Clean Fuel, Ready Jets: Air National Guard Logistics Squadron Keeps Operations Moving

Oct. 14, 2026 | By Air Force Senior Airman Juan Broyles, 162nd Wing |

Sustaining the high-tempo flying operations of the Air National Guard's 162nd Wing is a complex logistical science. Long before F-16 Fighting Falcon wheels leave the tarmac, airmen assigned to the 162nd Logistics Readiness Squadron are working around the clock, managing fuel distribution, chemical purity and supply logistics to ensure exceptional engine performance during flight.

"What we do as a [petroleum, oils and lubricants] flight is supply clean, dry and serviceable fuel throughout the wing," said Air Force Master Sgt. Travis Iverson, squadron fuels superintendent.

Beyond driving the green trucks on the flight line, the unit ensures fuel quality through laboratory analysis and filtration during transit and delivery. Testing verifies that fuel is free of water, sediment and chemical contaminants to ensure proper engine combustion and prevent mechanical failure.

"When we say 'dry,' we mean there's no water, no sediment, no chemicals or anything that doesn't need to be in there," said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Aaron Beeman, squadron fuels technician. "For the plane's fuel to go through the engine, to mix with the air itself and burn and produce the thrust that they need, it needs to be clean."

In addition to jet fuel for the wing's F-16 pilot training mission, the flight handles liquid oxygen for pilot breathing systems needed during high-altitude sorties. The flight also supplies gasoline for a vast fleet of aerospace ground equipment, including security forces vehicles, fire trucks and civil engineering machinery.

The team coordinates fuel shipments and maintains reserves while tracking inventory and spending. 

"We make sure all the transactions for the jets and all the gallon numbers are correct," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Justin Butler, squadron fuels accountant. "We manage high-volume, multimillion-dollar jet fuel sales on a monthly basis."

The team's reach extends beyond internal wing support. They provide fuel testing services to Army aviation units and select Marine Corps components, while strictly adhering to environmental compliance guidelines for all fuel handling and storage procedures.

"Everyone just sees big green trucks out on the flight line and putting gas on the jets," Iverson said. "However, there's a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff we do, such as inventory management, all the lab and testing of the fuel that we do and also the accounting side."

Wherever fuel is needed, the flight meets the demand with airmen ready to ensure mission objectives keep moving forward.

Ultimately, this comprehensive approach to chemical purity and supply logistics keeps the Air National Guard's premiere F-16 fighter pilot training unit fueled up and ready to fly.

Lightning Academy Bolsters Army Fast Rope Training

Oct. 14, 2026 | By Army Sgt. Duke Edwards, 25th Infantry Division |

Air sweeps across the Schofield Barracks training area in Hawaii from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter hovering in place, from which Army Capt. Liam Davenport leverages the past three days of progressive training, sending soldiers down two fast ropes to the ground during the culminating event of the Fast Rope Insertion/Extraction System Master Course.

The course, conducted Oct. 5-7, supports the 25th Infantry Division's dedicated effort to increase the number of qualified system masters throughout the formation. Expanding their expertise provides units with personnel capable of safely controlling fast-rope operations, giving commanders another option to rapidly insert and maneuver soldiers and equipment across restrictive terrain in the Pacific region.

Dense jungles, water obstacles and limited helicopter landing zones can restrict how forces move.

"In the Pacific, getting to the objective can be as challenging as the mission itself," said Army Staff Sgt. Eljay Basug, a course senior instructor assigned to Lightning Academy, 25th Infantry Division.

The fast-rope system provides an alternative when those conditions prevent an aircraft from landing, allowing units to rapidly insert personnel closer to an objective and lower equipment into otherwise difficult-to-access areas.

The three-day course develops that expertise through progressive instruction. Students begin with classroom training covering their duties and responsibilities, operational procedures, equipment and knots before conducting introductory descents from a low platform. 

The course advances to a 40-foot tower, conducting day and night training iterations, mass exits and descents with equipment before transitioning to live aircraft operations. The progression allows students to build confidence and demonstrate the fundamentals at increasing heights before applying them from an aircraft.

"With [fast rope insertion/extraction], it allows units to bypass those obstacles and insert closer to the objective," Basug said. "It gives unit commanders a greater reach, greater flexibility [and] greater speed to accomplish the mission."

Expanding that capability requires more than increasing the number of soldiers who can descend a fast rope. While a basic roper has the individual skills to descend, a master provides the expertise needed to enable the operation. These masters inspect personnel and equipment, enforce safety standards and control the insertion.

Davenport, the air assault, rappel master and fast rope insertion/extraction system officer in charge assigned to Lightning Academy, 25th Infantry Division, said those responsibilities distinguish a master from a basic roper.

"The FRIES master is the one in the aircraft," he said. "He's on the comms with the pilot in command and the crew chiefs, verifying that they're over the target grid, verifying the calls [and] making sure that the ropers are good to go."

Unlike rappelling, which is taught during air assault training, fast ropers are not physically attached to the rope during their descent. Once on the ground, they can quickly clear the insertion point and transition to their follow-on mission.

"With fast roping specifically, it's getting in and out of objectives," Davenport said. "Whether that be a target building, open field, or even a ship."

Bolstering qualified FRIES masters across the division aims to push that expertise closer to the formations that may need it. Davenport said a future goal is for organizations throughout the 25th Infantry Division to have qualified masters capable of supporting fast rope training within their own formations.

Developing that expertise at the unit level increases the division's capacity to maintain and employ the capability beyond the schoolhouse, giving commanders additional options for moving forces based on the mission and terrain.

For the 25th Infantry Division, increasing the number of masters builds the personnel and expertise required to employ fast-rope operations across the formation. Distributing that expertise gives commanders greater flexibility to maneuver soldiers and equipment, overcome restrictive terrain and reach objectives throughout the Pacific.