to the 

final destination in Iraq. But, we still have to maintain 

monitoring and oversight to ensure those supplies are 

enroute, on time, and that they reach the final destination. Our responsibility is to our customer,” explained 

Atwood.

DLA Energy is responsible for meeting customer 

requirements by selecting a source, buying and paying 

for the fuel, accounting for it, ensuring it’s the 

right quantity and quality and that it moves 

through the distribution system to the customer.

The organization has the Executive Agent 

responsibilities for the Bulk Petroleum end-toend supply chain, but the end-to-end approach 

doesn’t stop there. “We carry the executive 

agent mindset through to all our commodities,” Iden explained. “We just don’t think in 

terms of handoffs—not in petroleum products, 

not in alternative fuels and renewable energy, 

not in aerospace propellants and chemicals, 

not in utility commodities. DLA Energy’s approach is ultimately end-to-end across the 

board.”

The benefits of that approach can be seen 

in the alternative fuel area as well, said the 

organization’s director of Plans and Programs, 

Frank Pane. The alternative fuel supply chain 

begins with the warfighter or customer identifying an energy requirement, just as it does for 

DLA Energy’s other commodity supply chains, 

but the organization’s approach to satisfying that requirement for alternative fuel has 

unique aspects.

“Alternative fuels are intended as possible 

replacements for conventional fuels that have 

long established industrial and user bases. 

However, the industrial base for alternative 

fuel is not as mature as it is for petroleum,” 

Pane explained. 

Look, Ma, no handoffs!
Energy Source l April 2011 5

Because of this, although the current alternative 

fuels are for relatively small quantities, they provide 

a unique supply chain challenge. Unlike a petroleumderived procurement, feedstock availability is not a 

given. Also, the bio-oils are not pushed through the 

conventional distribution system, introducing increased variables for delays. Unique storage considerations have also been encountered. However, at the 

end of the day, getting specific biofuels to multiple 

locations at required delivery times is just another mission DLA Energy is successfully accomplishing, Pace 

said. 

“To help enable the development of the alternative 

fuel industrial base to ensure product availability and 

sufficient quantities for future projected requirements, 

DLA Energy conducted considerable market research 

and partnered with the commercial aviation sector via 

the Air Transport Association of America to encourage 

industry to establish a more robust industrial base for 

alternative fuel,” Iden explained.

Iden said it is that kind of expertise coupled with 

the ‘no handoffs mentality’ that keeps customers coming back to DLA Energy for their energy solutions. 

Clay filters help maintain quality of fuel for one of the Defense 

Logistics Agency Energy’s customers in the JP8 supply chain. 

Photo courtesy of DLA Energy Americas West.
6 www.energy.dla.mil

By Laura Fleming

DLA Installation Support for Energy

Because the commodities the Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy handles are potentially hazardous to 

health and the environment, the organization takes 

environmental stewardship very seriously. DLA Energy has a variety of programs in place to protect the 

environment. 

How does DLA Energy protect the environment? 

Let me count the ways: 1. natural resource management; 2. environmental management guidance; 

3. leak detection testing; 4. spill prevention and response planning and training; and 5. environmental 

management system implementation. 

When the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 prompted 

all government agencies to become better stewards 

of the environment in the wake of the Exxon Valdez 

disaster, it struck a chord with the DLA field activity 

responsible for providing energy products and solutions for the Defense Department and other federal 

agencies—now called DLA Energy. Since then, the 

environmental laws and regulations have expanded 

further requiring a more proactive instead of reactive 

approach to environmental protection. As a result, 

DLA Energy has evolved accordingly—building more 

stewardship aspects throughout the environmental 

program.

Natural resource management

One of DLA Energy’s proudest accomplishments 

in environmental stewardship is saving a species 

from extinction, the Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly. The 

PVBB was assumed extinct from 1983 until 1994, 

when DLA Energy and the U.S. Navy commissioned 

Rudi Mattoni and others to perform a biological 

assessment for a Chevron pipeline. Surprisingly the 

PVBB was rediscovered on a Defense Fuel Support 

Point San Pedro hillside in California, an ideal habiMyriad programs 

protect environment 

tat. This fragile last population was estimated at 65. 

Habitat restoration started immediately including 

field surveys and captive rearing. A highly-successful 

cooperative venture ensued with DLA Energy becoming a key conservationist group member along with the 

Navy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Urban Wildlands Group, Inc., Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy, and Moorpark College. Though many others 

have also helped with the butterfly’s recovery, the key 

to the success of this 17-year ongoing effort, while 

maintaining the DFSP mission, has required all parties 

to actively listen and cooperate with each other. 

Today, the PVBB population has grown to more 

than 10,000. The Secretary of Defense commended 

the team for outstanding environmental stewardship 

in 1998. On March 21, 81 butterflies were released into 

the wild from DFSP San Pedro as part of the ongoing 

repopulation efforts.

Environmental management guidance 

The DLA Energy Environmental Guide for Fuel 

Terminals, developed and maintained by DLA Energy, 

is another good example of proactive stewardship. 

When OPA 90 was promulgated, DoD fuel facility commanders and operators had a difficult time with the 

complexity of the changing environmental regulations 

and interpreting how the regulations affected their 

activities. As a result, the Environmental Division in 

DLA’s fuels field activity put together a guide for use 

at base and terminal fuel facilities that made up the 

worldwide network serving our warfighters. 

Initially, the guide was a hand-assembled collection of policy letters and fuel-related environmental 

laws put into a binder. In 1990 there were around 300 

copies. Over time, the guide became more professional 

and better organized, with an index, separate chap-
Energy Source l April 2011 7

ters and appendices. Today, circulation tops 3,000, 

and the guide is an award-winning, user-friendly and 

comprehensive document to promote stewardship. It 

has spawned a CD, a video and a poster for desk-side 

reference in the event of a spill. Now produced with 

recycled materials, the guide enables the user to link 

to state laws, uses non-bureaucratic language in the 

text, and follows a magazine-type format complete with 

illustrative graphics and photos. The eighth edition of 

the guide is scheduled for release in late summer. 

In addition to the benefits of protecting the environment, DLA Energy learned a long time ago that 

spill prevention and early detection of spills was less 

expensive than spill response. As a result, DLA Energy 

created programs for leak detection, and spill prevention and response planning and training.

Leak detection testing 

The organization developed and centrally manages a leak detection and tightness testing program for 

Defense Logistics Agency Energy spill prevention and emergency 

response courses, such as one conducted at a defense fuel support point in Japan last year, help customers be good stewards 

of the environment.
8 www.energy.dla.mil
Energy Source l April 2011 9

DFSPs around the world. The program goes beyond 

the environmental compliance regulations and applies 

best management testing for other tanks and hydrant 

systems which currently do not have mandatory testing. DLA Energy’s goal is to find leaks early and when 

they are small—before they can turn into massive 

spills with far-reaching environmental impact, which 

might cost millions of dollars to cleanup. 

The program started at 13 bases in California 

where testing was mandated and has expanded to include testing at more than 110 fuel facilities worldwide 

this past year. This encompassed testing more than 

300 tanks and 1 million linear feet of piping; and, the 

program expands tank and pipeline testing each year. 

An example of the success of the leak detection program occurred last year at DFSP San Pedro. 

Quarterly testing of the terminal piping in March 

2010 indicated a potential leak in the 16-in. North 

pipeline. This pipeline had passed the test conducted 

just three months earlier in the 4th quarter of 2009. 

Upon excavation, a leak was confirmed, but very little 

contamination was found—less than one cubic yard of 

contaminated soil. As a result of the early detection, 

no environmental cleanup was necessary.

DLA Energy has centrally-managed programs for 

both spill prevention and response plan development. 

These are available to all DoD installations worldwide. 

The organization also provides spill prevention and 

response training to DFSP operators. 

 Most of DLA Energy’s DFSPs are required to 

maintain both Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plans and Facility Response Plans; they 

must also conduct spill prevention and response exercises annually that address a continual improvement 

and readiness process. 

Additional spill prevention training includes a new 

program for underground storage tank operators. The 

training provides operators with measures to monitor 

the systems, recognize potential problems and prevent 

spills. Operators are trained in best management practices for facility inspections, spill and overfill prevention and protection, release (leak or spill) detection, 

corrosion protection system monitoring, appropriate 

actions in response to system monitoring alarms and 

emergency response.

 Prevention of spills is a key component of DLA 

Energy’s environmental program in an effort to 

minimize unwanted impact to the environment from 

DLA Energy operations and also minimize costs for 

environmental cleanups.

Environmental management system implementation 

Finally, DLA Energy practices environmental 

stewardship through the Environmental Management System, which was first developed in 2004. An 

EMS is a set of processes and practices that enable 

an organization to reduce its environmental impacts 

and increase its operating efficiency. Implementing 

the EMS helps manage DLA Energy’s environmental 

“footprint”—the environmental impact associated 

with its activities, products and services. An EMS not 

only helps an organization pay attention to its regulatory responsibilities, it also provides a means for addressing non-regulated environmental aspects such 

as energy efficiency and resource conservation. 

By reinforcing existing operations with a comprehensive approach to environmental management, an 

EMS helps streamline operations, create awareness 

that environmental protection is every employee’s 

job, and improve environmental performance. 

DLA Energy takes environmental stewardship 

seriously through a myriad of programs: providing 

natural resource management, environmental guidance, leak detection testing, spill prevention and 

response training and plan development, and development and implementation of an Environmental 

Management System. Financial stewardship is an 

added benefit, as committed environmental stewardship protects DLA Energy’s inventory from loss, and 

prevents unnecessary cleanup costs due to undetected leaks and spills. 

T h e P a l o s Ve r d e s B l u e B u t t e r f l y, a s s u m e d e xt i n c t u n t i l r e - d i s c o v e r e d o n D e f e n s e F u e l 

Support Point San Pedro, Calif., in 1994, is now flourishing 

in a captive breeding program. Defense Logistics Agency 

Energy has actively supported this 17-year ongoing program 

while maintaining the DFSP mission.
10 www.energy.dla.mil

By Susan Declercq Brown

DLA Energy Public Affairs

Most homeowners are familiar with the concepts 

of routine maintenance and setting aside funds for 

stormy weather. Without periodic maintenance, the 

home infrastructure can deteriorate, and a tiny leak 

can become a catastrophe when the rainy days roll 

around. And, sometimes, despite the homeowner’s 

best efforts, an unanticipated repair like replacing siding pulled off by a windstorm can become a 

financial burden if money has not been set aside for 

unexpected repairs.

Fuel infrastructure experts at the Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy know all about that challenge. Imagine 

managing the Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization funds for all the Defense Department’s fuel 

infrastructure—ensuring routine preventative maintenance is completed, deficiencies identified and prioritized, unanticipated emergent needs funded and the 

whole worldwide fuel storage and distribution system 

continues to run smoothly even when some infrastructure is down for maintenance. That’s what DLA Energy’s Defense Fuel Support Point Management directorate does for hundreds of DFSPs around the world.

