JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. – –
The 733rd Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels the fight
at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, with approximately 19 million gallons of fuel it
receives a year via barge.
To improve the fuel flow, an infrastructure upgrade
began in the first quarter of 2018 with the construction of a new fuels pier; with
the aim of completing a more enhanced, weather resistant and safer capability
to the JBLE mission by the first quarter of 2019.
“The new pier will increase the tools for our Airmen,
building our mission effectiveness here at JBLE, and it is well worth the
wait,” said Senior Master Sgt. Justin Oakley, 733rd LRS fuels superintendent.
According to Master Sgt. Robert Basye, 733rd LRS
section chief of fuels operations, the pier is vital to JBLE. While it is
possible to transport fuel via tank trucks, it is far more cost and time effective
to receive fuel by barge as one barge shipment is equivalent to about 95 tank
truck shipments.
“If it takes 95 tank trucks to equate to one barge,
think about the amount of work that is,” said Basye. “If we could offload 20
trucks a day, that’s five days of work to get the equivalent of one barge, which
we can do in about eight hours.”
According to Oakley, the aging
pier needed to be replaced because it lacked the capabilities needed to meet new
unified facilities criteria and continue taking on gale force winds, and waves
caused by major weather events. Made of sturdier materials, the new pier
will be built to not only sustain hurricane conditions, but it will also
support more weight.
“We want to take proactive measures to make sure that
if we do get hit by a storm that we minimize the environmental impact,” said Oakley
“That concrete foundation is going to be able to hold up against the weather a
lot better than wood.”
The pier will also include first responder
access points including a road, approximately 36 feet-wide, and a boat ramp to
give first responders easier access to the surrounding waters of JBLE.