Gulf War Air Power Survey
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- Table 24 CENTCOM
- Figure 62 DFSC
- Table 25 Daily Requirements by Component (Millions of Gallons)
- Table 26 Daily Requirements by Product (Millions of Gallons)
- Deployment Location Capability
- Distribution to Saudi Arabias Central Province
- Distribution to Saudi Arabias Western Province
- Distribution Outside Saudi Arabia
- Intransit Fuels Support (Europe)
- Single Fuel on the Battlefield
- Desert Storm: Sustaining the Flow
* Derived from multiple sources including AFR 400-24, AFM 67-1, WMP-1 (ANNEX E), draft Supply Concept of Operations (AF/LGSS), Supply Wartime Planning and Execution Guide, and OPLAN 90-1002. height of the war, the Air Force was issuing approximately 15 million gallons of jet fuel per day, including over 11 million gallons per day issued in the AOR and 4 million gallons per day issued to aircraft operating out of Europe. In all, over 111,000 U.S. and allied combat sorties were supported. Storing and issuing this much fuel required over 120 R-14 air-transportable hydrant refueling systems, 220 R-9 refueling vehicles, 679 50,000-gallon fuel bladders, and over 926 fuels personnel.557 Fuels personnel coordinated several interoperability fuels issues with the Saudi hosts and Central Command. The issues ranged from loaning R-14s to the Saudis, arranging offshore tanker deliveries, ensuring quality control, and installing and training personnel in the use of fuels mobility support equipment (FMSE). Fuels personnel also managed and coordinated use of the Aerial Bulk Fuel Delivery System to move over 600,000 gallons of fuel to sites as far north as Kuwait in support of allied forces. They also used that delivery system to move Jet Petroleum Thermally Stable (JPTS), which the U2/TR-1 uses, from bases in Europe to the AOR. Host nation support was a major contributor to the success of the fuels operation. All ground fuels and most of the jet fuel except for JP-5 (for Navy Aircraft) and JPTS were provided from within the theater. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Oman contributed 1.76 billion gallons of fuel for land, sea, and air operations.558 (Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates donated the fuel.) Without the contributions of those nations, the fuel would have required extensive sealift, which would have exposed the inadequacy of the U.S. tanker fleet.559 The dollar amount of this contribution (calculated in U.S. dollars at $1.20 per gallon) is approximately $2 billion. Additionally, commercial airport contractors provided into-plane refueling support, host military provided aircraft refueling at military bases, and host nation trucks and drivers accomplished most of the inland distribution of fuel from refineries and depots to the bases. Host nation help with inland fuel distribution removed a major burden from Army Central Command (ARCENT), which was responsible for bulk fuel inland distribution and had committed most of its truck companies to moving fuel for ground forces. By the time the war started, Air Force fuels mobility equipment (air transportable hydrants, air transportable bladders, and air transportable pumps and transfer systems), refueling vehicles, and personnel combined with host nation personnel and fuels facilities were available at each deployed location (except at Al Kharj and the forward operating locations) to provide refueling support to sustain operations. Additionally, fuel distribution and storage equipment from the Army Southwest Asia Petroleum Distribution Operational Project was deployed from the continental United States to the AOR. The project consists of pipeline, tactical petroleum terminals, and pump stations for distributing large quantities of fuel across great distances. During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, more than 127 miles of tactical pipeline were laid to respond rapidly to urgent operational support requirements and to enable movement and storage of greater quantities of fuel forward to support Army requirements. The Fuel Situation This section will cover all the major aspects of fuels during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. It describes the fuels situation before Desert Shield and during Desert Shield, build-up, Desert Storm, and redeployment. It ends by discussing the implications of successes and failures during those times. Before Desert Shield A supply of jet fuel (for planned arriving forces) was prepositioned in or near the AOR before Desert Shield. [DELETED]560 The fuels included product owned by the U.S. Air Force in Oman and product owned by the Defense Fuel Supply Center (DFSC) at storage sites in the theater, Somalia, Diego Garcia, Singapore, and Italy. DFSC also owned POL in three Afloat Prepositioning Ships which were stationed at Diego Garcia. As Table 24 depicts, approximately 8.5 million barrels of fuels were available before Desert Shield. However, as depicted in Figure 62, about 4.1 million barrels of the storage was malpositioned outside the AOR. Even the fuel in the AOR was somewhat malpositioned, since very little of it was located at the places where the users needed it. Also, most of the jet fuel prepositioned in the AOR was JP-5. While JP-5 was not the fuel with the greatest demand, it was the CENTCOM choice of fuel for prepositioning for two reasons. First, JP-5 was more difficult to source in the AOR than JET A-1; second, JP-5 provides more flexibility in that it can be used by both ground- and sea-based aircraft as well as by ground combat support equipment.561 Table 24 CENTCOM Fuel Storage (Millions of Barrels)562 ASHORE JP-5 JET A-1 DFM563 Bahrain 1,536 UAE 954 470 Oman 117 382 248 Djibouti 181 316 Somalia 129 22 Singapore 350 1,000 Italy 2,028 AFLOAT Bahrain (one ship) 13 Diego Garcia (three ships) 760 TOTAL 4,040 3,432 1,034 (source: USCENTCOM/JPO) Figure 62 DFSC Fuel Locations Although this fuel was