DLA Energy Americas held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new DFSP North 

Pole on July 26. 

No, not a place to fuel up the back up engine for Santa’s sleigh in the Arctic Circle, 

but a DFSP in the city of North Pole, Alaska, located about 11 miles north of 

Eielson Air Force Base and 14 miles south of Fairbanks. 

Keynote speaker for the ceremony was the newly returning DLA Americas 

Commander Army COL Josiel Carrasquillo. Welcome back to the Energy family, 

Ma’am! Alongside her was the DLA Energy Americas North Commander Air Force 

Maj Barton Land. 

DFSP North Pole begins its journey as crude oil at the North Slope and travels 

800 miles through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline to multiple refineries. Ships, barges, 

rail, and trucks carry the fuels to their destinations. Weather, natural disasters and 

geographical roadblocks challenge the mission every day.

The North Pole facility was completed five months ahead of schedule and is 

strategically located to provide support to Eielson AFB with direct pipeline 

support and has the capability to support Fort Wainwright and Fort Greely by 

truck if required.

The construction of a contractor-owned, contractor-operated fuel storage facility 

was chosen as the best option to move forward to address the fuel storage 

deficiency, Land said.

In her remarks, Carrasquillo thanked Land and his team for their great work 

providing quality fuel solutions to the Warfighters of the North. 

“We are the bulk petroleum logistics fuel experts and part of our Artic Warriors,” 

Carrasquillo said. “To the DLA Energy Americas North Team, I leave you with this 

charge; to keep up your phenomenal work and to always remember the ’why’ of 

what we do: to serve the Warfighter and our Nation.”

New DFSP at the North Pole

ENERGY CONNECTION

Energy team, 

 In 1938 a baker and owner of the Toll House 

Inn in Whitman, Massachusetts, was baking 

cookies for her guests. Going to the pantry 

to retrieve the usual baking chocolate, Ruth 

found the shelf bare. However, she found a 

semi-sweet chocolate bar that she chopped 

up and added to the dough. As the cookies 

baked and the smell permeated the Inn, Ruth 

noticed that unlike the usual baking chocolate 

that would melt into the dough, the semisweet chocolate bar she chopped up did 

not. Instead, it filled the cookie with sweet 

chunks of chocolate. The cookies were a hit 

and led Ruth Wakefield to start the Toll House 

company to sell her cookies. 

 Some might call this cookie creation an 

accident. Others might say it was innovative or 

it was born out of necessity. I say, serve mine 

fresh out of the oven with a tall glass of milk! 

 Some well-known accidental products 

include Post-it Notes, Super Glue, Velcro, 

Milk Duds, the Slinky and the implantable 

pacemaker. 

 The economy, financial constraints, supply/

demand, labor and new technology can drive 

innovation. The physical environment, like a 

pandemic, can also be a factor. 

 As we look to celebrate National Chocolate 

Chip Cookie Day on Aug. 4, I encourage you to 

consider how you can use your unique gifts, 

experiences, knowledge and background to 

improve and adapt to the factors and changes 

that affect us as an agency and in our lives. I 

encourage your ideas, suggestions, and input 

as we continue to evolve and shape the future 

of Energy and our support to the Warfighter. 

 Thank you to each of you for your 

contributions and efforts that make this 

organization great. I’m grateful to have the 

opportunity to serve and associate with this 

dedicated team of energy professionals! 

A MESSAGE FROM 

CHIEF OF STAFF

Col Keith Mecham

HQC/NCR COVID-19 Status: HPCON B

Continue max telework until your designated re-entry date. Face masks not required in 

the HQC Complex but are required for HQC Child Development Center.

Volume 2, Issue 14 August 1, 2022

Core Values: Leadership, Professionalism & Technical Knowledge through Dedication to Duty, Integrity, Ethics, Honor, Courage & Loyalty
Aug. 8: Supervisory Committee Meeting*, 8am

Aug. 9: Advisory and Integration Council Meeting*, 8:30am

Aug. 9: Culture Climate Committee Meeting*, 9:30am and 7pm

Aug. 9: Lunch and Learn on Benefits 11:30am. Guest speaker is Mr. 