Centrally-managed infrastructure aids stewardship

 Rainy days and MOGAS
Energy Source l April 2011 11

Managing a network of distribution sites

A DFSP is a fuel storage terminal that receives, 

stores, issues and accounts for all DoD-owned capitalized fuel. DLA Energy manages the oversight of DFSPs 

domestically and abroad, covering aspects from the 

acquisition of fuel to its distribution, transportation and 

inventory management. DLA Energy procures, stores 

and distributes a full range of fuels from JP8 and JP5 

jet fuel to F76 marine diesel to E85 ethanol blend to 

motor gasoline, or MOGAS.

“DFSPs range from small gas stations to big terminals like Craney Island, Va., or Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 

Those bigger ones have very large tanks,” said DFSP 

Management Director Rockne Krill. “The intermediate 

ones are often found at air stations, and then you have 

the very small ones that are like regular gas stations for 

base motor pools.”

Because DLA Energy is responsible for providing 

fuels directly to the end-users whether they be tank, 

ship or aircraft, the fuel stored in most DFSPs is DLA 

Energy-owned, as are the DFSPs. The military services 

and contractors operate the DFSPs, with infrastructure 

valued at nearly $20 billion, for DLA Energy. And SRM 

funds are generated as part of the cost of fuel purchased 

by the services, explained Krill.

The military services and DLA Energy work in tandem to identify DFSP infrastructure deficiencies, plan 

remediations and schedule SRM projects to be funded.

Managing infrastructure and funding

As a starting point, each military service is allocated 

a percentage of the project funds based on the percentage of the infrastructure the service operates, said Krill. 

Then adjustments are made based on how that distribution of funding would affect fuel operations around the 

world, he explained. 

“At the end of the day, everybody is focused on 

ensuring the money that goes out the door fixes the defficiency that was identified,” said the directorate’s SRM 

Division Chief Frank Rechner. “No one here looks at it 

from a service-parochial aspect. We’re concerned about 

what is best for the fuels community at large. And, 

that’s one of the benefits of a centrally-managed SRM 

program.

“You can’t have 70 percent of every installation’s 

tanks out of service at one time,” Rechner said, or compromise mission support by having all the DFSPs in an 

area under repair at one time.

“Using a warehouse term – first in, first out – you 

would think we would fund some of the oldest deficiencies first in the inventory,” Rechner said. “But, 

there are operational reasons why you would want to 

improve or repair a newer deficiency rather than an 

older one, and that decision is made in conjunction 

with the military services in a collaborative discussion.”

“DFSPs and the military service control points 

input discrepancies and proposed remediation into 

the SRM-Energy database, which will eventually be 

incorporated into the Enterprise Business System. 

Then the input is reviewed, evaluated, confirmed, 

turned into a project, has a MIPR [Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request] assigned, gets the 

funding allocated to it and is turned over to the executing agents for remediation,” Krill explained.

A series of checks and balances built into the process and more stringent reviews for larger projects 

ensures good stewardship of the funds.

In conjunction with the military services, a schedule of approved projects, broken down by month of 

expected commencement and funding is established 

for the fiscal year.

The military services execute the project through 

the Army Corps of Engineers, the Air Force Civil Engineering Support Activity or the Air Force Center of 

Environmental Excellence, the Navy Facilities Command or Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. These executing agents set up the contracts, 

obligate the funds and manage the projects. The DLA 

Energy SRM team oversees the projects.

Managing a range of projects

Current projects range from multi-million dollar efforts like renovating the Red Hill tunnel DFSP 

in Hawaii, which is expected to begin later this year, 

to inspecting a filter separator or doing an American 

Petroleum Institute standards inspection of a tank. 

Every project is important, Rechner said.

Defense Logistics Agency Energy manages Sustainment, 

Restoration and Modernization funds for U.S. defense fuel 

infrastructure worldwide. Photo courtesy of DLA Energy 

Americas. 
12 www.energy.dla.mil

Potential environmental impact plays a big role 

in moving a deficiency to the top of the priority list. 

“You’ve got something that’s either broken or going to 

break that’s going to cause an oil spill or environmental 

problem. Those things need to get taken care of fast,” 

explained Krill.

“It’s operational as well. If you have a base with 

aircraft deploying to Afghanistan, you need to make sure 

they’re mission capable, and without fuel, they’re not 

going to be mission capable,” he added. And, planners 

must ensure that SRM projects don’t put assets out of 

commission unless alternative support infrastructure 

is operational to support warfighters relying on the fuel 

support.

Managing inspections

Still another benefit is ensuring preventative inspections are programmed for worldwide fuels infrastructure.

“We consolidate master plans into the Centrally Managed Programs, recurring things like inspections of big 

tanks, small tanks, piers, pipelines, and marine loading 

arms, which occur every five or 10 years are scheduled 

out in the master plan,” explained Rechner. These are 

funded by the SRM funds and executed by the services’ 

executing agents.

Rechner added that railroad inspections are also 

funded now because having viable railroads available for 

fuel delivery encourages competition for fuel delivery 

contracts, providing more options in delivery modes for 

the customer.

DLA Installation Support for Energy’s environmental 

section also handles many of the inspections. And comprehensive evaluations, called installation-level reviews, 

Susan Lowe

DLA Energy Public Affairs

Defense Logistics Agency Installation Support for Energy and DLA Energy Alaska team members traveled 

to Moose Creek, Alaska, to meet with interested community stakeholders Jan. 19 regarding remediation 

and cleanup efforts underway along the North Pole, 

Alaska-Eielson Air Force Base JP8 pipeline.

Since 2003, DLA Installation Support for Energy has been conducting environmental work in 

the Moose Creek community in connection with an 

historic pipeline spill. Recently, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation suggested that 

DLA form a Restoration Advisory Board for this site 

if there is sufficient community interest. The recent 

stakeholders meeting was held to determine the level 

of community interest in the restoration decisionmaking process and also provide a status briefing on the 

remediation effort. 

“The Department of Defense recognizes the importance of stakeholder participation for Installation 

Restoration Programs,” said DLA Energy Alaska Commander Air Force Lt. Col. John Martin. “Meeting with 

stakeholders is an ideal way to determine community 

interest in the remediation process and brief them on 

the work we’re doing to make sure they are safe.”

The IRP is a specially- funded program established 

in 1978 under which DoD identifies and evaluates its 

hazardous waste sites and controls the migration of hazardous contaminants from those sites.

Community members were notified of the stakeholders meeting and 17 residents attended the meeting. 

They were assured that DLA is focused on the community’s well being. 

DLA environmental specialists meet with Alaskan 
Energy Source l April 2011 13

look at the overall condition of a terminal or 

fuel distribution facility; these are generally 

conducted by the military services. Engineering 

surveys are likely to identify deficiencies that flow 

into the SRM process, Rechner said. DLA experts 

often augment the services’ inspection teams.

“We work constantly throughout the year as 

deficiencies flow in. There is no season that is 

busier than the next. We always reserve a portion of the budget for emergent projects that can 

occur in the fourth quarter requiring maintenance, repair or minor construction, so we can 

fully fund projects right up until the end of the 

fiscal year,” Rechner stressed.

Managing growth

The SRM program is growing, Rechner said. 

The budget for SRM has doubled in two years, 

and Rechner expects it may triple in the next 

three years as DoD and Congress increase funding for 

repairing and managing the aging infrastructure. 

No one wants to be the next environmental villain, Rechner said, so DLA Energy and the entire DLA enterprise 

are positioning themselves to handle the added workload 

of addressing a backlog of deficiencies and upgrading 

facilities to meet evolving environmental regulations.

Hiring is underway as need increases for project 

development and oversight, master planning, and consolidating recurring inspections into the CMP. 

“DLA takes the responsibility of cleaning up the contaminated area very seriously, and we are committed to 

ensuring the protection and well being of our communities and the environment,” Martin said. “We are not here 

to determine IF we’re going to clean up the site, we are 

here to assure the community that we ARE going to clean 

it up.”

During the stakeholders meeting, Martin outlined 

three options available to the Moose Creek residents with 

regard to their level of involvement in the remediation 

process. 

The first option would be to form a RAB as the ADEC 

initially suggested. A RAB is a forum specifically designed 

for exchanges of information to develop partnership 

among the community members, DoD and DLA. RABs are 

formal boards that offer community members an opportunity to provide input on the cleanup and decision-making 

community

process. 

Another option was no meetings at all. DLA 

would continue the cleanup process as required and 

issue updates as needed but not in a meeting setting. 

The community chose the third option—lessformal stakeholders meetings that require a smaller 

time commitment from community members. Meetings with the community will be held semi-annually 

or as often as needed should new information arise.

“Whatever option the community decides, DLA 

will be there regardless to do the cleanup work in 

accordance with the latest environmental guidance 

and keep the community informed,” said DLA Installation Support for Pacific Facility Manager Jack 

Appolloni. “Communication is the key; everyone in 

the community needs to know what we’re doing.” 

Repairs underway inside a fuel storage tank were funded through 

Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s Sustainment, Restoration and 

Modernization funding process. Photo courtesy of DLA Energy 

Americas.
14 www.energy.dla.mil

DLA Energy collaborates on

European pipeline stewardship

A workman changes out worn out filters on the high-pressure microfilter at the Pfungstadt depot along the Central European Pipeline System. The filter cleans sediment 

out of the petroleum products transported through CEPS. Photo courtesy of NATO.
Energy Source l April 2011 15

By Terry Shawn

DLA Energy Public Affairs

A unique stewardship alliance among six NATO 

member nations helps ensure fuel flows economically 

and efficiently in Central Europe.

The relationships forged between the U.S. Department of Defense and other participating NATO countries result in the efficient operation of the Central 

Europe Pipeline System despite the fact that the system 

spans five nations, said Army Col. Stephen Walker, 

commander of the Defense Logistics Agency Energy 

Europe and Africa region. 

A recent example of the cooperation between countries came in October when the Central Europe Pipeline 

Management Agency requested DLA Energy Europe 

and Africa temporarily loan part of the U.S. military’s 

storage allocation in the system to CEPMA. The 30,000 

cubic meters, or space for 188,790 barrels of fuel, was 

desired from Nov. 1, 2010 to April 30, 2011, said Hauke 

Dins, senior technical advisor with DLA Energy Europe 

& Africa’s inventory management branch. 

The space was useful to better manage the operational constraints and a lack of capacity caused by the 

strikes in France and by the recent evacuation of part of 

the French national fuel reserve, he explained.

The DLA Energy Europe & Africa supply manager 

for the CEPS analyzed the current inventory situation, 

the lift requirements from current contracts with Total 

France and Motor Oil Hellas, and the U.S. inventory 

evolution through July 2011. Based upon this analysis, 

DLA Energy headquarters and Europe & Africa approved CEPMA’s request. The loan will save €229,240 

($315,000) in storage cost savings for the period the 

space is loaned out, said Dins. 

“These factors have enabled us to accommodate this 

special request. It has helped the CEPS headquarters to 

overcome the operational constraints and the lack of capacity,” said DLA Energy’s senior technical advisor. 

“For us, this loan will result in storage cost savings 

while we are still able to meet our contractual requirements to the resupplying companies. Thus, it is a winwin situation for all parties,” said Dins.

