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McGuire contributes to fuel, energy savings

  • Published
  • By Airman Rebekah Phy
  • 305th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MCGUIRE AIR FORCE BASE --  Members from Air Mobility Command, the Pentagon and United Airlines visited McGuire Wednesday to discuss how to implement aviation fuels saving initiatives identified by the Pentagon. 

As one of two bases selected for the energy initiatives pilot test program, the visitors, along with members from the different flying squadrons here, brainstormed ways to implement the initiatives brought from the Pentagon and came up with new ideas not mentioned by the Pentagon. 

"This meeting was formed to identify ways to save aviation fuels," said Lt. Col. Geoff Norton, 6th Airlift Squadron director of operations. "Several initiatives were identified by the Pentagon and we were discussing the best ways to implement those. We also had folks from different flying squadrons represented to brainstorm new ideas to take back to the Pentagon." 

The aviation fuels saving initiatives were being focused toward the Air Force's five "gas hogs": the C-5, C-17, C-130, KC-10 and KC-135. However, while at McGuire, focus was mainly on the C-17 and KC-10. 

At the meeting, the group branched off into three smaller sections. Each section was assigned a different initiative to discuss. 

Section one, led by Lt. Col. Donald Atkinson, 605th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron commander, discussed weight reduction of the KC-10 and C-17. 

Section two, led by Capt. Jim Barnes, United Airlines pilot, discussed moving the training flights to the aircraft simulator. 

Section three, led by Colonel Norton, discussed fuel accountability for the KC-10 and C-17. 

Several more meetings are scheduled for this group. In the end, they will gather all thoughts and ideas about how to implement the initiatives at McGuire and put them to use. Any new ideas for aviation fuels saving initiatives will be brought to the Pentagon for further consideration. 

The Air Force is the largest consumer of fuel in the DoD. Aviation accounts for the majority of this consumption. Aviation fuel use is 82 percent of the Air Force's annual consumption, with aviation mobility making up 42 percent.