371st Sus. Bde. soldiers manage fuel needs throughout Kuwait

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Kimberly Hill | Staff Sgt. Jack Colston, a Chilo, Ohio native and the reports sergeant with the 371st Sustainment Brigade, inspects equipment at the Tactical Petroleum Terminal (TPT) on Jan. 7, 2014 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. Colston is responsible for daily preventative maintenance checks and services daily at the fuel farm, which supplies fuel to all military installations throughout Kuwait.  

CAMP BUEHRING, KUWAIT

01.17.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Kimberly Hill 

371st Sustainment Brigade

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait - Soldiers with the 371st Sustainment Brigade, based out of Springfield, Ohio, are supervising the Tactical Petroleum Terminal (TPT) at Camp Buehring, Kuwait which supplies fuel needs for all of Kuwait since the unit’s deployment began in June of 2013.

The five soldiers with the 371st Sus. Bde. Are responsible for daily inspections, accountability of the fuel on the TPT, analyzing data to forecast fuel requirements throughout military installations in Kuwait and investigating fuel loss or gain, said Sgt. 1st Class Reginald Sharpe, a Chardon, Ohio native and the tactical petroleum terminal responsible officer for the 371st Sus. Bde.

“As the reports sergeant, I handle daily inspections at the TPT, a challenge at first, since I have five different job titles and none are fuel,” said Staff Sgt. Jack Colston, a Chilo, Ohio native.
“While a water treatment specialist uses a lot of the same equipment, there are a lot of different requirements, regulations and reports.”

Although the daily inspections of the TPT and constant monitoring of the fuel is challenging with only five soldiers, Sharpe believes the hardest part of his job is predicting fuel needs throughout military installations throughout Kuwait, he said.

“It can be incredibly difficult, but I have access to tons of data that I can analyze and use to make the right assessment of a particular groups’ fuel needs,” said Sharpe.

The work for the five soldiers has increased since August of 2013, when the Truck Fill Stand located near Camp Arifjan, Kuwait closed, leaving the TPT at Camp Buehring as the only supplier of fuel to military installations throughout Kuwait, said Sharpe.

Despite the high demands of supervising the TPT, Sharpe is proud of his work at Camp Buehring and believes his job is integral in supporting our mission in Kuwait.

“It’s an important job, all the power in theater comes from generators that run on fuel,” he said. “If there is no fuel or too little fuel, generators will stop working, hence no power on any installation.”

• Date Taken: 01.17.2014
• Date Posted: 01.18.2014 07:50
• Story ID: 119343
• Location: CAMP BUEHRING, KW