Operations

The CEPS is an integrated pipeline system originally built between the late 1950s and mid-1990s to 

serve the wartime military fuel requirements of eight 

NATO nations: Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, 

Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom 

and the United States. Canada and the U.K. no longer 

participate. 

The CEPS currently serves the military needs of 

six nations. The physical facilities that make up the 

CEPS, including pipelines, storage depots, pump 

stations, etc., are located across five host nations; 

Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the 

Netherlands.

According to John Cummings, DLA Energy liaison to the U.S. Mission to NATO, the system is made 

up of 5,182 km, or 3,220 miles, of pipelines ranging 

in size from 12-inch cross-country pipelines to 4-inch 

airfield spur lines. Along the pipeline there are 81 

high pressure pump stations, and 38 storage depots to store more than 7.8 million barrels of Jet A1. 

There are 13 entry points to the CEPS—six sea points 

accessible by tanker ships and seven refinery points.

Military and commercial petroleum products 

travel through CEPS. The U.S. military converts the 

commercial Jet A1 to military specification F34, or 

JP8, by injecting the required military additives at 

the point of delivery. Jet A1 represents roughly 80 

percent of the petroleum products transported on the 

CEPS.

Secondary commercial petroleum products 

transported on the CEPS include diesel and heating 

oil, which enters the pipeline in Northern France 

and is pumped to Belgium and Germany; Naphtha, a

gasoline type mixture of hydrocarbons distilled from 

oil and converted in a chemical plant, with a steam 

cracker, into ethylene, propylene and other basic 

products to manufacture plastics. Naphtha enters the 

CEPS mainly in southern France and is pumped to 

eastern France and southern Germany.

Twenty-four military airbases are directly connected to CEPS, including the U.S. airbases at 

Ramstein and Spangdahlem, Germany. Today, six 

non-military airports are also directly connected 
16 www.energy.dla.mil

to CEPS. These are Zaventem Airport in Brussels and 

Bierset Airport in Liege, Belgium; Koln-Bonn Airport 

and Frankfurt Airport, Germany; Schiphol Airport in 

Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Findel Airport in 

Luxembourg. Two others could be connected to the 

CEPS in the near future. There are also 15 active truckloading stations and two active railcar-loading stations 

serviced by the pipeline system.

Fuel exchange agreements are another example of 

how the CEPMA partnership results in good stewardship, said Dins. An agreement between DLA Energy 

Europe & Africa and the German Army allows both 

sides to receive fuel from the fuel facilities of the other 

partner. Twice a year, accounts are reconciled, and the 

owing party returns the owed fuel in-kind to the other. 

The last two reconciliations were accomplished via the CEPS. The German Army 

returned the fuel owed to DLA Energy by 

ordering these amounts from their suppliers and paying for the transportation from 

the entry point of that supplier to the U.S. 

Spangdahlem Air Base.

Funding and management

Funding for the operations and maintenance of the CEPS comes from three 

sources: revenue from commercial transportation and storage contracts; revenue 

from the transportation and storage of 

military fuel for the six CEPS member nations; and a national contribution paid by 

each of the member nations. The amount 

of the national contribution varies yearly 

depending on the difference between 

the annual budgeted cost to operate and 

maintain the CEPS and the annual projections for commercial and military transportation and storage revenues. Some 

major maintenance work is also eligible 

for NATO Security and Investment Program funding. 

Top-level oversight and management 

is provided by the Central Europe Pipeline 

Management Organization and its board 

of directors. The CEPMO BOD is made up of a chairman selected from the six member nations, additional 

representatives of the member nations, representatives 

from CEPMA, representatives from the NATO military 

command, and representatives from the NATO international staff. 

The CEPMO BOD meets thrice annually to discuss 

organizational, financial and overall operational issues. Working groups meet several times each year to 

coordinate traffic movements; business development; 

infrastructure projects such as new construction, major 

repairs, pipeline pigging inspection programs; and the 

development of the following year’s operation and management budget. 

“This year DLA Energy will host the spring BOD 

meeting in San Antonio as a part of the organization’s 

annual representation program. Annually, one nation 

hosts the spring meeting in their country in order to 

At a train loading station near the French-German border at 

Strasbourg, France, a railway tanker car is loaded with petroleum 

products. Photo courtesy of NATO.
Energy Source l April 2011 17

improve relationships and showcase national interest 

areas like energy, culture and history,” Walker said.

CEPMA, based in Versailles, France, oversees the 

overall coordination of transportation traffic management, CEPS-wide product quality management 

and storage activities. CEPMA also coordinates CEPS 

pipeline maintenance and infrastructure improvement 

activities, system financial management and business 

development activities.

“Over the years, the collaboration with DLA to 

provide and improve the logistic services of CEPS—delivering jet fuel to its major military client, the U.S. 

military forces in Ramstein and Spangdahlem, has 

been a top priority for CEPMA and of paramount 

importance,” said Robert Goyens, a NATO logistician 

and CEPMA head of traffic.

Day-to-day operational maintenance of the CEPS 

is the responsibility of four national pipeline organizations in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands; the Belgian pipeline organization also operates 

the pipeline for Luxembourg. The organizations 

also manage the execution of the annual pipeline 

Central European Pipeline System Dispatcher Harald Schoefer, 

center, explains an automated board used to track pipeline operations to Joachim Elfner, head of the Southern German CEPS, 

left, and a German soldier. Photo courtesy of NATO.
18 www.energy.dla.mil

diagnostic “pigging” program, overseen by the CEPMA 

technical department. Any needed repairs and major 

upgrades to the CEPS, such as increases in pipeline 

segment diameters, new lines, pump or pump engine 

replacement; etc., are first discussed and prioritized in 

the CEPMO infrastructure working group and then presented to the CEPMO BOD for funding authorization. 

The actual execution of major repairs or new construction is carried out by host-nation construction 

organizations that work under the oversight of the four 

national pipeline organizations. 

Successful partnership

“Although an outsider may look at it as a kind of 

tower of Babylon, where everyone has the possibility to 

express himself in his own language—as English, French, 

German and Dutch are constantly commingled—thanks 

to the energy, effort and the enthusiasm of its members, 

solutions can be found for most technical, customs, 

personnel, accounting and other problems,” the CEPMA 

head of traffic said.

 Thanks to the DLA representative’s expert participation in quarterly traffic meetings, problems and their 

solutions are usually anticipated rather than surprises, 

Goyens said. “Frank, transparent and open discussions 

are the rule here,” said Goyens, allowing participants to 

learn from experience and prevent future problems. 

Head of the Southern German Central European Pipeline System 

Joachim Elfner, center, listens with a representative from the German Army, as dispatcher Harald Schoefer explains the operation of 

CEPS as depicted on the multiple computer monitors in the central 

control room of the CEPS. Photo courtesy of NATO.
Energy Source l April 2011 19

By Christopher Goulait

DLA Energy Public Affairs

Managing processes and resources 

to support the warfighter at optimal 

costs is something the Defense Logistics Agency Finance Energy team 

takes pride in. It is at the heart of good 

stewardship. And, stewardship reaches 

further into DLA Finance Energy than 

some might think.

“Our goal is to support the warfighter by using taxpayer resources in 

the most efficient and effective way 

possible—by trying to make processes 

better and streamlining them,” said DLA 

Finance Energy’s Chief, Policy and Compliance Branch Jamie Morrow.

Though “finance” is in their name, 

the division’s stewardship roles extend beyond the numbers.

“Stewardship is not just a financial thing,” said DLA Finance 

Energy Director Carol O’Leary. “Stewardship is really driven by our 

business processes and procedures.”

“We don’t just look at things that necessarily affect only the 

financial statements. We also work in coordination with the functional components of DLA Energy on the stewardship initiative,” 

said Morrow. “We can’t just stay focused on finance all the time, 

since the steps before or after us can affect so much. It’s mostly 

about understanding the end-to-end process.” 

Currently, the Policy and Compliance Branch is focused on 

ensuring that they have desktops and standard operating procedures that support all of the processes within the financial division, 

according to Morrow

“This not only helps with auditability, but also with all our 

strategic goals: stewardship, warfighter support enhancement and 

workforce development. It reaches into everything,” said Morrow.

Morrow is not alone in leading a DLA Finance Energy team 

with a stewardship focus. She said she works alongside another 

component of the division’s process-driven stewardship efforts to 

deliver accurate and repeatable data to those who request it.

“The Data Request team has been working over the last year to 

streamline the process for fulfilling data requests. Our focus has 

been on increasing the consistency of responses through careful 

design of repeatable processes,” said branch chief, Tracey Andrew. 

Her team’s efforts provide more accurate data in a shorter 

period of time, making a better use of the government’s resources, 

Andrew explained.

“We have enabled the users of the data to not only better support the warfighter, but to make decisions that optimize the use of 

taxpayer dollars,” Andrew said.

“Stewardship in the financial aspects of DLA Energy strengthens the ability of the other parts of the organization to be successful, and their successes strengthen us,” said Morrow. “The financial 

side and the functional side are learning from each other, and it’s a 

combined effort.” Morrow believes this teamwork combined with 

everyone’s individual stewardship roles, from finances to operations and everyone in between, leads to the organization meeting 

its strategic goals.

“Other teams’ activities are often overlooked parts of the auditibility process,” said Morrow. “No matter what task you’re doing, 

you’re affecting how we support the warfighter, how our workforce 

develops and how we use taxpayer resources.” 

Stewardship more than money

Defense Logistics Agency Finance – Energy’s 

Policy and Compliance Supervisor Jamie 

Morrow describes the role of good stewardship during a meeting in February. Photo by 

Christopher Goulait.
20 www.energy.dla.mil
Energy Source l April 2011 21

By Susan Declercq Brown

DLA Energy Public Affairs

Knowing that any chain is only as strong as its weakest 

link, energy experts at the Defense Logistics Agency 

Energy integrate stewardship into every link of their 

supply chain management to ensure a robust, efficient 

supply chain to support warfighter mission requirements.

As the Defense Department’s Executive Agent for 

Class III Bulk Petroleum, DLA Energy is responsible 

for the end-to-end management of this supply chain, 

from the moment a customer identifies an energy 

requirement until the customer receives the energy 

product, according to Mark Iden, the organization’s 

deputy director of Operations. 

In the case of bulk petroleum, DLA Energy even 

maintains ownership of the fuel while it is stored on 

military installations and Navy oceangoing tankers 

around the world, until it is transferred to the end 

user—an aircraft, a truck or a ship. And stewardship 

begins right at the inception, he said. 

“Even in those energy areas where DLA Energy 

does not have Executive Agent responsibility, we focus 

on stewardship throughout our various supply chains,” 

said Frank Pane, director of DLA Energy’s Plans and 

Programs. From regional engagement with customers; 

validation and consolidation of requirements; quality 

assurance; sustainment, restoration and modernization funding for defense fuel infrastructure; information technology tools to assist with tracking, inventory, 

accounting and auditability; and top-notch communications with customers and suppliers, effective and 

efficient processes at every link in the supply chain, 

according to Pane.