prepositioned, its malpositioning would necessitate significant inland distribution. Therefore, plans called for a significant amount of reliance on host nations for adequate refueling support. However, in the absence of any signed agreements, much of this support was based on hand shakes and assumptions.564 The United States had been negotiating unsuccessfully for years with the Saudi Government for fuel storage in Saudi Arabia.565 Additionally, very little was known about the fuels capability at in-country airports and bases. Airport data from the Worldwide Automated Airfield Intelligence File Database published by the Defense Mapping Agency did not contain key information such as storage capacity, receipt modes and capacity, and distribution modes and capacity on most of the Southwest Asia airports.566 Because they lacked that information, fuel planners had difficulty in determining what each base would need to provide refueling support.567 In addition to prepositioning fuel, the Air Force also prepositioned some of its FMSE in the AOR. Knowing that deploying aircraft would beddown at host nation airports and military bases where additional fuels support would likely be required, the CENTAF fuels planners prepositioned 59 R-9 refuelers, 42 R‑14 portable hydrant systems, 139 50,000 gallon fuel bladders, 29 R-22 storage distribution pumps, and a 5-ton liquid oxygen generating plant in the Air Force prepositioning sites in Oman, Bahrain and aboard the three prepositioned ships in the Indian Ocean.568 Additional refueling units and FMSE were prepositioned in war reserve materiel status at Seymour Johnson and Myrtle Beach Air Force Bases.569 These assets were maintained in a constant state of readiness and could be brought out of storage and set up at any bare base to provide quick and safe refueling support. A more detailed discussion of the prepositioned equipment will follow in this chapter. The combination of prepositioned fuel and equipment in or near the AOR was not adequate to support forces eventually deployed during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. However, it did provide some initial fuels capability and provided an excellent supplement to the host nation support. Desert Shield Build Up As forces began to deploy, an initial cadre of three fuels personnel arrived at Riyadh to guide force beddown and establish movement priorities.570 In a short time, six more fuels specialists arrived to ensure twenty-four-hour coverage, effect liaison with Army forces, and conduct field assistance visits to determine which and how much fuels equipment and manpower should be deployed.571 Unit fuels personnel and some fuels mobility equipment deployed with aircraft aviation and combat support unit type codes. However, it soon became apparent that additional equipment beyond that prepositioned in theater would be needed. Due to space limiting factors in the AOR, an additional ninety-two R-9s, thirty-six R-14s, twenty-five R-22s and various other FMSE owned by the Tactical Air Command and earmarked for deployment to Southwest Asia were in war reserve material status at Myrtle Beach and Seymour Johnson AFBs.572 As forces deployed, and beddown locations were made known, the equipment from Myrtle Beach and Seymour Johnson was airlifted to the AOR. The major refueling concerns during the early days of deployment were at Dhahran and Riyadh, which were the major Aerial Ports of Debarkation. Host nation refueling capability at these locations could not sustain the flow of aircraft, and some delays in takeoffs of MAC aircraft occurred. The situation existed for about two weeks until CENTAF established a forward operating location at Al Jubayl Naval Airport for intermediate refueling.573 The situation was completely overcome when adequate FMSE and refueling units were in place. As force levels were increased over and above what had been previously planned, in-theater petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL) require-ments increased proportionately. Fuels planners were not only responsible for determining how much manpower and equipment would be required at each location, but were also required to establish fuel requirements to support combat operations. The requirements were to be passed forward to Central Command's Joint Petroleum Office, which in turn consolidated each Service's requirements and passed them to the Defense Fuel Region/ Middle East (DFR/ME), a subordinate element of the Defense Fuel Supply Center. Tables 25 and 26 depict the pre-Desert Storm daily requirements provided to Central Command by the Services. DFR/ME identified sources of supply and, in coordination with the Military Sealift Command, scheduled the tanker ships to carry the bulk petroleum to the AOR. However, as previously stated, most of the requirements (ninety-three percent) were satisfied from within the AOR. In Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Marketing and Refining Company (SAMAREC) was tasked by the Ministry of Defense and Aviation (MODA) to provide fuel to all Coalition forces operating in country. A written agreement in November 1990 formalized the procedures and scope of fuel support the Saudis would provide. A written pre-Desert Shield agreement with the Omani Air Force made fuel support available to U.S. aircraft operating in Oman. All other agreements were either verbal or based on some other type of contractual agreement. In December 1990, MODA established a National Petroleum Management Council composed of representatives from MODA, SAMAREC, Petrolube, the Ministry of Petroleum, and the Arabian American Oil Company, which dealt primarily with crude production. A similar agency existed in the UAE. The councils coordinated Coalition fuel requirements and resolved problem areas. The CENTCOM stockage objective was to maintain a minimum of a thirty day POL supply despite that more aircraft were arriving than had been planned for in OPLAN 1002-88.
