LT Patrick Braddock
The 49th Quartermaster Group, through its five petroleum battalions and two petroleum liaison detachments, kept the planes flying and the vehicles moving to the tune of over 1.74 million gallons of fuel during Roving Sands '96. Red Forces (US Navy and US Air Force) and Blue Forces (Canadian Army and German Air Force) alike, totaling up to 4,000 soldiers, received uninterrupted support in this joint training exercise in the harsh New Mexico desert.
The 49th Quartermaster Group deployed from Fort Lee, VA, to McGregor Range Base Camp, Fort Bliss, TX, 26 May 1996, to provide petroleum general support (GS) to all forces. Traditionally, this combined logistics effort has been used every year for the past eight years to cement operational procedures between the services and to test new strategies against a notional enemy. The 49th Quartermaster Group provided continuous theater-level bulk petroleum support to US and coalition forces by tailoring its force structure to establish three GS bulk fuel supply points at Biggs Army Airfield (AAF), Fort Bliss; Oro Grande Base Camp, White Sands Missile Range, NM; and Roswell Industrial Air Center, NM.
Roving Sands '96 provided a realistic simulation of the 49th Quartermaster Group's mission to provide command, control, planning, liaison and supervision of petroleum supply, distribution and quality surveillance and also water purification, storage and distribution in the supported theater of operations. It also marked the historic first use of the US Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Joint Training Exercise Module (JTX Module) with fuel. The JTX Module is an element of the Inland Petroleum Distribution System (IPDS), consisting of 20 miles of six-inch pipeline, twelve 210,000-gallon collapsible Bulk Fuel Tank Assemblies (BFTAs), and accompanying pumps and auxiliary equipment. Since IPDS itself is located in the Army War Reserves, the JTX Module allows petroleum operating battalions and companies to train with the IPDS equipment during peacetime exercises.
The 240th Quartermaster Battalion, Fort Lee, VA, installed three BFTAs to supply the high demand for JP8 fuel required by the three squadrons of fighter aircraft operating from Roswell Industrial Air Center. This was the first use of BFTAs since Operation Desert Storm. The battalion previously used the sister JTX Module with great success during the joint and combined exercise Market Square '96 at Fort Story, VA. This sister module uses water as the training "fuel" for environmentally restricted areas. (See Providing the Fuel to Fight - Market Square '96 in this edition.)
The 49th Quartermaster Group established its headquarters at McGregor Range Base Camp, approximately 30 miles north of Fort Bliss. From here, the 49th Quartermaster Group commanded five petroleum battalions, four petroleum supply companies, and two petroleum truck companies in three locations covering an area of over 8,000 square miles. The 49th Quartermaster Group was responsible for accounting for all fuel drawn from the Defense Fuel Supply Points (DFSPs) at Alamogordo and Biggs AAF, stored at the bulk fuel sites, and issued to the using units. Daily reports were consolidated from the battalions and transmitted electronically each day to the 321st Materiel Management Center at the 377th Theater Army Area Command (TAACOM).
The 49th Quartermaster Group also was responsible for area petroleum quality surveillance. Each battalion used its mobile petroleum laboratory to conduct daily tests of fuel to maintain quality control. These laboratories must be certified by the Army Petroleum Center (APC) before being fully operational and deployable. During the exercise, the 402d Quartermaster Battalion's mobile laboratory was deployed from New Castle, PA, and personnel were trained and certified under the guidance of an APC inspector.
The 49th Quartermaster Group's transportation branch maintained control over all fuel transport missions, issuing movement orders and coordinating with the DFSPs for fuel deliveries. Total transportation assets included 43 fuel tankers for line haul missions and 30 refuel tankers for issue missions, including both hot and cold aircraft refueling. The truck companies logged over 63,000 miles, hauling over 1.7 million gallons of fuel over the course of the exercise without any serious accident or spill. During the exercise, several "ghost" movements were conducted, where fuel was moved from one site to another to allow the truck companies the opportunity for line haul training once all sites had achieved operational levels.
The 809th and 810th Petroleum Liaison Detachments were collocated with the 49th Quartermaster Group headquarters. These units provided liaison personnel for coordination with the battalions as well as maintaining an operational cell at the 377th TAACOM. This allowed the 49th Quartermaster Group to have personnel onsite for immediate reaction capability to any situation that may have affected mission accomplishment.
The 30th Quartermaster Battalion, Tullahoma, TN, established a GS bulk petroleum site capable of storing 50,000 gallons of JP8. The 383d Quartermaster Battalion assumed the mission after two weeks, conducting aircraft refueling with Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) tankers and completing the issue of over 40,000 gallons of fuel. The 383d Quartermaster Battalion's mobile laboratory supported this site for area quality surveillance, certifying both the bulk issue site and the HEMTT tankers. A platoon from the 360th Transportation Company conducted line haul missions from the DFSP at Biggs AAF to the bulk fuel sites at both Biggs and Oro Grande. Using 7,500-gallon tankers, the platoon moved 200,000 gallons over 3,000 miles without incident.