“Whether it’s the migration to DLA’s Enterprise 

Business Systems to replace aging legacy systems and 

modernize and refine our supply chain management, 

the incorporation of an e-Procurement tool to aid our 

acquisition process, or using Lean Six Sigma to drive 

efficiency, we are not static in our stewardship focus,” 

Pane said.

At the start, DLA Energy validates requirements 

with the customer. Understanding the supply chain 

and customer engagement is critical. 

Robust supply chain

 management builds

stewardship into

every link

Air Force Airman 1st Class Edgar Alcaraz, with the 308th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, checks the fuel level 

of a U-2 Dragon Lady high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft at an 

undisclosed location in Southwest Asia Dec. 2. Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy maintains full-service regional offices covering 

every corner of the world to provide robust warfighter support. 

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Eric Harris.
22 www.energy.dla.mil

“For instance, if we get a requirement for 93 

octane unleaded gasoline, which is very expensive, 

we can check with the service control point to see if a 

less expensive, lower octane fuel would be just as effective,” explained Acting Director of Mobility Fuels 

George Atwood. “Or, we always ask whether commercial fuel would be an appropriate substitute for 

military specification fuel in the initial requirements. 

In that way, we save the services, and the taxpayer, 

unnecessary expense.”

DLA Energy also saves the services and taxpayers 

money by aggregating requirements and establishing 

pro rata delivery with schedules and locations tailored for each customer, Iden said. 

“It’s a business model that works with the supplier 

base. We get better prices and have to do fewer solicitations,” he explained.

An area of considerable current interest is alternative 

fuels. To position itself to efficiently support DoD policy 

and meet the military services’ future requirements for 

alternative fuels, DLA Energy took supply chain management a step further by engaging “at the supporting 

industrial base genesis,” Pane explained.

“Our Quality and Technical Support office has been 

instrumental in not only ensuring the fuels the military 

services are testing are suitable for the transportation 

and distribution infrastructure, but has also been aggressively synched with the commercial sector such as 
Energy Source l April 2011 23

the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuel Initiative and the Air Transport Association to leverage 

our collective technological capabilities to ensure 

a focused, coordinated development of the supply 

chain,” he continued. 

“We have also leveraged our procurement 

expertise from the Bulk Petroleum Directorate, 

our Research and Development program, and our 

energy legal expertise to further the advancement 

of these fuels. Additionally, by collaborating our 

efforts with the Departments of Agriculture and 

Energy on their respective sustainable biomass 

and biorefinery programs, we enable a synergistic 

development of the alternative fuel supply chain,” 

Pane said.

Another link fortified by good stewardship is 

an acquisition process that ensures the government pays the lowest overall cost for an entire 

regional bulk fuel procurement. After validating 

fuel requirements, DLA Energy uses a sophisticated computer model called the Bid Evaluation 

Model, which Iden described as a mixed-integer, 

linear program, to determine the lowest laid-down 

cost of the entire purchase program. BEM combines offeror information, such as price, quantity, 

restrictions and refinery location; transportation 

rates and modes, including pipeline, truck, rail, 

barge, and tariffs and environmental fees; multiple 

destinations and additive injection options; and 

even takes into account Small Business set-asides 

to determine the lowest final cost to the government. 

DLA Energy information technology solutions 

foster good stewardship in other ways, Iden said. 

“Our inventory accountability programs provide 

valuable oversight of the product throughout the 

supply chain. We track inventory through shipment, receipt and storage, including tracking 

losses during transit due to evaporation, spillage, etc. We 

even process the final sale of the product,” he explained.

Units can track fuel transactions through DLA Energy’s 

Defense Fuel Accountability System and Defense Fuel Asset 

Management System, added Atwood. “The systems provide 

greater visibility and help auditability. We’re even capable 

of determining which aircraft downloaded the fuel and billing to that specificity.”

DLA Energy’s fuel card programs are one of the most 

visible purchasing tools used worldwide. The SEA Card®, 

AIR Card® and DoD Fleet Card enhance stewardship right 

at the point of sale. The programs allow the military serDefense Logistics Agency Energy manages the supply 

chains for marine bunker fuel and naval aviation fuel. Navy 

Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Dustin Hoskins, left, pulls the 

release lever to eject the fuel probe from the bell receiver 

aboard amphibious transport dock USS Ponce at the completion of a refueling at sea with dry cargo ship USNS Amelia 

Earhart while under way in the Red Sea Feb. 16. Photo by 

Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Nathanael Miller. 

Defense Logistics Agency Energy Quality Assurance Representative 

Trent Buck and NuStar’s Roberto Silguero measure fuel volume and 

temperature at Defense Fuel Support Point Baltimore in April 2010. 

Photo by Susan Declercq Brown. 
24 www.energy.dla.mil

vices to purchase commercial fuels from commercial outlets, often in remote areas of the 

world, with state-of the-art receipting, billing 

and accounting.

 “The fuel cards leverage discounts on commercial fuel sales at airports where we don’t 

have existing contracts,” Atwood explained. 

“Additionally, the programs employ a number 

of management oversight checks and balances 

that ensure we only pay for what we received, 

even though the aircraft, vehicle, or vessel lifted 

fuel from a commercial location thousands of 

miles away.”

Iden said one of the most important ways 

DLA Energy injects stewardship into its supply 

chain management is through relationships. 

The practice of centralized contracting but 

decentralized execution maximizes financial 

efficiencies while enhancing relationships, 

communication and on-spot customer service, 

he explained.

“We have good, talented people throughout 

the world supporting our customers on their 

thresholds,” Iden stressed.

DLA Energy has full-service regional offices 

covering every corner of the world—quality assurance representatives who interact with the 

customer at defense fuel support points, flightlines, ships and transportation hubs worldwide; and liaisons embedded in each of DoD’s 

regional combatant commands as well as U.S. 

Transportation Command and U.S. Strategic 

Command to ensure valuable communication 

flow with the warfighter. And, because each 

of the military services has co-located energy 

entry control points with DLA Energy at Fort 

Belvoir, Va., Iden said, DLA Energy can better 

vet requirements and better serve its customers.

“Communication and relationships are the 

key to providing strong support to the warfighter and improved stewardship of resources 

for our ultimate customer—the American taxpayer,” Iden said. 

A Marine refuels a tank during training exercises in the United States 

in 2008. Defense Logistics Agency Energy manages supply chains 

for a myriad of fuel supporting the warfighter’s ground operations 

worldwide. Photo by Nutan Chada.
Energy Source l April 2011 25

By Mark Warno

DLA Energy Installation Energy

The winter of 2010 was severe for most of the 

United States. From extreme snowfalls across much 

of the nation to consistent temperatures well below 

normal, the country suffered though a winter most 

were glad to see end. For the Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy Natural Gas team, the low temperatures meant more than just having to scrape an icy 

car windshield before the drive to work. Cold temperatures often translated into interruptions to DLA 

Energy customers’ natural gas supply. 

The natural gas team used its market expertise 

to provide economical solutions for customers impacted by a veritable blizzard of interruptions.

The DLA Energy Installation Energy Directorate 

serves as the Defense Department’s central procurement agent for the direct-supply natural gas program. Since mid-November, the team has been busy 

assisting customers to ensure operational requirements were met as economically as possible, despite 

numerous interruptions to natural gas supplies. 

Many DLA Energy customers in the Northeast 

and mid-Atlantic regions pay a discounted rate for 

natural gas in return for allowing the contractor to 

“cut-off” or curtail their natural gas supply during 

periods of high consumption. This occurred frequently this past winter due to a flurry of temperature-related demand spikes. 

“With all the interruptions this winter, our team 

was challenged to deliver cost-effective solutions to 

our customers while ensuring operations were sustained during the curtailment periods,” said Installation Energy Deputy Director Pam Griffith. “They 

did an exceptional job.” 

When natural gas service interruptions occur, 

the DLA Energy team usually alerts customers to switch to 

their fuel oil supply. However, this past season, the team 

recognized an opportunity to save the government money 

by purchasing natural gas in the daily market. 

A comparison of the daily-spot-buy price of natural gas 

and DLA Energy’s contract price of fuel oil revealed significant savings could be achieved if the customers burned 

natural gas in lieu of fuel oil. 

The team even worked through power outages to purchase daily volumes of natural gas on behalf of its customers, said Griffith. After four long months and daily purchases totaling more than 178,000 dekatherms, the team’s 

efforts have saved its customers—and the taxpayers—an 

estimated $2.5 million, as compared to what they would 

have spent on fuel oil. 

“Choosing to work with contractors day-in and day-out 

to make these time- and price-sensitive purchases was certainly not the easiest path,” she said. “But the team recognized the opportunity to save money by taking advantage 

of the price discrepancy between natural gas and fuel oil.”

Leveraging opportunities like this helps DLA Energy 

contribute to the cost reduction initiatives occurring 

throughout DoD, she explained. 

“Recognizing their role as stewards of our taxpayer 

dollars, our team did an outstanding job in finding opportunities to reduce overall costs during some of the most 

trying times this winter,” said Installation Energy Director 

Kevin Ahern. “We all recognize the challenges our military 

customers face in meeting the department’s cost cutting 

initiatives. Providing cost effective solutions is paramount 

to our program’s success.” 

Natural Gas team 

reduces

financial sting of 

harsh winter

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s Installation Energy team 

gathers outside DLA headquarters, Fort Belvoir, Va., March 8. Standing, from the left, are Charles Mayfield, contract specialist; Mark 

Warno, contracting officer; Bruce Byrd, energy manager; James Harkless, Renee Brown and John Fantasia, contract specialists. Seated are 

Ruth Porter and Damion Biagas, contract specialists. Not pictured: 

Charlie McCoy, energy manager. Photo by Terry Shawn.
26 www.energy.dla.mil

By Jose Maniwang and Lindsey Hicks

Quality and Technical Support 

As the Defense Department’s requirement for alternative fuels and renewable energy grows, the Defense Logistics Agency Energy has grown along with 

it to address the new and developing technologies in 

industry necessary to support the burgeoning AFRE 

mission. A new division encourages development 

of new AFRE sources and helps ensure the military 

services receive quality energy products.

The Research and Development Division is the 

newest addition to DLA Energy’s Quality and Technical Support office. Established in late 2009, the 

division, also called QR, is responsible for the implementation and oversight of all projects that support 

AFRE research and development efforts and strategy 

development. 

“This team is essential to this increasing mission 

and also enhances and supports our overall organization,” said Pam Serino, director of Quality and Technical Support.

The QR team manages projects in four program 

categories.

Programs to support the acceptance and certification 

of alternative fuels 

The team ensures these fuels comply with the 

expressed goals of the military services to incorporate 

alternative fuels blended with traditional petroleumbased fuels into their standard acquisitions in the 

Division 

makes

alternative 

solutions 

a reality

Research and Development Division employees Lindsey Hicks and 

Jose Maniwang from the Defense 

Logistics Agency Energy Quality 

and Technical Support Office meet 

on Fort Belvoir, Va., in February to 

discuss upcoming alternative fuel 

research and development support. 

Photo by Christopher Goulait.
Energy Source l April 2011 27

coming decade. The division’s experts help provide 

technical support during the acquisition and delivery 

processes of alternative fuels. The fuels are evaluated 

through fit-for-purpose testing protocols coordinated 

by the military services, and the team oversees the 

technical aspects of the applicable supply contracts 

once they are established.