Determining the POL requirements was a difficult task for the Services; Air Force requirements were the most sensitive. Not only was the Air Force the largest user, aircraft beddown locations as well as the number and type of aircraft being deployed were changing constantly. Requirements were estimated by multiplying the number of aircraft deployed by the War Mobilization Plan (Volume V, Daily Sortie Rates) times the average hourly aircraft fuel burn rates established in AFR 144‑4.574 More exact requirements could not be derived, as the estimators did not know how long the sorties would be or how many would be flown each day. This information could not be provided by any of the air campaign planners.575 Thus, the requirements provided to CENTCOM were only rough estimates at best. Service requirements (when consolidated) were forwarded to SAMAREC officials who continually assured Defense Fuel Region and Central Command representatives that they could provide the fuel. SAMAREC officials also provided assurance that they could transport the fuel from their depots and refineries to the locations where it was needed. Inland distribution was a continuing concern by the entire fuels community and will be discussed later. As a side note, fuel requirements from the Military Airlift Command were passed forward to the Defense Fuel Supply Center (DFSC) as well. Fuel requirements at continental U.S. aerial ports of embarkation and intransit locations in Europe went up significantly when the deployment began. DFSC had to ensure that the supplier at these locations could meet the increased requirements. Problems encountered in Europe will be discussed later in this section as well. Fuel Additives Since JET A-1 (commercial grade jet fuel) was the primary jet fuel being provided by in-theater suppliers, Air Force fuels personnel were responsible for injecting the fuel with the proper additives before it was consumed by Air Force high-performance jet aircraft. Prescribed amounts of fuel system icing inhibitor, anticorrosion additive, and antistatic additive had to be injected into the fuel to avoid engine damage resulting from prolonged use of commercial grade fuel. With additives injected, JET A-1 is identical to JP-8, the standard used in Europe/NATO. According to USCENTAF OPLAN 1021-88, each deploying unit was to take a ten-day supply of additives with them when they deployed. However, many of the units did not take the additives, and additional stocks were required to resupply what additives had been taken. DFSC, the agency responsible for providing the resupply, needed to take some special contracting initiatives to correct the situation. At the onset of Desert Shield, it was apparent that an inadequate inventory of additives was on hand in Saudi Arabia, especially if the conflict situation was prolonged. The quickest method to relieve the insufficiency was to purchase the additives through an existing contract in the Middle East. Therefore, DFSC arranged for the purchase of 9,361 drums of Fuel System Icing Inhibitor, 271 drums of Anti Corrosion Inhibitor, and 88 drums of Anti Static Inhibitor from Caltex Oil Products Company.576 With resupply made available from DFSC, Air Force fuels personnel were responsible for injecting the additives into the fuel at all locations. This proved to be very difficult. The fuel additive injectors, as currently designed, slowed down fuel flow because the diameters of the piping within the injectors were smaller than those of the equipment used to offload tank trucks.577 This situation was exacerbated by numerous injector diaphragm failures and the lack of qualified repair technicians. Thus, the rapid initial lay-in and continued preservation and maintenance of fuel inventories was more important to fuels managers than actually injecting the additives. It cannot be determined if fuel additives were injected at all locations. However, fuel additives or the lack thereof were not “show stoppers”; aircraft flew with and without them, depending on location, with no apparent ill effects. Deployment Location Capability As fuel requirements were determined and passed forward, the CENTAF fuels planners turned their attention to aircraft refueling capacity at each location. Ensuring the proper mix between Air Force organic refueling capability (equipment and personnel) and host nation support refueling capability was a very sensitive area. Effort had to be made to ensure round-the-clock sortie-generation capability; yet the United States did not want to offend the host by bringing in massive numbers of fuel trucks, hydrant systems, bladders, and personnel.578 Since little was known about deployment locations, the senior fuels technicians on the ground were basically responsible for determining their equipment and personnel requirements. Many of these technicians were junior grade non-commissioned officers (NCOs) with little experience in setting up mobility equipment to support combat operations.579 The situation