Fill ‘er up! Fuelers keep vehicles, aircraft on the go

LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Being an Army petroleum supply specialist, or fueler, is a bit like working at an old-time gas station.

A vehicle pulls up to the pumps, and the crew runs out to fill it up. The only difference for the Army fuelers of Company E, 310th Task Force Phoenix, is that some of the vehicles are helicopters, and they are in Afghanistan.

“Most of what we do is ground fuel for vehicles, but our priority mission is for the birds (Army helicopters),” said U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Lauilefue, a shift leader of the petroleum supply specialist team from Co. E. “We fill up Chinooks, Apaches, Kiowas, and a whole bunch of civilian birds.”

Lauilefue, from Honolulu, and his team of fellow fuelers from Fort Drum, N.Y., who run the Forward Area Refueling Point at Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam, in support of the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Task Force Ironman, are coming off a very busy week. They provided the fuel for every bird participating in Operation Bull Whip, which was the largest air assault mission conducted by the 101st Airborne Division during their year-long deployment to Afghanistan.

During Bull Whip, Co. E’s fuelers pumped more aircraft fuel than at any other time all year. They refuelled 40 helicopters in a single day.
“We pumped 10,000 gallons of aircraft fuel alone in one day during that mission,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Christian Grabowsi, the other shift leader for the petroleum supply specialist team from Co. E, and a native of Hinsdale, N.Y.

The fuelers usually pump around 4,000 gallons of fuel in a typical day.


On this day, April 9, the fuelers were having a fairly busy day. A couple Blackhawks came in for fuel, and the fuelers, hearing the helicopters in the distance grabbed their helmets, gloves and eye protection. They were waiting by the fuel points when the helicopters landed. As soon as the Soldiers got back to the shack and removed their gear, they had to put it back on, this time it was a team of Kiowas.

Another responsibility of the fuelers at the Mehtar Lam FARP is re-arming Kiowa helicopters with  missiles, rockets and ammunition, but do not handle Apaches.

The fuelers do what is known as a “hot” refuel, meaning they are refuelling the birds with the rotors turning and engines still on. They do this for speed, said Givian.

The fuelers do not know the situation behind the aircraft they are refuelling. While that helicopter may just be delivering some equipment from one base to another, it could also be en route to a medical evacuation or a situation with troops in contact and need to get there.

This means that time is of the essence, so the goal is to get the helicopters refuelled as quickly as possible while still being safe, said U.S. Army Sgt. Rockieve Givian, the fuel team’s non-commissioned officer-in-charge from Atlanta, Ga.
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Doing this successfully is how the fuelers are able to make an impact on the battlefield, the fuelers said.

“We know that we’re a support element, but at the same time we know when birds are coming in hot that we need to get them loaded, get them moved and get them back in the fight,” said Grabowski. ”Time on ground is time lost for an infantry unit who may need them.”