Programs submitted by offerors in response to 

solicitations from the DLA Logistics Research and 

Development Requirements for Energy Broad Area 

Announcement 

Areas of interest under this program include developing biofuel feedstocks and production pathways for 

alternative hydrocarbon fuels; developing modular and 

transportable advanced hydrogen-based energy storage systems that can be adapted to forward operating 

bases; evaluating new mobile technology that converts 

waste generated at forward operating bases into fuel to 

supplement base energy needs; and advancing existing 

research technologies in carbon capture and sequestration for the future production of coal-based jet fuels for 

DoD. 

Alternative energy R&D programs established 

through Congressional earmarks 

These support areas of interest similar to those 

under DLA’s program.

Alternative energy R&D programs funded under the 

DLA Energy Readiness Program 

These are specifically developed within Quality and 

Technical Support to address emerging needs in handling new fuels within the DoD fuel supply system.

Throughout the year, the QR team provides technical and project management leadership, Serino explained. Funding and contract administrative support 

for the division is coordinated through the Research 

and Development Program Office of the DLA Energy 

Plans and Programs Directorate. They work hand-inhand with QR to manage the R&D projects, from project development and contract award up until contract 

completion. 

“QR’s technical expertise and diligence in executing 

alternative energy research and development projects 

is a key aspect of developing alternative energy solutions—and in positioning DLA Energy to meet the military services’ future energy requirements,” said Jeanne 

Binder, head of the R&D Program Office. 

Current projects include a carbon capture and 

sequestration study that provides assessments of 

existing and advancing CCS technologies for commercial coal-to-liquids and coal-to-electricity process 

applicable to DoD facilities. And, a mobile demonstration of waste-to-liquid conversion technology 

that produces liquid fuel products that meet the 

specifications for diesel and jet fuel in a forward base 

environment setting.

QR also handles Congressional Add projects that 

are contracted to research facilities at universities 

across the country. These will develop and evaluate 

pathways for the production of alternative jet fuels 

using non-food biomass feedstocks. One such project 

involves the assessment of grasses to be converted 

to sugars to feed algae, which in turn would produce 

oil to be hydroprocessed into jet fuel. Another project involves a company producing hydroprocessed 

renewable F76 marine diesel fuel, or HR76, for the 

Navy’s certification efforts in meeting its Green 

Fleet initiatives. Still another is looking at gasifying 

forestry waste and pulp wood material for chemical 

conversion directly to fuel. 

An intriguing Congressional Add study involves 

the development of a transportable greenhouse 

system that will grow an energy-dense, sorghum-like 

plant as a power source for use at military forward 

operating bases. The plant material would either be 

converted to ethanol as a hydrogen source for powering fuel cells, or it would be gasified to provide direct 

electric power to an FOB.

So far, QR has managed nearly $50 million in 

projects. 

“The leading edge technologies advanced by 

this research may be tomorrow’s energy solutions,” 

Serino said. “And the team looks forward to fostering 

continued R&D efforts that may help reduce DoD’s 

energy footprint and, at same time, increase America’s energy independence.” 
28 www.energy.dla.mil

By Air Force Maj. Ronald Peterson

Commander of DLA Energy Korea

Defense Logistics Agency Energy Pacific’s 

Korea office has been actively seeking ways 

to generate savings and efficiencies while 

still meeting mission requirements. As 

a result, some fuel facilities on the Korean Peninsula have been closed and 

other closures are underway.

Historically, there has been 

a natural ebb and flow in defense spending which reflects 

national levels of conflict or 

crisis. For example, the 

U.S. went from spending 

less than 2 percent of its 

gross domestic product on the military in 

1940 to almost 38 

percent in 1944, 

according to 

the office of 

Management

 and Budget. Similarly, our defense spending has 

risen by 1.5 percent of gross national product since 

the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the World Bank reported. But, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates recognizes 

the department will face a sizeable reduction in funding in the near future. To remain an effective fighting 

force, DoD must “generate efficiency savings by reducing overhead costs, improving business practices, 

or cutting excess or troubled programs,” Gates said 

in a January briefing at the Pentagon. 

The Korea office recognizes the importance of 

these efforts. To this end, the office, in conjunction 

with its customers and partners, has closed some 

fuel facilities—fuel service stations at two U.S. Army 

garrisons and a hot refueling point on another garrison. The Uijeongbu Defense Fuel Support Point is 

also in the process of being closed, and the bulk fuel 

ground tanks at Air Force contingency operating 

bases on the peninsula are being drawn down 

for closure. These initiatives ensure DLA 

Energy Korea is fully implementing the 

secretary’s guidance and producing 

substantial savings.

The U.S. Army is in the 

process of a major relocation—moving much of 

its northern forces 

south to U.S. 

Army Garris 

on 

Fuel facility closures

target savings in Korea

Humphreys. USAG Stanley is involved in this relocation 

and redistribution of assets and troops. When USAG 

Stanley’s fuel service station required replacement, 

DLA Energy and DLA Installation Support along with 

its Army partners at Installation Management Command decided it was not economically responsible to 

spend more than a million dollars on a fuel station at a 

non-enduring installation. Due to other Army relocations, the Korea office and IMCOM also decided to close 

the service station on USAG Long and the hot refueling point on USAG Eagle. While these stations did not 

require immediate repair or replacement, historical 

sustainment, restoration and modernization costs on 

the three stations were significant. Additionally, the Ko-
Energy Source l April 2011 29

rea office was able to save fuel service contractor costs 

while still meeting customer demands by expanding its 

service at a nearby military facility.

The Army relocation has also given the Korea office 

ample reason to reevaluate its terminaling and storage agreement with the Daehan Oil Pipeline Corporation, which runs the Uijeongbu DFSP. Based on March 

consumer price indexes and currency exchange rates, 

closing the DFSP will save tens of millions of dollars 

annually. To parallel the Army’s scheduled move, the 

Korea office is drawing down the DFSP through normal annual customer usage and adjusting the contract 

when individual tanks are completely empty. The drawdown is scheduled to be completed mid-year 2013.

Lastly, the Korea office, in conjunction with 7th Air 

Force, is in the process of drawing down the bulk fuel 

ground storage tanks at all the Air Force contingency 

operating bases. DLA Energy has replaced the bulk 

tank capabilities with direct delivery Posts, Camps, and 

Stations refueling contracts to provide fuel support 

directly to the customer. Providing this service through 

PC&S contracts saves money in the immediate and long 

term. 

Each of these contingency 

base tanks and its product were 

capitalized, and the tanks were 

nearing their life expectancy—

thus requiring costly repairs or 

replacement in the near future. 

The fuel stored at each location 

was based on contingency requirements rather than normal 

operations. The Korea office 

coordinated through the United 

States Forces Korea’s Logistics 

Wartime Host Nation Support Division and the Republic 

of Korea Ministry of National 

Defense’s Wartime Host Nation Support and Mobilization 

Division to incorporate wartime 

contingency clauses into the 

PC&S contracts. The contracts 

were then added to the Wartime Host Nation Support Plan 

as an enabler to continue using 

the robust Korean commercial 

tank truck infrastructure to support USFK ground fuels 

requirements in the event of a national emergency or 

contingency. 

DLA Energy estimates this initiative will save 

millions in immediate inspection, replacement and 

repair costs, as well as continued annual savings in 

the sustainment, restoration, and modernization costs 

of maintaining the contingency ground fuel stocks. 

Additional benefits include reduced operational manpower and quality assurance oversight costs. Lastly, the 

PC&S-contracted fuel can now be used as required and 

generate returnable profits rather than tie up defense 

working capital fund assets to maintain dormant fuel 

stocks.

While the Korea office is still working under the 

confines of the peninsula’s contingency bulk fuel storage requirements, it is seeking every opportunity to be 

more efficient and cost effective. The department and 

the military service components have begun to proactively reduce their overhead costs while maintaining 

capabilities. The Korea office is partnering with them to 

be fiscally responsible—a part of everyone’s duty. 

Left, the camera looks inside an empty storage tank at Defense Fuel Support Point Uijeongbu, 

Korea. Emptying the tank of Defense Logistics Agency Energy fuel reduced storage and terminaling fees by $275, 275 per year. Below, working together to reduce fuel management 

costs are, from left, Lt. Col. Brad Anderson, U.S. Forces Korea; Warrant Officer Jeremie Coleman, 8th Army; Sgt. Han-Ki Lee, USFK; Michael Holgate, DLA Energy’s liaison to USFK; and 

Kyoung-Sun Lee, DFSP Uijeongbu general manager. Photos courtesy of DLA Energy Pacific. 
30 www.energy.dla.mil

By Air Force Capt. Scott R. Thomas 

DLA Energy Middle East

They launch aircraft into the sky for close air support of combat operations; they power the countless 

number of security convoys ‘outside the wire,’ or off 

base. And, they serve as life support to all personnel 

on the ground. 

“They” are the million gallons of fuel that pass 

through Bagram Airfield each week. Vital to the overall Afghanistan effort is the proper management and 

accountability of this highly-valued resource. Two 

new contracts at Bagram help hone that management 

and accounting. 

Bagram’s fuel is jointly managed by several organizations. These include the Army’s 101st Sustainment Brigade, the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, the Air Force’s 455th Expeditionary 

Logistics Readiness Squadron, and Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy, a field activity of DLA. This ensures 

Team Bagram can supply the right fuel, at the right 

time in support of the Afghanistan mission. 

Four expeditionary airmen led by Bagram Responsible Officer Air Force Capt. Rob Sonnenberg work 

within the construct of the 101st Sustainment Brigade 

to track each gallon of fuel at Bagram Airfield. This 

small team represents the work horse of the accounting machine as they report daily inventories, gains and 

losses to DLA Energy. This daily report drives strategic 

and operational planning and translates into hundreds 

of millions of dollars in fuel each year. 

Air Force Maj. Nicholas Moore of the DLA Energy 

Middle East office understands the challenges Sonnenberg and his team face. “It’s a daunting task in an expeditionary environment to properly account for each 

gallon of fuel as it is received, stored and ultimately 

passed to the customer. And, essential to this degree of 

oversight is the absolute need for precision accounting 

equipment,” explained Moore. 

In spring 2010, DLA Energy awarded a contract to 

ensure all fuel meters supporting DLA Energy direct 

delivery sites within Afghanistan are properly calibrated. In total, this contract will support hundreds of 

meters at 11 operating locations. Accurate metering of 

product allows DLA Energy and its customers to properly fund, track and support fuel operations, Moore 

said. 

The contractor calibration team operates handin-hand with DLA Energy representatives to ensure 

all meters are inventoried and maintained within the 

contract parameters. Meters located at forward operatJoint fuels team hones 

management at Bagram Airfield

The sun rises over the South Fuel Farm on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Fuel inventory control here was improved by installing 

pre-configured TACFUELS kits, electronic gauging systems designed for the rubberized, collapsible storage tanks commonly 

used in an expeditionary environment. Photo courtesy of DLA 

Energy Middle East.
Energy Source l April 2011 31

ing bases are shipped to Bagram where they are 

inspected, calibrated and returned to the customer. 