was caused by the combining of small unit type codes rather than the use of one large unit type code. The lack of senior supervision led to favoritism toward certain host base personnel, discontentment among personnel of the same rank, and a split of refueling responsibilities (i.e., “you refuel your aircraft and we'll refuel ours”).580 The lack of familiarity with fuels mobility support equipment also led to unnecessary delays in equipment operation. The vast majority of fuels supervisory personnel had little if any idea of how to actually set up and locate a bare base FMSE system.581 For example, at one location with over one-hundred fuels personnel, the R-14s were out-of-service because no one knew to flip the reset switch.582 Over ten years had elapsed since many individuals had any contact (i.e., training) at all with the equipment. To overcome this lack of experience and knowledge Air Force, Central Command established a special team to set up FMSE at most of the beddown locations.583 Once the requirements for refueling equipment and personnel were established at each of the beddown locations, CENTAF, with the assistance of the Tactical Air Command (TAC) Fuels Staff, was responsible for sourcing the assets to meet the requirements. Once sourced, the two organizations were responsible for ensuring that the requirements were provided to CENTCOM for inclusion in the Time Phased Force Deployment Listing. Initial sourcing of equipment came from the fuels equipment prepositioned in the AOR. Follow-on requirements were sourced from additional TAC prepositioned assets at MacDill and Seymour Johnson. When the stocks at MacDill and Seymour were exhausted, equipment from both USAFE and PACAF were sourced. In all, ninety-two percent of the worldwide inventory of FMSE was deployed. This deployment left the other combatant commands with limited ability to establish any kind of bare base refueling capability, had it been necessary. JPTS Stocks The absence of an inventory of jet propellant thermally stable (JPTS) fuel in Saudi Arabia for U-2 and TR-1 aircraft generated one of the most time-consuming fuels problems to overcome by the fuels community in the first weeks of SWA operations.584 Because POL managers at Taif were denied use of a storage facility on the base, CENTAF secured and received approval from the Saudi government to install several 50,000-gallon storage bladders. The closest sources of JPTS to fill the bladders were at Torrejon Air Base in Spain and Royal Air Force (RAF) Base Akrotiri on Cyprus. The JPTS at Torrejon consisted of 3,000 55-gallon drums, which were airlifted to Taif by SAC KC-10s and MAC C-141s. The JPTS at RAF Akrotiri consisted of approximately 700,000 gallons stored in bulk fuel tanks. C-141s equipped with area bulk fuel delivery systems airlifted approximately 100,000 gallons from Akrotiri to Taif. Trucks moved additional fuels in drums from the refinery in Texas to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, where it was then airlifted to the AOR. Once a 60-day stock supply level was established in theater, resupply was established by sealift and line-haul tank trucks. Inland Distribution U.S. Army Forces, Central Command was responsible for inland distribution of bulk petroleum to supported Service components in the AOR.585 The 475th Quartermaster Group (Reserve) was responsible for providing the necessary support. On 7 January 1991, the 475th, through the Commander-in-Chief, Central Command, published an Inland Distribution Plan. The publishing of the Inland Distribution Plan was delayed by the late arrival of the 475th QM Group, which did not arrive until the last part of October 1990.586 The arrival of this Reserve Group was delayed mainly because of the decision to give deployment of combat forces priority.587 According to the plan, the primary resupply of all storage facilities in theater was to be by commercial (host nation) and U.S. Army line haul. Support from theater bulk storage facilities forward to the Army Marine Corps, and CENTAF was accomplished primarily by a combination of host nation tank trucks and U.S. Army tankers. Distribution to each base was accomplished through use of in-place contracts, fixed airfield storage facilities, and host nation truck line haul in combination with U.S. assets received by airlift and sealift during the mobilization period. The expansion of U.S. support to the Eastern, Central, and Western Provinces of Saudi Arabia utilized the 127 miles of tactical pipeline laid to help meet operational requirements. The pipelines were laid by the Army Southwest Asia Petroleum Distribution Operational Project, which was a coordinated effort of military and contract personnel using prepositioned assets in the AOR. The effort augmented the host nation petroleum distribution system. Distribution to Saudi Arabia's Central Province According to the inland distribution plan, the 226th Area Support Group, utilizing its organic petroleum assets, was to establish general