The 402d Quartermaster Battalion and the 372d Quartermaster Battalion, Albuquerque, NM, were located at Oro Grande, NM, next to the White Sands Missile Range. This site had the capacity to receive, store and issue up to 200,000 gallons of fuel. The battalions were responsible for the support of ground vehicles and bulk issue to supported units. They were also responsible for the establishment of a Forward Area Refuel Point (FARP) to support the aeromedical evacuation units operating during the exercise. The 185th Quartermaster Battalion, Fresno, CA, deployed a mobile laboratory to provide initial area support for quality surveillance and to assist the laboratory from the 402d Quartermaster Battalion in its certification effort. These laboratories were responsible for the quality of the fuel both at the bulk fuel site and at the FARP site.
The 281st Transportation Company supported Oro Grande with 11 tankers for line haul missions and 6 tankers to support the FARP and the ground vehicle fuel issues. With over 10,000 accident-free miles driven and over 318,000 gallons of fuel moved, the unit was highly successful in accomplishing its mission.
The 240th Quartermaster Battalion, the only active duty petroleum battalion at Roving Sands '96, set up operations at Roswell Industrial Air Center, using the FORSCOM JTX Module. This was the largest operation during the exercise, with a storage capability of over 630,000 gallons of fuel. The 109th Quartermaster Company, Fort Lee, VA, was the spearhead of this operation, setting up two separate tank farms for both the refuelers and the widebody aircraft operating out of Roswell. The 109th Quartermaster Company used 20 aircraft refueler vehicles, including Air Force and Navy R9 and R11, Army M970, and commercial tankers. The unit refueled over 500 fixed wing and 48 rotary wing sorties, providing over 1.2 million gallons of fuel throughout the exercise. They accomplished this by refueling each aircraft within a one-hour period between sorties, during which each aircraft's flight crew performed post and preflight maintenance. The battalion deployed its own mobile laboratory to provide area quality surveillance.
The 360th Transportation Company used its twenty-six 7,500-gallon tankers to supply Roswell and Stallion Base (140 miles to the west), hauling over 1.2 million gallons of fuel over 50,000 miles without serious incident.
The 240th Quartermaster Battalion took on the additional challenge of setting up and operating a Tactical Field Exchange at Roswell for all service members in the area. This was a roaring success and brought a little slice of home to those who were away from their homes for up to two months.
The overall success of Roving Sands '96 was a validation of the Total Army concept needed to provide combat service support on today's battlefield. All branches of service worked efficiently and cohesively to demonstrate the validity of joint logistics doctrine. Because of the success of Roving Sands '96, plans for an even larger Roving Sands '97 are underway.
LT Patrick Braddock, former Petroleum Officer/Laboratory Officer in Charge for the 49th Quartermaster Group at Fort Lee, Virginia, is a graduate of Frostburg State University, Maryland. His military education includes advanced individual training in Air Defense Artillery (Stinger missiles), Officer Candidate School, and the Officer Basic and Airborne Courses. He currently is Commander and S1, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 49th Special Troops Battalion at Fort Lee. His previous assignments include Executive Officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 240th Quartermaster Battalion at Fort Lee; Executive Officer and Platoon Leader, 75th Support Battalion, 194th Separate Armored Brigade, Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Stinger Gunner/Tactical Operations Center Noncommissioned Officer in Charge, Fort Riley, Kansas.
The Petroleum and Water Department, US Army Quartermaster Center and School (USAQMC&S), Fort Lee, VA, has developed a program of instruction as a follow-on course to the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course (QMOBC) in order to better train Quartermaster Corps lieutenants on petroleum and water system deployment, site selection, maintenance and redeployment. The course will use a contingency scenario that will allow students to apply their learning during practical exercises.
This course is the result of a directive from the Commanding General, USAQMC&S, and input from the Petroleum Advisory Group. The consensus was that while QMOBC gives lieutenants a good introduction to petroleum and water operations, QMOBC does not adequately prepare them to hold petroleum and water platoon leader positions. Some of the areas cited as lacking are quality surveillance in the field (Aqua-Glo and Millipore), site selection, and determining requirements for transportation of tactical systems. The course will cover quality surveillance in the field and deployment, site selection, maintenance and redeployment of petroleum and water tactical systems. The course is three weeks long, with the first class scheduled to start 6 Jan 97. Upon graduation from the course, the lieutenant will be assigned a skill identifier for assignment purposes. For further information on this course, contact CPT Norman Chung or Linda Williams at DSN 687-1344/1329 or (804) 734-1344/1329.