Bagram Airfield has also initiated testing of a 

unique system known as TACFUELs, a product 

of Varec Inc. It is an electronic gauging system 

designed for rubberized, collapsible storage tanks 

commonly employed in an expeditionary environment. This state-of-the-art, completely automated 

system replaces a decades old, manual gauging 

method. 

Then-Bagram Responsible Officers Air Force 

Capt. Dara Hobbs and Air Force Master Sgt. Tate 

Thomas began the acquisition process for electronic gauging technology in fall 2009. Believing in the 

electronic gauging technology, Hobbs and Tate initiated a purchase request, lobbied for funding and 

configured an order for the first phase of testing. 

In March 2010, the Bagram Central Contracting 

Office, via the 82nd Sustainment Brigade, directed 

Varec Inc. to install and commission an automated 

tactical fuel measurement system.

That fall, 16 pre-configured TACFUEL kits 

were installed at Bagram for use on 210,000-gallon 

collapsible fuel storage tanks. The kits included all 

the required system components including gauges, 

ruggedized laptop computers, data capture units 

and associated cables. This installation enabled the 

Responsible Officer to capture all fuel movements 

in and out of the entire JP8 tactical system. Users 

are able to capture data on multiple tanks simultaneously, thereby reducing the gauging time to a 

fraction of the manual gauging process. 

In January 2011, Bagram moved approximately 

20 million gallons of JP8 through various fixed and 

tactical systems. 

Sonnenberg has seen immediate results with 

the new equipment. “Since installing TACFUELS, 

we have experienced a whole new level of accuracy 

and consistency in the tactical environment,” he 

said. 

With the ability to offer precision gauging, 

track historical data and depict valuable trends, 

electronic gauging offers many advantages. In minutes 

versus hours, Bagram Responsible Officers are able to 

track temperature, volume correction,and gross/net 

inventories for each collapsible storage tank. 

In a tactical environment, this is extremely valuable 

when gathering causative research and correcting processes, said Sonnenberg. “The system ultimately adds 

consistency, reliability and real-time visibility of physical 

stocks, and it greatly improves the transparency of fuel 

accounting,” he explained. “Initial testing indicates electronic gauging of tactical storage tanks has the capability 

to become a true game changer.” 

Specialists at the Red Star Fuel Facility on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, calibrate fuel meters as part of inventory management 

procedures. Defense Logistics Agency Energy awarded a contract 

last spring to ensure all meters supporting DLA Energy direct 

delivery sites within Afghanistan are properly calibrated to help 

DLA Energy and its customers properly fund, track and support 

fuel operations. The contract will support hundreds of meters at 

11 operating locations. Photo courtesy of DLA Energy Middle East.
32 www.energy.dla.mil

By Donald Brown

DLA Energy Europe and Africa

Defense Logistics Agency Energy Europe and Africa 

has instituted changes to the Turkish National Pipeline System use agreement that will result in large 

fuel inventory savings; the changes were the result 

of a recent Lean Six Sigma project conducted by the 

Europe & Africa team. 

The use agreement was modified to include 

temperature compensation for inventory debits from 

tank truck loading at the Adana contractor-ownedand-operated storage facility supplying fuel convoys 

headed for northern Iraq. Temperature compensation accounts for changes in liquid fuel volume based 

on the temperature of the fuel. The original use 

agreement excepted tank truck loading racks from 

required temperature compensation of all inventory 

credits and debits.

Lean Six Sigma is a systematic, structured method of improving business efficiency and effectiveness, 

which combines benefits from two systems. Lean 

improves the process by removing waste or non-value-added steps, streamlining operations. Six Sigma, 

which is more data-driven, reduces and eliminates 

variation in a process with the intent to eliminate 

defects. 

The temperature compensation initiative was 

born out of concerns first expressed by Europe & 

Africa inventory manager Wolfgang Leis. 

Leis manages the inventory ledgers for the TNPS 

account as well as the ledger recording fuel loaded 

for export to Iraq. He noticed a consistent negative 

difference between the loading rack meters and the 

quantity of fuel certified for export on the tank truck 

weigh scales. 

“The discrepancy in quantities concerned me and 

I wanted to help resolve the issue,” Leis explained. 

Leis brought the problem to the attention of the 

regional office’s Auditability Branch Supervisor Alan 

Brooks and to Donald Brown, the specialist assigned 

to oversee accounts in Turkey. Europe & Africa’s International Agreements, Operations and Quality divisions played key roles in the sustained team effort to 

resolve the discrepancy, Leis said. 

The cleanest solution to the problem seemed 

to be using the weight scale to determine debits for 

truck loading instead of the loading rack meters; this 

would provide a single, consistent quantity measurement. However, officials from the Turkish Ministry of 

National Defense, Fuel Supply and the NATO Petroleum, Oil and Lubricant Facilities Operating Agency 

didn’t support this option. So, a team of representatives from the Operations, Auditability and Quality 

divisions traveled to Adana to find another solution. 

The LSS green belt project was born of the data iniDLA Energy team improves

pipeline inventory procedures

Graph 1: 

Percent loss between meters and weigh scales by month
Energy Source l April 2011 33

tially gathered during this trip.

The data showed a strong correlation between 

fuel temperature and the percentage of loss between 

the loading rack meters and the weight scales.

Graphs for fiscal 2009 and fiscal 2010 data produced remarkably consistent curves. 

 The charts demonstrated graphically the primary 

cause for variation between meters and weight scales 

was the lack of temperature compensation.

The visit set the wheels in motion to modify the 

TNPS use agreement to require temperature compensation for tank truck loading debits, and an LSS 

project was begun, ensuring focus remained on the 

issue until it was resolved. 

 The LSS team held a Rapid Improvement Event 

in October 2010 and recommended using temperature-compensated before and after tank gauge 

readings to calculate the tank truck loading debit 

from the TNPS. The team discussed the possibility of 

temperature compensating meters, but they agreed 

the expense of installing the meters should be delayed until the future duration of tank truck loading 

operations could be determined. With the projected 

withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, the team felt the 

mission might not last long enough to justify the cost 

of procuring, installing and maintaining temperature 

compensating meters. 

In January 2011, Brown, representing the Operations division; Rene Tudon, Auditability division; 

Turkey Liaison Officer David Lamm, and Army Sgt. 

1st Class Juan Nieves, the quality assurance representative for Turkey, visited Adana to validate the solution proposed by the RIE and measure the effect of 

using temperature-corrected gauge readings instead 

of loading rack meters to calculate the tank truck 

Graph 2: 

Average fuel temperature by month degrees Celsius 

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy Europe and Africa team conducted a Lean Six Sigma project which 

identified an improved process for inventory procedures of fuel issues through the Turkish National Pipeline 

System. Team members from left to right are Donald Brown, team lead, Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Michael 

Caddy, McCoy Greer, Wolfgang Leis and Rene Tudon.
34 www.energy.dla.mil

loading inventory debit. 

The current month tank 

truck loading data was analyzed, as were the inventory 

records for August 2010, to 

measure winter and summer months. Personnel of 

the Turkish owner-operator 

contractor were very cooperative, providing inventory 

records and helping ensure 

Operations at the 

Adana contractorowned-and-operated 

truck loading rack are 

evaluated in the Lean 

Six Sigma project.

the accuracy of the data recorded by the DLA Energy 

team. Lamm’s Turkish language skills were invaluable.

The team was pleased with the results. As expected, the difference between the meters and tank gauges was minimal in January due to fuel temperatures 

being very close to 15 degrees Celsius. But, in August 

when the average temperature was almost 28 C, the 

difference between temperature-corrected gauge 

readings and the loading rack meter was marked. 

Using temperature-corrected gauge readings 

could have saved DLA 288,000 liters or 76,000 gallons of fuel, the LSS project team lead said. Calculating cost at the August 2010 standard price of $2.34 

per gallon, $178,000 would have been saved using 

temperature compensation. The average variation 

between COCO-loaded quantities and weight scale 

quantities would have been reduced from 2.6 percent 

to 1.5 percent, he explained.

The preliminary survey supports the changes 

to the user agreement and indicates temperature 

compensation will result in an overall TNPS inventory fuel savings for DLA, since fuel temperatures are 

above 15 C for most of the year. The new procedure 

will also reduce the variation between the quantity 

debited for truck loading and the quantity recorded 

on the weight scale for export to Iraq.

The necessary changes have been incorporated 

into the TNPS use agreement, which is awaiting approval and signature. 

The changes could save several hundred thousand gallons of fuel this year alone, said DLA Energy 

Europe & Africa’s Deputy Commander Charles Gross, 

who lauded the team. “The initiative began with one 

concerned employee and became a true team effort 

to be better stewards of DLA resources,” he said. 
Energy Source l April 2011 35

By Terry Shawn

DLA Energy Public Affairs

With its drag chute unfurled, 

space shuttle Discovery 

rolled down Runway 15 of 

the Shuttle Landing Facility 

at NASA’s Kennedy Space 

Center, Fla., for the last time 

just before noon March 9, 

after a 13-day mission to the 

International Space Station. 

With energy products provided by Defense Logistics 

Agency Energy’s Aerospace 

Energy, the shuttle was able 

to perform the complex maneuvers necessary to disengage the space station and 

return safely to Earth. 

The touchdown also 

marked the end of Discovery’s illustrious career.

NASA space shuttle 

Discovery lifted off from the 

Kennedy Space Center for its 

final flight Feb. 24. Discovery carried 2,500 gallons 

of dinitrogen tetroxide and monomethylhydrazine 

procured by the Aerospace Energy business unit. 

These two products are loaded into spherical 

pods in the space shuttle and the combination of the 

two creates combustion to propel and maneuver the 

shuttle while in the zero gravity of space. DLA Energy 

Aerospace manages the procurement; transportation 

and storage of these products for the Defense Department, NASA and commercial space launch programs. 

Shipments are made under the direction of the Aerospace Energy’s Transportation Office.

On board Discovery for its 39th and final mission 

were retired Air Force Col. Steve Lindsey, commandDiscovery safely 

maneuvers to final touchdown

Space Shuttle Discovery touches down March 9 at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., completing a 13-day mission enabled 

by Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s Aerospace Energy 

products. This 39th mission for Discovery was also its final 

mission. The craft has spent more than 365 days in space, 

orbited Earth 5,830 times and traveled 148,221,675 miles in 

its 27-year career. 

er; Air Force Col. Eric Boe, pilot; and mission specialists Nicole Stott, Dr. Michael Barratt, retired Air 

Force Col. Alvin Drew and Navy Capt. Steve Bowen. 

The six-member crew delivered the Permanent Multipurpose Module, packed with supplies and critical 

spare parts, as well as Robonaut 2, the dexterous humanoid astronaut helper, to the orbiting outpost. 
36 www.energy.dla.mil

By Susan Lowe

DLA Energy Public Affairs

The Defense Logistics Agency Energy provides 

the Department of Defense and other government 

agencies with comprehensive and efficient energy solutions. The organization provides a host of ground, 

marine and aviation fuels as well as space and missile 

propellants, chemicals and gases, utility fuels and 

electricity. In addition, DLA Energy is DoD’s center 

of expertise for alternative fuels and renewable energy and serves as the executive agent for DoD’s bulk 

petroleum supply chain. 