support (GS) bases for units in and passing through its area of support. These bases were to be established at King Khalid Military City and Logbase Alpha to provide direct support and retail support to Echelon Above Corps units at each location and direct support to divisional and non-divisional units passing through their areas of operation. Additionally, the 226th Area Support Group was to provide gasoline and diesel support to CENTAF at King Khalid Military City. The 2d Area Support Base was to provide limited general support, direct support, and retail support for MOGAS and diesel in the Riyadh area of operations to Echelon Above Corps units, CENTAF, and units passing through the Riyadh support base area. In addition, Army-projected distribution planning for the Central Province included extending the six-inch tactical petroleum pipeline from the Eastern Province at Bastognein in a northwestern direction toward King Khalid Military City. CENTAF's 55th Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing at Riyadh and the 340th Air Rescue Wing at King Khalid International were to be resupplied by host nation tank trucks. CENTAF storage facilities were used at the respective airbases. These plans were not fully implemented before Desert Storm. Distribution to Saudi Arabia's Western Province According to plan, the 475th Quartermaster Group was to provide class III bulk support to CENTAF locations through employing Liaison teams in the Western Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Liaison teams were to be responsible for ensuring orderly resupply of fuel at all beddown locations by host nation contracts, planning future support requirements, and providing an operational link with the 475th Quartermaster Group as operators of the inland petroleum distribution system. CENTAF beddown locations included the 190th Air Rescue Service at Jeddah New, the Tactical Fighter Wing at Khamis Mushait, the 33d Tactical Fighter Wing at Tabuk, and the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing at Taif. As was the case in the Central Province, these plans could not be fully implemented before Desert Storm. Distribution Outside Saudi Arabia In addition to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ARCENT through the 475th POL Group was responsible for distributing Class III bulk to Service components located in Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt, which encompass the rest of the CENTCOM Theater of Operations. The major customer in these locations was CENTAF. Distribution to the locations was accomplished by plane, truck and bladder contracts initiated by the respective Service component through DFR‑ME/DFSC. Host nation support was a major contributing factor to the distribution of petroleum within the theater. According to interviews with Air Force Lt. Col. David Herrick and Army Lt. Col. Bob Ross from the JCS/J4 staff, the Army could not have provided the required support if it were not for the assistance of the host nation. All but four of the twenty-eight Army line haul units were in the reserve, and they did not arrive in-theater until after the Presidential call-up, causing significant concern on the part of CENTAF and Air Staff Logistics staffs. The CENTAF logistics staff felt that host nation support for line haul would collapse once the shooting began.588 Knowing that the Army was stretched to its limit already, CENTAF took the initiative to establish its own line haul transportation organization. Dubbed the “Blueball Express,” its primary mission was to transport munitions and aviation fuel to sustain the air campaign and subsequent ground offensive.589 Consisting of over 200 drivers and 118 commercially leased tractor trailers, the Blueball Express moved over 20 million pounds of USCENTAF cargo and munitions. JP-5 for the Navy The U.S. Navy required JP-5 for carrier based aircraft. Since the Air Force was providing the majority of the aerial refueling for Navy aircraft, JP-5 storage sites were established in Seeb, Oman, and Jiddah in Saudi Arabia, to provide the required product. Approximately 400,000 gallons of JP-5 were available at Jiddah to support aircraft operating out of the Red Sea; 200,000 gallons were available in Seeb to support aircraft operating out of the Persian Gulf. All storage was in 50,000-gallon collapsible bladders. DFSC established resupply from stocks in Oman and afloat in the Red Sea. Air Force tankers operated from both Seeb and Jiddah to provide JP-5 aerial refueling for the Navy, in addition to the other locations throughout the AOR where the tankers operated with the standard host nation provided JET A-1. Although JP-5 was the aviation fuel the Navy preferred, dedicating part of the tanker force to JP-5 only to support the Navy was not practical. The Navy requested exclusive JP-5 support because of safety concerns once the aircraft landed on the carriers. JP-5, a more stable fuel, has a flash point of 140 degrees F.590 The flash point of JET A-1 