Aaron Kavanagh, HR Benefits Specialist

Aug. 16: Training Committee Meeting*, 11am

Aug. 16: Donuts with the Deputy, GS-15s only, 1pm

*The committee and council meetings are for current members only. If you are 

interested in getting involved, contact DLAEnergyCAG@dla.mil

Mark your calendars!

Serving with a twin

Americas East Customer Account 

Specialist Terry Poole has an identical twin, 

Perry. The brothers grew up sharing a love 

for hunting, fishing, and playing football. 

After high school graduation, they also 

shared a love for the U.S. Air Force.

DLA Energy GTCC 3rd Quarter News Bulletin

In this issue, learn the requirement to use your GTCC 

for meals, ATM use, TSA Pre-Check & Citi Card Mobile Alerts.

Having trouble connecting to Microsoft Teams?

Try clearing your cache! Open the “User Assistance Folder” 

on your desktop and double click “Clear_Teams_Cache.”

GS12-13/O3-O4 volunteers are needed to fill two, high-priority 

taskings to support DLA DST-Europe & Africa positions for a 

180-day period. One position is at 21 TSC in Kaiserslautern, 

Germany, and the other position is at USAFE on Ramstein AFB, 

Germany. Next rotation will begin January 2023. 

Interested candidates should apply NLT Sept. 14, 2022. 

Read more in this DLA Today Announcement

Congratulations to the following employees selected to attend 

the DLA “Insights into Industry Management” course at the 

University of Virginia Darden School of Business. They begin 

their two-week course on Aug. 7 in Charlottesville, Virginia. 

CONGRATULATIONS! 

Our thoughts are with family and friends of 

our colleague, Mr. Refugio (Leo) Burruel, who 

unexpectedly passed away at his home in 

Phoenix, AZ. Leo joined DLA Energy (then 

DESC) in 1998 and Americas West in 2007 as 

a Quality Assurance Representative. Leo retired from the Air 

Force as Master Sergeant (E7) after 24 years of faithful service. 

Along the way, he made a lasting impact and touched many 

lives, in and out of the POL community. 

Ronald Van Dyke, DLA Finance 

Energy, said Leo made a great 

impact on his life and career. 

“Leo was my second supervisor 

at my first assignment at Luke 

AFB in 1983. One of the best 

supervisors I have ever had.” 

Condolences

DLA EUROPE & AFRICA LNOS

Massoud Ahmadi

Alexandro Cano

Jeffrey Cotton

Melvin Floyd

Rodrigo Gonzalez

Gregory Gutierrez

Jacqueline Imholte

Taina Rivera

Jamaal Rose

Mark West

Matthew Womer

DLA news stories were added 

to DLA Energy business 

unit and regional public 

webpages to better connect 

our customers with recent 

events, news and examples of 

the great work you are doing 

around the world.

Check it out at the bottom of 

the Aerospace Energy, Utility 

Services and the regional 

webpages. 

Leo (second from the left) and Ronald (far right)

DLA Energy East Pacific and Americas West teams have been 

busy providing bulk fuel support to Rim of the Pacific 2022 

in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California, 

June 29 to Aug. 4. During the exercise, 26 nations, 38 surface 

ships, four submarines, nine national land forces, more than 

30 unmanned systems, approximately 170 aircraft and more 

than 25,000 personnel will train and operate together. 

The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC 

helps foster and sustain cooperative relationships among 

participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and 

security on the world’s oceans. 

RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th in the series that began in 1971.

USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) conducts a fueling-at-sea with replenishment oiler USNS 

Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO-187) during RIMPAC 2022 on July 13. U.S. Navy photo from DVIDS