Deployed Saber Airman passes refueling milestone pumping 1,625,431 gallons of JP8
1 Sept 2006 --
SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Historical records are often used to measure a person's success in any given field. These benchmarks often become the goals for those who seek to obtain elite status by being known as the best in their chosen profession.
One record that is probably not listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, but is important to the success of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing's mission is the individual aerospace expeditionary force rotation aircraft refueling record.
Airman 1st Class Robert Sawyer, a fuels specialist assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's Fuels Flight, broke the individual AEF rotation refueling record Aug. 18, when he uploaded his 1,625,431st gallon of JP8 fuel during his tour at a forward deployed air base here. He also holds the squadron's single day individual pumping record of 49,487 gallons.
Airman Sawyer also has the distinction of being the first person in his flight to reach the million-gallon mark, which occurred during a rare F-16 refueling from his home station of Spangdahlem Air Base.
The 25 Airmen who form the 386th ELRS fuels flight are responsible for the safe uploading of fuel to the wing's C-130s, coalition aircraft, the local Army C-12 detachment and all transient aircraft. For a flightline that averages more than 75 aircraft visits a day, keeping them all refueled and on schedule is no easy task.
A fact that makes Airman Sawyer's feat more unique is that he broke the standing four-month record in slightly more than three months. In addition, because the fuels team is supporting a surge in the amount of flights due to a rotation of Army and Air Force units in the theatre of operations, Airman Sawyer may pass the two-million-gallon mark before his rotation ends in mid-September.
To put Airman Sawyer's record into perspective, a C-130, his most common customer, requires an average of 2,500 gallons of fuel to top off while a C-17, the largest aircraft he refuels, takes about 12,000 gallons. So far, he has refueled nearly 600 aircraft.
Airman Sawyer said he is a very competitive person, but that he originally set his goals for his deployment for personal reasons.
"Everyone's goal here is to break one million (gallons). I didn't think I'd be the first ... and I didn't think I'd break the (overall) record," he said. "Now that I broke the rotation record, I want to put it so far out of reach that nobody else can break it. "
Master Sgt. Stacy Baker, 386th ELRS Fuels Flight superintendent, has seen his team move more fuel here than he has seen in his seven previous deployments. He said that Airman's Sawyer drive to accomplish the mission was representative of the entire flight.
"Airman Sawyer's stats reflect a great accomplishment," Sergeant Baker said. "He has always been the type of troop, no matter what the conditions, who is at the (dispatcher's) window, ready to go."
Airman Sawyer said, he also has set his sights on another goal -- helping his flight break, the flight AEF rotation refueling record. The fuels current record is just less than 16.3 million gallons. The flight has less than a month to pump 3.3 million gallons to catch that mark.
Regardless of his and his flight's achievements over the past few months, Airman Sawyer said that he has enjoyed being a part of a team with a significant impact to the wing's mission.
"I like the deployed environment better because every aircraft we refuel here is flying a combat mission," he said. "You can see the results of what we all do. It's nice to know that without us, the 'boots on the ground' mission can't be done. "
One record that is probably not listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, but is important to the success of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing's mission is the individual aerospace expeditionary force rotation aircraft refueling record.
Airman 1st Class Robert Sawyer, a fuels specialist assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's Fuels Flight, broke the individual AEF rotation refueling record Aug. 18, when he uploaded his 1,625,431st gallon of JP8 fuel during his tour at a forward deployed air base here. He also holds the squadron's single day individual pumping record of 49,487 gallons.
Airman Sawyer also has the distinction of being the first person in his flight to reach the million-gallon mark, which occurred during a rare F-16 refueling from his home station of Spangdahlem Air Base.
The 25 Airmen who form the 386th ELRS fuels flight are responsible for the safe uploading of fuel to the wing's C-130s, coalition aircraft, the local Army C-12 detachment and all transient aircraft. For a flightline that averages more than 75 aircraft visits a day, keeping them all refueled and on schedule is no easy task.
A fact that makes Airman Sawyer's feat more unique is that he broke the standing four-month record in slightly more than three months. In addition, because the fuels team is supporting a surge in the amount of flights due to a rotation of Army and Air Force units in the theatre of operations, Airman Sawyer may pass the two-million-gallon mark before his rotation ends in mid-September.
To put Airman Sawyer's record into perspective, a C-130, his most common customer, requires an average of 2,500 gallons of fuel to top off while a C-17, the largest aircraft he refuels, takes about 12,000 gallons. So far, he has refueled nearly 600 aircraft.
Airman Sawyer said he is a very competitive person, but that he originally set his goals for his deployment for personal reasons.
"Everyone's goal here is to break one million (gallons). I didn't think I'd be the first ... and I didn't think I'd break the (overall) record," he said. "Now that I broke the rotation record, I want to put it so far out of reach that nobody else can break it. "
Master Sgt. Stacy Baker, 386th ELRS Fuels Flight superintendent, has seen his team move more fuel here than he has seen in his seven previous deployments. He said that Airman's Sawyer drive to accomplish the mission was representative of the entire flight.
"Airman Sawyer's stats reflect a great accomplishment," Sergeant Baker said. "He has always been the type of troop, no matter what the conditions, who is at the (dispatcher's) window, ready to go."
Airman Sawyer said, he also has set his sights on another goal -- helping his flight break, the flight AEF rotation refueling record. The fuels current record is just less than 16.3 million gallons. The flight has less than a month to pump 3.3 million gallons to catch that mark.
Regardless of his and his flight's achievements over the past few months, Airman Sawyer said that he has enjoyed being a part of a team with a significant impact to the wing's mission.
"I like the deployed environment better because every aircraft we refuel here is flying a combat mission," he said. "You can see the results of what we all do. It's nice to know that without us, the 'boots on the ground' mission can't be done. "