is 100 degrees F, which makes it less stable to handle. JP-4, the common fuel used in the continental United States, has a flash point of -20 degrees F. It was available at four (non-tanker) bases in the AOR and at Incirlik, Turkey. According to USCENTAF/DO, the Air Force would provide JP-5 to the Navy whenever possible, and would inform the pilots when something other than JP-5 was issued.591 A review of fuel issue records maintained in the Contingency Supply Support Agency computer data base at Langley AFB indicates that 20,386,486 gallons of jet fuel were issued by the Air Force to the Navy during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Eighty-five percent of the fuel provided to the Navy was JET A‑1, 5 percent was JP-5, 7 percent was JP-4 and 3 percent was JP-8. Intransit Fuels Support (Europe) The fuel support to transiting aircraft as well as equipment and manpower provided by USAFE were major contributing factors to the success of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and Proven Force. For example, USAFE fuels staff personnel sourced Command assets and worked airlift requirements for critical fuels issues in minimal time. The fuels division tasked 356 USAFE fuels personnel for Desert Shield and Desert Storm, thereby placing over 35 percent of all fuels specialists at the forward operating locations.592 Over 300 fuels mobility support assets and approximately 100 refueling vehicles were deployed. With almost 80 percent of the MAC airlift transiting USAFE bases and a large number of SAC tankers and B-52s bedding down at USAFE bases in England and Spain, the USAFE experienced a command-wide 200 percent increase in fuels consumption, equating to an unprecedented 600 million gallons of aviation fuel consumption during August 1990-February 1991. The only significant problem arose in Spain where fuel consumption increased by 300 percent. Torrejon and Zaragoza Air Bases were saturated. While no sorties were lost, some diversions were made because fuel inventories at the terminals supplying the bases were reduced to critical levels. The resupply capability from the terminals to the bases was a key concern to those determining fuel supportability of scheduled MAC missions. Moron had little difficulty supporting fuel requirements, but the fuel system there was not tasked as heavily. The primary resupply to terminals supporting U.S. bases in Spain is through the Spanish Pipeline System operated by CAMPSA, the Spanish governmental petroleum transportation agency. CAMPSA must balance U.S. military requirements against those of the Spanish Military and the Civil Sector. USAFE instituted unprecedented measures to resupply the terminals. Normally, only the U.S.-built Rota-Zaragoza pipeline supplies terminals feeding all three U.S. bases. However, fuel demands in southern Spain at Moron and Torrejon restricted the availability of fuel to northern Spain, which resupplies Zaragoza. In October 1990, negotiations resulted in an agreement to utilize a CAMPSA northern pipeline route, thus enabling the United States to receive fuel directly from Zaragoza. In mid-November 1990, it was evident that the northern pipeline route would not be able to maintain fuel stocks at Zaragoza. The around‑ the-clock pipeline receipts from the south were not sufficient to build fuel inventory levels at Torrejon. Fuel levels continued to drop at terminals resupplying Torrejon and Zaragoza. Since the rail system in Spain could not augment fuel deliveries, tank truck deliveries began in January 1991. At one time, as many as sixty trucks were delivering jet fuel from hundreds of miles away. When USAFE asked for additional tank truck deliveries, they were told by Spanish officials that the United States had saturated the CAMPSA fleet. However, base fuel levels continued to drop to as low as one day of supply. By late January 1991, the fuel situation in Spain, which was a priority issue in USAFE's efforts to support the Gulf Crisis, received General Officer attention. In February 1991, the issue was elevated to the U.S. Ambassador, who requested more pipeline time from Spanish officials. At the expense of civil requirements, the United States was able to receive more pipeline time for fuel deliveries, allowing for full mission accomplishment without any loss of sorties. During August 1990-February 1991, over 300 million gallons of jet fuel was issued at USAFE bases in Spainsix times the normal amount. Torrejon alone issued sixty percent of this total, or seven times their normal peacetime workload. Single Fuel on the Battlefield During Desert Shield, CENTCOM designated JET A-1 as the single fuel on the battlefield. However, throughout Desert Shield the Army experienced a growing concern about the suitability of JET A-1 as a replacement for diesel in tanks. The biggest operational problem cited was the lack of smoke-generating capability with JET A-1 in tanks. Because diesel smokes more than JET A-1, diesel fuel would give them more cover. There