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Dyess earns $11.5 million funding for pipeline project

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Chris Chambers
  • 7th Logistics Readiness Squadron
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Dyess Air Force Base underground pipeline system was recently selected as Northern Command's number one project to support and has projected funding of $11.5 million.

The funding cycle is a five-year Program Objective Memorandum, which allows the Army Corps of Engineers to begin the project in Fiscal Year 2017.

Although many Team Dyess personnel aren't aware of the miles of underground pipelines, they are used daily to service base aircraft with jet fuel.

The 56-year-old labyrinth of pipeline is the responsibility of the 7th Logistics Readiness Squadron's Fuels Management Flight, and it moves more than 32 million gallons of jet fuel annually under Dyess.

In 2010 and 2011, fuels personnel noticed pressure losses in the system, which led to the discovery of two broken sections in the pipeline. While the pipes were being repaired, fuels personnel moved fuel by truck, 6,000 gallons at a time, with no mission degradation.

However, due to the heavy reliance on the underground fuel system, fuels personnel realized measures needed to be taken to preserve mission capability.

The fuels management team submitted a persuasive request to Air Combat Command for pipeline replacement. ACC further refined the report covering details such as past repair funds, man hour utilization, strategic value and environmental impact to highlight the base's need.

Through the dedicated efforts of innovative Airman at Dyess and ACC, the pipeline replacement project was reviewed by the Defense Logistics Agency-Energy and received the dedicated funding necessary to replace the aging system.