FORT BELVOIR, Va. –
Defense Logistics Agency Energy Americas, U.S. Army Reservists and the United Kingdom’s Royal Logistics Corps participated in the Quartermaster Liquid Logistics Exercise at Fort Barfoot, Virginia, June 1-13.
With nearly 85% of the Army’s bulk petroleum units in the Army Reserve, the annual QLLEX exercise is dedicated to training bulk petroleum and water units for their wartime missions in support of large-scale combat operations.
This year, the 475th Quartermaster Group hosted the exercise – a multicomponent operation designed to train Reserve units to perform real-world operations at the tactical and operational levels. QLLEX serves as one of the Army’s largest logistics field training exercises involving over 4,000 Army Reserve logisticians. This year, the exercise also included active-duty Air Force and Air National Guard fuels personnel.
“QLLEX is an important exercise for DLA Energy Americas as it provides the Army Reserve community an opportunity to execute bulk petroleum distribution from commercial and DOD Defense Fuel Support Points to military storage terminals,” said DLA Energy Americas Commander Army Col. Josielyn Carrasquillo. “This exercise enhances interoperability, unity of effort, and collaboration from point of origin to end of users.”
What made this year’s exercise unique was the fact that the United Kingdom’s Royal Logistics Corps participated. Their petroleum and engineering units deployed to Fort Barfoot and established a tactical Fuel Supply System Point. U.S. Army trucks loaded fuel from a DOD facility and delivered it to the UK’s FSSP.
“Being able to integrate a NATO ally and demonstrate interoperability was a critical objective for this exercise, and the lessons learned will help improve communication and readiness while ensuring our ability to work cohesively with our allies.” said DLA Energy Americas Operations Officer and Lead Exercise Planner Adam Minnich.
For Minnich, the range of personnel participation and the simultaneous execution of the exercise across five locations further displays DLA Energy Americas’ commitment to partnership for an enhanced training experience for logisticians. "Aside from Fort Barfoot, Army units at Fort Riley, Kansas; Camp Pendleton, California; Fort Dix, New Jersey; and Fort Liberty, North Carolina, participated in the exercise. Air Force and Army National Guard reserve units at the Lincoln Army National Guard base in Nebraska also supported the U.S. Strategic Command Global Storm exercise, Minnich said.”
For Carrasquillo, personnel will walk away from the exercise with a better understanding of our DLA Energy supply chain network. “This is another example where DLA Energy Americas exemplifies the ‘One Team, One Fight, One Family’ motto,” she added.
Over the past 12 months, five Army Reserve battalions worked together with DLA Energy Americas team to effectively plan and execute the exercise, which delivered more than 2.5 million gallons of jet fuel to 17 DOD installations across the nation and involved over 430 tank truck missions spanning an eight-day delivery window.
Tim Hutson, an operations officer for DLA Energy Americas West, has supported QLLEX over the past several years. “QLLEX is a critical exercise for preparing the Reserve force for both overseas deployments and Homeland Defense Support of Civil Authorities,” he said.
DLA Energy Americas East Operations Officer Army Maj. Tim Truong describes how multiple parties benefit from the exercise.
"This exercise not only provides valuable training for the Army Reserve but also for our customers who test their alternate receipt capabilities, adding resilience to the supply chain and strengthening DLA's support to the warfighter," he said.
The exercise is a large team effort that also includes members of the Joint Reserve Force to augment DLA Energy Americas exercise operations, as well as supply planners and Quality Assurance Representatives. DLA Energy Americas QARs inspected 169 Army Reserve fuel tank trucks to ensure standards are met prior to transporting capitalized fuel. The QARs observe loading operations at fueling points to ensure proper terminal procedures were followed and they validate mobile Army fuel testing labs for testing of the fuel.
“Their collective oversight of truck filling operations ensured Soldiers adhered to terminal operation loading and safety procedures, further emphasizing their collaborative efforts,” said DLA Energy Americas East Army Capt. Pamela Arreaza.
The 2024 QLLEX delivered more fuel than the past three annual exercises which is a testament to the collaborative efforts between Army Reserve and DLA Energy Americas. Future exercises will focus on the growing emphasis of incorporating other NATO allies and strategic capabilities needed to support future conflicts and the warfighters’ global missions, Minnich said.