was also a concern that during the conversion of diesel burners to JET A-1, excessive filter clogging would occur because of the cleaning nature of JET A-1.593 Operators also speculated that JET A-1 lubricity was not as great as diesel fuel and would cause equipment failures. Finally, some equipment fires were attributed to the use of JET A-1 instead of diesel. As a result of these concerns, ARCENT proposed giving their commanders a choice of using either JET A-1 or diesel fuel. CENTCOM concurred with this decision because the operational concerns outweighed the logistical advantages of using a single fuel. The decision optimized the Saudi's capability to provide fuel to the forward Army Logbases. Specifically, the use of diesel by the Army allowed the Saudis to draw from some diesel storage sites located nearer to Logbases, thus reducing the transportation time. It also maximized the use of Saudi transportation because it allowed for the use of Saudi trucks and pipelines in diesel service that may not have easily converted to JET A-1. Finally, the decision maximized the Saudi refining capacity, which was at the maximum for JET A-1 but had excess capability for diesel. Desert Storm: Sustaining the Flow During Desert Shield, CENTCOM established a goal to achieve a thirty-day fuel stockage objective. The fifty-day supply prepositioned ahead of time was no longer adequate, since requirements planned for in CENTCOM OPLAN 1002-88 more than doubled. The OPLAN stock level represented only about fifteen days of supply before the start of the war. To meet the thirty-day stockage objective, the remaining stocks were stored as follows: • Five-day supply at base level (bladders storage plus host nation tankage) • Ten-day supply at depots and refineries in the host countries. The CENTCOM/JPO coordinated with fuel representatives from each country, asking them to maintain fuel stocks equal to a ten-day supply. Saudi Arabia and UAE agreed, but other countries were either unable or unwilling to make the commitment. As a result, the Saudis agreed to supply fifteen days of fuel for Coalition forces based in Saudi Arabia. Using imported and fuel they produced themselves, the Saudis positioned 250 million gallons in tankers off the coast of UAE. Before Desert Storm began, CENTCOM's fuel supply had reached a level of twenty-six days theaterwide. Table 27 indicates that when Desert Storm began, both Air Force-owned fuel and equipment and host-nation-owned fuel and equipment were stored at each of the deployed locations. The combination of these assets allowed for the issue of 906 million gallons of jet fuel to support 111,000 Allied sorties without any delays or incidents. The months of preparation had provided the fuels community with ample time to build stocks and establish the infrastructure for sustaining combat operations. However, three significant concerns arose related to Desert Storm: (1) host nation drivers would walk off the job when the war began; (2) in-theater refineries and port facilities would be destroyed, thereby requiring stocks to be brought in from outside sources; and (3) keeping bases resupplied with fuel could be a problem in view of increased consumption rates. Some host nations drivers did walk off the job during the first few days of the war. However, Air Force drivers provided by the Blueball Express were able to take their places without any degradation in support. As the war went on, some of the host nation drivers came back to work. With the majority of the fuel being provided from sources within theater, the concern over the loss of in-theater refining capability was well founded. This concern prompted a study by DFSC in early November hypothesizing the loss of differing percentages of in-country refining capability. According to DFSC, only a degradation of one-hundred percent of the in-country refining capacity would result in fuel nonsupport. The concern that port facilities might be damaged or destroyed prompted the deployment of two Navy Offshore Petroleum Discharge Systems (OPDS) and the Army's inland petroleum distribution system (IPDS). The systems provided the capability to establish over-the-shore fuel support in ports that had been damaged or in undeveloped coastal areas that required support. Personnel from the Navy Amphibious Construction Battalion deployed to the AOR to operate the Navy's system, but the system was never employed.594 The magnitude of the host nation refining support, with the length of the mobilization period, created the ability to sustain fuel supplies so robust that it was never challenged. Directory: sgp -> library sgp -> Sgp country Programme Strategy for op6 sgp -> Itu-d study groups sgp -> Internship with Congressional Campaign Exploratory Committee — Only 4 spots left! sgp -> Using Well Logs in the Petroleum Industry sgp -> Telecommunication development bureau itu-d study groups Download 5.55 Mb. Share with your friends:
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