CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
The 437th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Fuels Management Flight geared up Nov. 16-18 for an opportunity to showcase their team's excellence as one of three finalists to compete for the William N. Penton Trophy and the title of best fuels operation in Air Mobility Command.
The fuels flight welcomed AMC's Penton Award selection team members: Col. Catherine DeVera, AMC individual mobilization augmentee to the chief of Logistics Readiness Division, and Chief Master Sgt. Russell Steger, AMC fuels manager.
The flight had a chance to demonstrate their talents first-hand when Colonel DeVera and Chief Steger conducted the two-day tour of their facilities. During the tour, they used a checklist containing nine major categories with 73 subcategories encompassing topics ranging from mission familiarity to general housekeeping. They also took a hard look at all fuels operations to include receiving products into storage tanks, ensuring product quality through thorough lab testing, and the maintenance of facilities, equipment and vehicles.
Capturing the William N. Penton Trophy would earn the flight a spot in the Air Force-level competition for the American Petroleum Institute Award as the representative for Air Mobility Command. The API Award is presented annually to the best fuels management flight in the Air Force. Only the three best operations compete for their respective command-level award.
With more than $210 million in sales and operating a $105 million fuels infrastructure, it is clear that these Charleston warriors are busy. Charleston's Fuels Management Flight has delivered more than 71 million gallons of fuel this year to various airframes from Air Force One and Marine One to the Air Force Thunderbirds. Additionally, they have provided first-rate support by safely and expediently executing more than 5,800 refueling servicing operations in support of nearly 1,000 transient aircraft.
Charleston's fuels team also leads one of only four Air Force-wide Forward Area Refueling Point programs. The six-member team provides fuels support during various special operations missions. This year, the FARP team accomplished their first ever AH-64 and A-10 hot refuels and logged more than 220 training hours.
"I'm confident our fuels warriors will represent Team Charleston and AMC in stellar form at the Air Force competition. Good luck team!" said Lt. Col. James Petrick, 437 LRS commander.