JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- The petroleum, oil and lubricants team from the 673d Logistics Readiness Squadron partnered with a local digital media company; the POL school at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas; and POL personnel at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico, to develop the JBER Fuels Trainer, a virtual-reality program that bridges a training gap for the fuels career field.
According to U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jordan Laughlin, fuels distribution section chief, the program's goal is to digitize the entire career field into a singular digital training environment that allows any warfighter to train in a risk-free environment.
This training aid allows POL members to directly hone skills on the Fuels Operational Readiness Capability Equipment, a contingency fuel storage and distribution system. It simulates deployed scenarios and has virtual replicas of all the equipment used in the career field.
“This trainer is imperative to locations that operate in austere environments,” said Laughlin. “These specialized pieces of equipment are designed for contingency operations and would be the primary means of storing, issuing, and receiving fuel in a wartime scenario.”
Currently, the equipment is only available for students who take the Special Experience Identifier course at the POL school. In order to be prepared for deployment locations, service members need to have more hands-on experience with the equipment, and the JBER Fuels Trainer does just that.
“There are Airmen who have not seen the equipment once,” said Senior Airman Aaron Keys, Fuels Service Center accountant. “This is such a force multiplier. This equipment is going to be vital to these chain island operations.”
The training environments of JBER are often affected by the weather conditions during the winter months, but with this program, fuels specialists will be able to continue their duties.
“We have a small window of training opportunity due to the arctic environment,” said Senior Master Sgt. Fredrick Sarten, Fuels Management flight superintendent. “This program allows us to train all year long regardless of weather, exercise schedule, or anything else that could prevent training.”
The team started working on the first module of the trainer about a year ago, which consisted mainly of the fuel trucks. This second module is more advanced and involves more expeditionary equipment. They are currently working on a third module and plan to have five in total.
“Our VR simulator is a game-changer. All the equipment, every scenario, is right at your fingertips,” said Keys. “It’s not just training; it’s a revolution in preparedness. We’ll be ready for anything, anywhere.”