No spill on Tinian: Marines
Marines: No fuel spill
By Alexie Villegas Zotomayor
avz@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
EMPLOYING the newest technologies on Tinian during their Forager Fury exercise last month, the Marine Aircraft Group-12 Marines managed to conduct refueling with no spill.
In an earlier interview with Variety, Marine Wing Support Squadron-171 Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Howard Eyth III said, “We haven’t encountered a spill, not even the small ones, since we have been here.”
He said, “We have some of the newest technologies in terms of expeditionary berms to contain and isolate any potential spill no matter how remote that possibility truly is.”
He assured that they are fully prepared to respond to quickly counter any such possibility.
For Eyth, the Marines constantly try “to be good neighbors and responsible stewards of the land that we have been granted temporary use of for the conduct of the exercise.”
He added, “We pay particular close attention to the fuel that we bring and any hazardous material that is needed for the support of our operations.”
During the successful conduct of their Forager Fury exercise last month, the Marines refueled about 27 aircraft, according to bulk fuel specialist Staff Sergeant Colter Plumhoff.
He said, “We issued about 87,000 gallons of fuel and refueled two aircraft at a time.”
Asked how long it takes to refuel an FA-18D Hornet, Plumhoff said it takes about 20 minutes to refuel it.
As for MH-60 helicopters, it takes about 8-10 minutes.
Meanwhile, Embarkations Chief SSgt. Daniel Heavner had recorded 47 aircraft arrivals and departures.
Meanwhile, looking back to the successful completion of their Forager Fury exercise, Forager Fury 2012 public affairs officer
2nd Lt. Clayton Groover said, “Forager Fury was one of the most enjoyable exercises that I've been on. This was the first exercises that I've done with MWSS-171 and MAG-12 and I was blown away by how hard they train and how efficient they are at their jobs. Conducting training somewhere other than your home station can present a challenge simply because it's a new place and you're away from the comfort of your own office or shop. The Marines with MAG-12 made the transition seamless and with a high amount of professionalism."
He added, “MAG-12 and MWSS-171 seem to set or break records every time they come here. Geiger Fury it was a KC-130J landing on North Field for the first time and 10 arrested landings within an hour. This exercise it was the Boeing 747 and MV-22B Osprey landing on West Field and 13 arrestments within an hour. These Marines have a lot to be proud of."
Groover also extended his appreciation to the Tinian leadership and to the people of Tinian. “The people of Tinian were what made this exercise so enjoyable for me. Everyone was so nice and helpful. I'd like to thank everyone on Tinian that made this exercise possible. They were such a good host."
The Marines are planning to hold another expeditionary exercise on Tinian this year.
In an earlier interview with MAG-12 executive officer Lt. Col. Thomas Frederick, he confirmed that they are in the planning stages of the next exercise which they may conduct on Tinian sometime in May.
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