FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
French and U.S. military ‘fuelers’ shared expertise during a fuel officer exchange between the French Le Service des Essences des Armées and Defense Logistics Agency Energy.
SEA officer Major Mathieu Picquenard and DLA Energy Europe & Africa liaison officer Air Force Capt. Jonathan Wood recently traded places for a closer look at each service’s operations.
“We mirror what DLA Energy does,” Picquenard said. “We perform the strategic level and technical level fuel, lubricant and petroleum services for French military units and emergency services organizations.”
SEA is the French Ministry of Defense equivalent to DLA Energy. SEA provides fuel support for the French Armed Forces, to include fuel, additives and lubricants as well as storage and delivery of products.
DLA Energy Europe & Africa and SEA have exchanged military officers since 2013 to share experiences, best practices and learn from one another.
The exchange, coordinated through U.S. Europe Command operations as part of their engagement/work program with the French military, is in concert with EUCOM strategic objectives of building NATO capacities. Both organizations draft a joint training itinerary for each officer.
“We host one French officer for two weeks each year, and in turn the French host two of our captains at SEA in France,” said DLA Energy Europe & Africa Chief of Operations Army Lt. Col. Travis Hoffman. “This annual officer exchange helps grow the partnership and relationships with our allied partners.”
Hoffman said DLA Energy uses this program to expand and enhance the working relationship with SEA and to identify potential areas of mutual support in Africa, Eastern Europe and other global areas where SEA and U.S Department of Defense operate together.
Picquenard started his exchange program Feb. 28 at DLA Energy Europe & Africa in Germany touring the Central European Pipeline operations center and Ramstein Air Base’s bulk fuels and logistics facilities. He met with DLA Energy liaison officers at each stop to familiarize himself with U.S. points of contact.
Afterwards, Picquenard traveled to DLA headquarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, March 8 where he met with the DLA Energy Commander Air Force Brig. Gen. Martin Chapin and received briefings from several directorate leaders. Picquenard learned about the Fuel Card Programs, International Fuel Agreements and toured the Petroleum and Water Department at Fort Lee’s Quartermaster School. He also received a demonstration of the Enterprise Business System, the online database allowing both customers and vendors to access DLA’s portfolio of business systems and processes.
“We are developing a new information system, and I was surprised to learn that DLA developed the system we wish to have,” Picquenard said. “EBS has a lot of the functionality we plan to incorporate into our system.”
The
Fuel Card Program, particularly the
AIR Card system, caught his attention.
“We don’t have anything like that,” he said. “We use company fuel cards, but perhaps now that I’ve seen how it works we could develop a similar system.”
When he returns to Paris after his tour, Picquenard will brief his leaders, fellow war college students and faculty on what he learned and highlight ways he thinks DLA Energy and the SEA can further collaborate.
“The idea is to stress how DLA Energy and SEA can work together more in the future,” Picquenard said. “I think both organizations can benefit more from these exchanges.”
While Picquenard was gleaning knowledge from his DLA counterparts, Wood spent a week learning how SEA operates. He integrated into SEA staff, participated in numerous briefings, and visited several bulk fuel facilities and installations while in France.
“The trip was an incredible experience,” Wood said. “To see how the SEA operates from the strategic level down to the tactical level was eye-opening.”
Wood visited the Delpia Fuel Depot in Saint Dizier, Base pétrolière interarmées armée française (schoolhouse at Joint Fuel Base) in Chalon-sur-Saône, and Marine fuel depot in Toulon where he saw France’s aircrafts and ships.
“The officer exchange program is a worthwhile venture for the invaluable relationships it fosters,” Wood said. “By continuing to expand our understanding of how the SEA operates, both in garrison and worldwide, we will increase our interoperability in support of future operations.”