Fueling readiness: Muleskinner petroleum specialists receive new equipment

FORT DRUM, N.Y – Whether for a generator, vehicle, or aircraft, fuel is needed to help accomplish the mission.

The petroleum supply specialists of Alpha Company, 548th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 10th Mountain Division Sustainment Brigade, don’t take this duty lightly. On February 6th, they received new equipment to enhance their capabilities.

“The [pump rack module] is a piece of equipment that we are incorporating into our operations of fuel to work hand-in-hand with the [tank rack module]’s that we already have,” said Sgt. Dominic Osei-Asibey, a petroleum specialist assigned to A Co., 548th DSSB.

The PRM consists of a 600-gallons-per-minute pump and integrated filtration system that can help establish a retail fuel distribution point. The TRM contains a pump, filtration, and water separator system, and meter to provide fuel for retail.

According to Chief Warrant Officer 2 Damien Drake, the petroleum systems technician for A Co., 548th DSSB, by gaining this pump, the fuel team will be able to go from a fuel system supply point to a modular fuel system.

“A FSSP is normally used to store and distribute bulk fuel to units under tactical conditions such deployments or large-scale field training exercises,” explained Drake.

But more importantly, according to Drake, the pump allows the fuel team to be expeditionary.

“As a FSSP, we are normally stationary because our TRMs are being powered by vehicles,” said Drake. “But the pump gives us the ability to mobilize while giving us the same capabilities as an FSSP.”

Aside from gaining mobilization, the petroleum specialist of A Co., are excited about the opportunity to share their knowledge with others.

“As NCOs, it is our job to train, so we are excited to share and spread the knowledge of this new equipment with the rest of the Soldiers in our section,” said Osei-Asibey.

This training was also an opportunity for Drake to help younger soldiers understand the “why” behind the training.

“I wanted to make sure these young NCO's understood why this equipment is so important not just for us as petroleum specialists but for the brigade, the division, and the Army,” said Drake. “Soldiers need a sense of purpose to take pride in their work, and I wanted to make sure they knew why we were doing this and why it was so important.”