DLA Energy to assume new mission on Okinawa

Courtesy Photo | A tanker offloads fuel at a single-point mooring off the coast of Okinawa. Defense Logistics Agency Energy will be assuming responsibility for U.S. fuel operations on Okinawa managed by the 505th Quartermaster Battalion.  

FORT BELVOIR, VA, UNITED STATES

11.08.2010

Courtesy Story

Defense Logistics Agency   

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- Defense Logistics Agency Energy’s mission to provide quality support to its customers is due to grow with the agreement to assume the mission of the 505th Quartermaster Battalion on Okinawa, Japan, by March 2013.

The 505th Quartermaster Battalion is responsible for providing bulk petroleum services for all U.S. military services and Department of Defense agencies on Okinawa.

“This transfer of mission is groundbreaking,” said DLA Energy Japan Commander Air Force Lt. Col. Carmen Goyette. She highlighted the unique conditions surrounding the mission transfer, including the transition of a large number of personnel to DLA Energy management and the operation functioning as a government-owned and government-operated defense fuel support point.

Around 100 employees are host nation personnel funded by Japan through a master labor contract, DLA Energy DFSP Management Deputy Director Keith Stedman said. These employees, along with assigned Department of the Army civilian workers, will transition to DLA Energy management as part of the transfer, while the U.S. Army military personnel will be reassigned to other missions. The transfer of the existing master labor contract and Army civilian personnel will provide the needed continuity to ensure continued support to the Okinawa customers, officials said.

“Our assumption of this mission will allow the Army to reassign the [more than] 60 military billets to other missions,” Goyette said. “That is what drove the Army's decision to deactivate the 505th Quartermaster Battalion and request that DLA Energy assume the mission”

DLA Energy conducted an economic analysis to determine the best course of action for continued petroleum, oil and lubricant support on Okinawa.

"This new mission is precedent-setting for DLA Energy, as it will be the first defense fuel support point operated by DLA civil servants under the operational control of DLA Energy,” Goyette said. “Previously, we have contracted for the operation of defense fuel support points but have never actually had DLA employees turn valves, energize pumps or gauge tanks.”

“This will be a different sort of transition, simply because this will be a government-owned, government-operated DLA Energy support point,” Stedman said. “A lot of the forward planning will take place out of DLA Energy Pacific.

“We accepted the mission because it’s in the best interest of the government, since it makes economic sense,” he explained. “This is just an expansion of the DLA Energy mission.”

“Based on DLA precedence and our executive agent role, we feel this mission transfer is consistent with our mission to provide the Department of Defense and other government agencies with comprehensive energy solutions in the most effective and efficient manner possible,” Goyette said in a similar statement. “We anticipate no great affect to our current operations, as DLA Energy Japan already works with the 505th Quartermaster Battalion as a government-owned, government-operated defense fuel support point.”

Regular site visits and monthly teleconferences are scheduled to continue through to DLA Energy’s assumption of the mission in March 2013 and the battalion deactivation in September 2013. To start off these routine visits, the 505th Quartermaster Battalion welcomed DLA Energy Headquarters and Pacific leaders for a visit and a Joint Fuels Conference Oct. 12. A memorandum of agreement is being drafted between DLA Energy and the Army to determine the specifics of the mission transfer.

“Ultimately, we believe we will be able to take advantage of the natural fit with the other defense fuel support points on Okinawa to provide the most effective and efficient energy support to all of our customers on the island,” Goyette said.

• Date Taken: 11.08.2010
• Date Posted: 11.08.2010 09:40
• Story ID: 59659
• Location: FORT BELVOIR, VA, US