“A mission this big has required the organization 

to implement innovative methods to ensure customers’ needs, especially those of the warfighter, are 

met while guaranteeing mission success,” said DLA 

Energy Deputy Commander Pat Dulin.

 To that end, in the mid-1990s DLA Energy 

implemented fuel card programs for the purchase of 

ground and aviation fuel, and in 2005 the fuel card 

program expanded to include marine fuel. The fuel 

cards help customers make purchases when a suitable contract is not in place, when a merchant is 

unable to supply fuel against an existing contract or a 

new location is established and not yet under contract. The fuel card office implements, manages and 

improves fuel purchases for the warfighter and other 

customers.

Currently, DLA Energy manages an Aviation 

Into-plane Reimbursement Card Program, also 

known as the AIR Card®, used at commercial airports worldwide to pay for into-plane refueling. DLA 

Energy also manages the DoD Fleet card for purchase 

of ground fuel and vehicle maintenance for DoDowned or leased vehicles. The DoD Fleet card is used 

at commercial service stations and repair facilities. 

DLA Energy also offers the Ships’ bunkers Easy 

Acquisition Card or SEA Card®, which is the newest 

government fuel card. The state-of-the art program 

provides a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, secure Internet-based solution to marine fuel procurement challenges. The SEA Card® Order Management System, 

known as DoD-SCOMS®, is an electronic order, receipt and invoice system that allows military services, 

U.S. Coast Guard and authorized federal agency vessels to purchase fuel from commercial ship refueling 

merchants at more than 2,300 ports worldwide. Fuel 

orders are directly placed with DLA Energy bunker 

contracted suppliers, or if a port does not have a bunker 

contract in place, the vessel can place an order through 

a competitive quote Open Market ‘spot buy’ process.

The SEA Card® program recently celebrated its 

fifth anniversary, marking the purchase of more than 

$860 million dollars worth of marine fuel and more 

than 7,000 transactions since October 2005. 

Using the SEA Card® to order fuel is quick, easy 

and efficient according to Ordering Officer Chief Logistics Specialist Louis Wade of the USS Rodney M. Davis. 

“It’s a great system; basically I send an email order 

for the amount of fuel I need, when I need it and where 

it is to be delivered. It’s that simple. When our oil frigate gets to its destination, the fuel is there,” he said.

Wade has been the ordering officer for nearly two 

tears and has always used the SEA Card®. “This is the 

only way I’ve had to order fuel. I understand it was 

much more difficult before we used the SEA Card®, 

with a lot more paperwork involved,” he said.

The SEA Card® Program was initiated to make fuel 

procurement and the resulting payment process more 

efficient for both vessels and merchants, but also to 

decrease administrative costs for the government. 

“Stewardship excellence is a fundamental principle 

Government fuel card

program still going strong
Energy Source l April 2011 37

at DLA Energy, and when using the SEA Card® system, customers can order and pay for fuel electronically, thereby eliminating paperwork, decreasing administrative costs and ensuring accuracy,” said DLA Energy 

Fuel Card Program Office Director Ann Sielaty. “We’re 

doing our part to be good stewards, and that’s a good 

feeling.” She said the SEA Card® is a valuable tool to 

her customers because it offers them worldwide coverage as well as a virtual dispute resolution tool. 

In order to continue to meet the evolving needs of 

the warfighter and other customers, DLA Energy has 

several initiatives underway. One initiative will allow 

smaller vessels that can’t use DoD-SCOMS® to ‘gas 

and go’, allowing customers to make individual fuel 

purchases under the Simplified Acquisition Threshold 

of $150,000. The new program, known as the Swipe 

SEA Card®, is being piloted with a co-branded charge 

card and is due out in early 2011, with full rollout expected by October 2011. Recipients of the Swipe SEA 

Card® are expected to include the Coast Guard, Navy, 

Army Corps of Engineers and Army Reserve. 

“DLA Energy is proud of the successful strides the 

SEA Card® program has made over the past five years, 

but we aren’t resting on our laurels. We remain committed to supporting the warfighter and will continue to 

do what it takes to meet our customer’s energy needs,” 

Dulin said. “The SEA Card® program helps us do just 

that,” he added.

With more than 1,100 employees working in 34 

locations worldwide, DLA Energy ensures warfighters and customers have the necessary fuel and energy 

support needed to complete missions anywhere on the 

globe. These employees drive worldwide coordination 

within both the military and civilian industries to meet 

service requirements and manage critical fuel infrastructure. 

“Using the SEA Card® really streamlines our ordering process; we don’t have to worry about finding 

The SEA Card® Program ribbon-cutting ceremony Oct. 6, 2005, in Norfolk, 

Va., involves three vessels: USS Flickertail State, USS Cornhusker State and 

USS Gopher State. The system allows the military services, Coast Guard and 

authorized federal vessels to purchase fuel from commercial refueling merchants. Photo courtesy of DLA Energy Government Fuel Card Program Office.
38 www.energy.dla.mil

a vendor or negotiating fuel prices. And since 

our mission changes so often and with very 

little warning, we have the flexibility to change 

our fuel order without risking mission failure,” 

Davis said. “It’s great to have a system that 

works so well and to work with people who are 

so interested in helping us succeed.” 

The measurable success of the SEA Card® 

Program contributed to DLA Energy’s 2007 

David Packard Excellence in Acquisition 

Award. The Government Fuel Card Team, 

contracting personnel, and service component program managers were recognized for 

making the acquisition system more efficient, 

responsive and timely while demonstrating a 

consistent pattern of warfighter support, fiscal stewardship and proactive action, Sielaty 

said. The Deputy Undersecretary of Defense 

for Acquisition and Technology James Finley 

congratulated the team for finding innovative 

ways to work with industry and for managing 

their projects in ways that expand the talents of 

their people and stretch the purchasing power 

of scarce dollars.

“DLA Energy realizes it’s imperative to not 

only provide the most comprehensive energy 

solutions to the warfighter but to also be good 

stewards of taxpayers’ money,” said Dulin. 

“That can be quite a challenge, but with successful programs like the SEA Card®, AIR 

Card® and DoD Fleet Card available for our 

customers and the warfighter, we are able to 

meet those challenges head on.” 

Dulin went on to say that the warfighter 

can count on having the necessary fuel for 

a successful mission in part because of DLA 

Energy’s fuel card program. “These programs 

allow our customers to use DLA’s most visible 

purchasing tools, which are recognized and 

accepted worldwide. This allows us to directly 

and positively impact our support to the warfighter.” 

DLA Energy is a primary level field activity 

of the Defense Logistics Agency. DLA is America’s combat support agency. Headquartered at 

Fort Belvoir, Va., DLA provides effective and 

efficient worldwide support to warfighters and 

other customers and is responsible for sourcing 

and providing nearly every consumable item 

used by the U.S. military forces worldwide. 

By Bill Hendricks 

DLA Energy Middle East

The U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility covers 

4.6 million square miles and 20 countries – it is one third 

larger than the United States. Defense Logistics Agency Energy Middle East currently has five assigned quality assurance 

representatives who bear the responsibility of assuring that 

all the fuel procured, stored and delivered to its customer in 

the region, the warfighter, meets expectations of quality and 

quantity, where and when it is needed. Meeting this awesome 

responsibility is often a daunting task. 

The QARs’ mission usually requires working in often inhospitable climates and under social and political conditions 

that range from not too bad to downright hostile. Additionally, 

the QAR mission includes working on and inside ship tanks, 

climbing 28-meter storage tanks in 45C weather, and standing 

for hours in laboratories, some with ventilation or air conditioning that begs for improvement. DLA Energy contracts 

requiring product testing do not address creature comforts – 

only that they provide the ability to test product according to 

the prescribed method. 

“Like all other QARs worldwide, DLA Energy Middle East 

QARs witness testing in laboratories that range from large, 

state-of-the-art facilities to closet-sized laboratories with 

nothing but very old basic manual instrumentation,” said DLA 

Energy Middle East’s Sub-Region Central Commander Army 

Maj. Bryan Ryder.

DLA Energy Middle East QARs cover testing at up to eight 

refineries, 10 shipment and storage terminals, and several contracted third-party laboratories. The process for QARs to verify 

laboratory compliance to contract requirements varies with 

the type of contract being administered. For example, when 

performing contract quality assurance at bulk procurement 

facilities, the process requires a high degree of QAR hands-on 

verification due to the high operational and financial risk involved with accepting large quantities of critical, complex and 

very expensive product. 

QARs ensure 

mission-ready 

fuel for CENTCOM 

warfighters
Energy Source l April 2011 39

“It’s the QAR’s responsibility to assure the integrity 

of products from the supplier all the way to the end customer,” said DLA Energy QAR Robbie Robinson. 

At a bulk procurement facility, the process starts 

with the supplier. The company samples and tests each 

batch or shipping tank to be offered for acceptance. 

The tests must include all specification tests, what DLA 

Energy refers to as A tests. Once the batch or shipping tank is “certified” by the supplier as being fully on 

specification, the QAR must verify the results. 

The QAR reviews the certified A test report to ensure that all characteristics have been tested and results 

are within the allowable limits. At that point, the QAR 

requests the supplier take samples of the certified tank 

in the QAR’s presence. Samples are taken at all levels to 

assure a representative picture of the entire tank, and 

samples are also taken individually from upper, middle 

and lower levels to test for homogeneity of the batch. 

Then, based on the A test results, the QAR will determine if any results seem abnormal or at the extreme 

minimum or maximum of the limit range. The QAR will 

then request the supplier test the samples for the normal verification tests such as appearance, flash point, 

density, distillation and any retests of abnormal or marginal results. This process is called verification testing, 

that is simply verifying the results stated on the supplier’s certified A test report. The results found during 

the QAR verification tests should be within the stated 

repeatability or accuracy range of the test method used.

Once all the testing has been verified and found 

to be acceptable, the QAR can authorize the product 

movement. The testing process continues throughout 

the product movement at various stages along the way, 

based on published requirements. 

“These procedures ensure that our customers are 

supplied with the quality products needed to perform 

their vital missions,” said DLA Energy Middle East 

Deputy Director Ron Black. 

[Hendricks is the quality manager for DLA Energy 

Middle East.] 

U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate Airman Sean White flushes out a fuel hose on the 

catwalk aboard amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge while under way in the Gulf 

of Aden Jan. 1. Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Mann.
40 www.energy.dla.mil

Since the 1980s, T-5 Champion class 

tankers and their crews have been familiar associates to Defense Logistics Agency Energy and Department of Defense 

marine terminals. Their 25-year service 

transporting bulk petroleum is coming 

to an end this year as the last of the T-5s, 

the USNS Richard G. Matthiesen retires. 

The Empire State, one of the larger State 

class tankers assuming the mission formerly performed by the T-5s, performed 

its first delivery to the DLA Energy Pacific region in January.

