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News | Aug. 29, 2018

DLA Pacific commander sees DLA Energy capability firsthand in Okinawa

By Army Col. Brent Coryell, DLA Korea

The commander of Defense Logistics Agency Pacific recently gained a firsthand appreciation of DLA Energy’s fuel-distribution capabilities to U.S. military bases in Japan, during an Aug. 27 visit.

 

Navy Capt. Kristin Acquavella was hosted by DLA Energy Okinawa Commander Air Force Maj. Jarrett Weiblen during her visit to Tengan Ocean Terminal Support Facility at Camp Courtney, on Okinawa. 

 

Acquavella’s visit included a tour of the single-point mooring, known as a monobuoy, which is anchored to the sea floor and used to offload fuel. “The [single-point mooring] and the [taut-leg mooring] systems are great examples of the unique capabilities the DLA Energy Team in Okinawa maintain and operate to deliver first-class service to our warfighters in the Pacific,” Acquavella said.

 

The monobuoy is used to transfer fuel from a tanker ship to a staging facility, such as a tank farm on land, and allows tanker ships to discharge fuel without berthing at a pier. This system is DLA Energy Okinawa’s primary means of receiving military-grade jet fuel. DLA and Military Sealift Command coordinate delivery from the tankers, which discharge the jet fuel at the Ocean Terminal Facility into bulk storage. From there the fuel is distributed via pipeline to Kadena Air Base and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.  

 

DLA Energy Okinawa is the only DLA organization with this type of operational mission. The system, roughly 1 mile from Camp Courtney in the Kim Bay, capable of offloading a T5 tanker, with capacity of 10 million gallons, over a 28-hour period.