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Fuels NCO shadowed by commander

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Sergio A. Gamboa
  • 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 325th Fighter Wing commander gained front-line experience from a 325th Logistics Readiness Squadron Airman here Aug. 7.

Staff Sgt. Christian Kafel, 325th LRS fuels distribution supervisor, had the opportunity to highlight his career field and show Col. Derek C. France some of his units daily operations.

"I felt fortunate to be given the responsibility of informing the wing commander about our job and flight," said Kafel. "I enjoy speaking about fuels and have enjoyed my experience thus far in the field."

Kafel oversees the annual training of flight personnel, provides safety and environmental briefings and supports aircraft and ground fuel requests for 103 assigned assets, to include maintenance equipment and organizational support tanks. An important part of his job is to always look for ways to improve efficiency.

"I tailored the briefing to be thorough and specific to Tyndall and our mission," said Kafel. "I hope this sheds light on our duties and the efficiencies we've achieved within our shop."

Kafel briefed the commander on where fuel storage was kept, how inspections were made and how to properly fuel aircraft.

"This was an awesome experience and a chance for Colonel France to learn about our great flight," Kafel said. "I thought it was great. He asked many questions and was very interested in what we do. He brought his experience from a pilot's perspective, and we were able to pull the curtain back a bit to illustrate some of the moving parts and support we provide around the flight line."

The commander let everyone know how much he appreciates our hard work and how important the fuels shop is to getting the mission accomplished here, Kafel said.

"The jets cannot fly without fuel that has been quality inspected and delivered on-time," France said. "Tyndall has the largest contingent of F-22 Raptors in the world, the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group test mission and the incredible task of training the Air Force's future generation of F-22 pilots.  With all that said, the fuels shop plays a key-role in Training and Projecting Unrivaled Combat Airpower."