Farewell

Of the 75 tankers that were constructed in the 1980s under the Merchant 

Marine Act of 1970, five were dedicated 

to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command 

for the transport of bulk petroleum to 

defense fuel support points. Motor tankers Paul Buck, Samuel L. Cobb, Gus W. 

Darnell, the Matthiesen, and Lawrence 

H. Gianella, built in 1985 and 1986, carried the load for DoD. 

These five tankers were named for 

Merchant Marines awarded citations 

of the Distinguished Service Medal for 

heroism beyond the call of duty during 

World War II. 

The five tankers were constructed 

under long-term lease contracts with the 

U.S. Navy—the lease arrangement allowed costs to be spread across several 

years and avoided a large, one-time commitment of funds. By 2003, all except the 

Gus W. Darnell became U.S. Navy vessels 

under MSC.

Champion-class T-5s were built with 

double-hulls strengthened to allow use 

in extreme cold weather conditions and 

high seas. Additionally, the Matthiesen 

and Gianella have modular fuel delivery 

Hail and Farewell

 T-5s retire, State class tankers keep fuel moving 

By Richard B. Knapp

DLA Energy Pacific’s Japan office

Above, two flexible hoses run from a manifold on the Empire State to the singlepoint mooring buoy off of Okinawa, Japan, as the State Class tanker begins its 

first delivery to the Defense Logistics Agency Pacific region Jan. 19. Below, the 

Empire State remains moored as fuel is discharged through the offshore distribution system to Defense Fuel Support Point Okinawa at Chimuwan. Photos 

by Richard B. Knapp.
Energy Source l April 2011 41

systems with an underway replenishment capability for alongside 

refueling of Navy oilers and other 

vessels. During their service to 

MSC, the tankers transported bulk 

petroleum worldwide from commercial refineries to fuel terminals 

and between fuel terminals. The 

vessels also supported specialized 

activity like Joint Logistics Over 

the Shore exercises while paired 

with Off-Shore Petroleum Discharge System vessels. 

For Operation Deep Freeze, 

they performed the seasonal 

resupply to McMurdo Station, 

Antarctica. Toward the other 

pole, tankers tasked with Operation Pacer Goose delivered fuel to 

Thule Air Base, Greenland. T-5s 

provided essential fuel resupply during Operations Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, 

Enduring Freedom and other large-scale military missions. They also were available to deliver fuel in support of contingency operations and humanitarian relief.

The Gianella became part of MSC’s Maritime 

Prepositioning Force in July 2009. The Cobb and the 

Buck were redirected to the National Defense Reserve 

Fleet, operated by the Department of Transportation’s 

Maritime Administration in October 2010. The NDRF 

holds merchant design vessels to be used for national 

emergencies. 

The Matthiesen spent its final months loading and 

delivering product to DLA Energy customers in multiple regions around the world. The vessel was scheduled 

to leave MSC’s service in March and transfer to the 

NDRF following cargo CC4191. 

Hail

In January, cargo CC4162 on the tanker lift schedule signaled a transition to the new tankers for DLA 

Energy Pacific. This 235,000-barrel delivery of JP8 jet 

fuel, loaded at the SK Global refinery in Korea and discharged at DFSP Okinawa, was the first use of the State 

class tankers in support of the petroleum distribution 

mission in the region. The MT Empire State carried the 

load. 

At origin, Quality Assurance Representative Army 

Staff Sgt. Rodrigo Gonzalez, from DLA Energy Pacific’s 

Korea office, verified the product met specifications and was loaded to protect its quality during 

movement. At destination, representatives of the 

505th Quartermaster Battalion met the vessel at the 

DFSP’s off-shore single point mooring site to sample 

the product and verify quantity. Laboratory testing 

confirmed on-specification fuel, and cargo discharge 

into the fuel terminal commenced Jan. 19. Following 

the receipt, shore-to-shore quantities comparing load 

and discharge were confirmed as within allowable 

limits. Terminal personnel reported a good experience working with the MT Empire State and its crew. 

MSC has chartered two State class, or PC-1, tankers, the Empire State and the MT Evergreen State. 

Built and launched by General Dynamics’ National 

Steel and Shipbuilding Company Yard in San Diego 

in 2010, the double-hulled tankers are 600 feet long 

with a 331,000 barrel cargo capacity, larger than the 

T-5 tankers they replace. The vessels comply with the 

Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and are operated by Crowley Maritime Corporation for American Petroleum 

Tankers LLC. 

The Empire State’s maiden voyage moved 

235,000 barrels of JP8 to DLA Energy storage along 

the U.S. West Coast. Upon delivery of the Evergreen 

State in December, the Empire State was repositioned to support the DoD petroleum mission in the 

Pacific theater. 

Japanese local national specialists aboard the Empire State connect the first of two 

flexible hose lines to be used to transfer JP8 jet propulsion fuel to Defense Fuel Support Point Okinawa Jan. 19. The State Class of tankers replaces the T-5 class which has 

served Defense Logistics Agency Pacific since the 1980s. Photo by Richard B. Knapp.
42 www.energy.dla.mil

By Susan Declercq Brown

DLA Energy Public Affairs 

Political unrest

When a Marine Corps KC-130 aircraft airlifted 45 

Egyptian refugees from Djerba, Tunisia, to Cairo, 

Egypt, March 11, it did so with the help of the Defense 

Logistics Agency Energy’s Europe and Africa region. 

The flight brought the number of Egyptians transported to 835, according to a Defense Department news 

article. DLA Energy procures fuel for these operations.

The first flights began March 5 as part of a request 

from the Egyptian government’s to help Egyptians 

fleeing political unrest and violence in Libya return 

home. The KC-130 aircraft flew from Naval Air Station 

Sigonella, Italy, to Djerba, to load passengers. DoD officials said U.S. planes will fly Egyptians home as long 

as needed. 

DLA Energy Europe & Africa team provides fuel to 

U.S. forces in Europe, Africa and Northern Iraq, said 

Samuel Cooks, DLA Energy liaison officer to U.S. Africa 

Command.

The organization supports NAS Sigonella by pipeline resupply of jet fuel from Defense Fuel Support 

Point Augusta Bay, Sicily. DoD’s access and use of the 

pipeline is governed by a DLA Energy international 

agreement with the Italian air force. 

DLA Energy Europe & Africa is working with petroleum officers from European Command and African 

Command to conduct contingency fuel support, planning and posturing in support of Operation Odyssey 

Dawn. DLA Energy representatives continue to work 

alongside planners to ensure responsive fuel support in 

the area, initiating Web-based bulk petroleum contingency reports for selected DFSPs. LNOs are working 

with operational units to forecast fuel demand for the 

operation.

DLA Energy Europe & Africa has adjusted scheduled resupply in coordination with [DLA Energy’s] 

Tanker Branch and Operations, Cooks said, to bring 

inventories to maximum capacity at selected DFSPs 

and provide greater flexibility to support air operations 

and fleet replenishment. 

Disaster relief

The Defense Logistics Agency is helping U.S. forces 

provide humanitarian relief as part of Operation Tomodachi following March 11’s devastating earthquake and 

tsunami in Japan.

Early on, DoD provided fuel to Japanese helicopters 

conducting search and rescue operations from the deck 

of the USS Ronald Reagan, said Navy Capt. Kevin Henderson, DLA Energy Pacific commander. Fuel has also 

been supplied to a sewage plant in Yokosuka to avert 

an emergency, and efforts were made to ensure American bases in northern Japan had access to adequate 

ground, aviation and generator fuels and cryogenics 

needed for flight operations. 

The 353rd Special Operations Group landed transported DLA Energy-procured fuel by an MC 130P Combat Shadow aircraft to Yamagata Airport in support of 

Operation Tomodachi. Marines staged at the airport 

serve as members of a forward area refueling point 

team, also known as FARP. Their mission was to refill 

four fuel bladders buried under two feet of snow.

The disaster wiped out northern Japan’s capability to refine and distribute ground fuels, so, “our main 

concern right now is making sure our military customers in northern Japan get the fuel they need to support 

operations and take care of families,” Henderson said 

March 14. 

DLA Pacific readied to distribute emergency relief 

supplies, including pre-positioning meals ready to eat 

and food from DLA Troop Support’s subsistence prime 

vendors, water, diapers, blankets, medical supplies, 

potassium iodide tablets used to counteract the effects 

of radiation exposure, and radiological equipment said 

Navy Cmdr. Jason Bridges, DLA Troop Support Pacific 

commander March 14. 

“We are properly positioned to provide supplies and 

ensure we can have them in the right place at the right 

time,” Army Col. Sheila Bryant, DLA Pacific commander, said March 14.

Help comes from across enterprise
Name: Mark Brewer

Job: Project manager for petroleum equipment 

in the Defense Logistics Agency Energy Executive 

Agent Office. I work with the different military 

services to identify opportunities for joint applications to meet their equipment requirements. 

When I see an opportunity, I work to persuade 

the services to leverage their resources to develop joint solutions to common problems with 

petroleum handling equipment. A lot of emphasis is placed on 

standardization and inter-operability with the focus being on the 

Department of Defense rather than on the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines 

or DLA Energy. Joint solutions are more cost effective and improve interoperability, so it makes sense to find appropriate opportunities for a standardized approach.

Energy experience: I came to work for the Defense Fuel Supply Center, as DLA Energy 

was then known, as a student trainee in contracting in January 1989. After graduating from 

college, I returned to the contracting field, earning my DAWIA [ Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act] Level III Certification in 1997. I worked as the ordering officer in the 

Balkans Office in Croatia as part of the DLA Contingency Support Team. I completed the 

Multi-Functional Training Program in 2001 and transitioned from contracting to inventory 

management. I’ve been in the current job since 2007. 

Challenges and rewards of the job: The most challenging aspect of my job is wading through the complex policies and procedures of one military service and then trying to 

integrate those with the different complex policies and procedures of another service. The 

end goal is an application that all the parties can agree to, but it’s tough going to get there. 

To accomplish this, I work closely with representatives from all the military services and 

their entry control points. That relationship is rewarding, especially when a service comes 

to me for assistance with one of their initiatives—like tactical automatic tank gauging, fuel 

quality mapping and a tactical automated service station. I’m also able to seek and share information in an international forum as a member of the U.S. Delegation to the NATO Petroleum Handling Equipment Working Group. It’s very interesting to see how our NATO allies 

approach the tactical refueling mission and compare the equipment they use to do it. 

A memorable mission: One of my strongest memories involves a collapsible fuel 

storage tank, sometimes called a fuel bladder, one of the types of equipment I seek to 

standardize. In 2008, I witnessed the first article testing of the first collapsible tank built to 

joint specification—the MIL-PRF-32233, which was developed in an effort facilitated by DLA 

Energy. It was the first time I’d seen a collapsible fuel tank this big—think of it as a 210, 000 

gallon water bed mattress. This was also my first experience with of a group of military and 

DoD civilian personnel that I have come to depend on for subject matter expertise on all 

aspects of collapsible fuel tanks.

Future plans: Tactical automatic tank gauging seems to be the next big thing in fuel 

handling equipment. The military services have been approaching this initiative on

 their own so far. But, we hope to be able to steer this into a single DoD direction

 rather than two to four service directions. It’s equipment ripe for a joint solution.