Life-Cycle Management - Army Logistics University - U.S. Army

lame for this is placed on the bolted-on armor protection
that adds weight to the vehicles. However, the
inability of the rotary-distribution, fuel-injection
pumps to operate satisfactorily for sustained periods of
heavy-duty operation is probably a contributing factor,
especially when low-viscosity fuel is used in a hot
environment. Interestingly, the fuel-injection pumps
in many, if not all, of the HMMWVs operating in
Southwest Asia have been retrofitted with Stanadyne’s
Arctic Fuel Conversion Retrofit Kit. This kit apparently
has done little to offset the significant increases
in maintenance that have been experienced recently.
Rethinking the SFC
Combat operations that occur in higher temperature
environments certainly will intensify the operational
and maintenance problems of diesel-powered vehicles
and equipment with fuel-lubricated fuel-injection
pumps. Since almost half of the Army’s diesel vehicles
and equipment have rotary-distribution, fuel-injection
pumps, a solution is urgently needed.
Despite the maintenance and readiness problems it
has created, the SFC has created many benefits. One
fuel is considerably easier to manage than multiple
fuels. The functions of fuel storage, transportation,
and distribution can be tailored for maximum efficiency.
Using a single fuel lessens the possibility of dispensing
the wrong fuel. Using JP8 as the single fuel
has enhanced long-term storage stability, improved
cold weather vehicle operation, reduced engine combustion
component wear, and reduced fuel system corrosion
problems.
The most recent version of DOD Directive
4140.25, DOD Management Policy for Energy Commodities
and Related Services, stipulates that “. . . it
is imperative that combat support and combat service
support vehicles and equipment be capable of receiving
support (i.e., fittings, nozzles, etc.), achieving
and sustaining acceptable operational performance
using both kerosene-based turbine fuel and diesel
fuels to the maximum extent practical.” Policy directives
may not always match reality, which is the case
with the large numbers of diesel-fuel-consuming
vehicles and equipment with rotary-distribution,
fuel-injection pumps.
Certainly, the significant increases in maintenance
requirements that have been experienced in
Afghanistan and Iraq strain an individual’s understanding
of the phrase “sustaining acceptable operational
performance.” This is not saying that the SFC doctrine
is flawed, but some changes are urgently needed.
Ironically, a strategy research project completed
in April 1996 at the Army War College identified
some possible problems with the SFC and gave
several recommendations. Two of the more significant
recommendations were—
• The fuel pumps on all new equipment must be
compatible with JP8.
• All future military equipment must be designed to
use JP8 as the primary fuel source.
Both of these recommendations are as relevant today
as they were in 1996.
DOD Directive 4140.25 requires that acceptable
operational performance be achieved with both
kerosene-based turbine fuels and diesel fuels. However,
one fuel type must predominate over the other, and,
since compression-ignition engines are essentially
designed and manufactured for diesel fuel consumption,
the predominant fuel naturally would be diesel. An
engine’s fuel pump must be JP8 compatible in all types
of operating conditions, not just in environments with
cold to moderate temperatures.
Because of the large number of existing vehicles
and equipment that use the fuel-lubricated, rotarydistribution,
fuel-injection pumps, one approach
would be to make the SFC doctrine more flexible by
requiring use of diesel fuel when systems operate for
sustained periods in a high-temperature environment.
This change would least affect the Air Force
because it typically operates from fixed sites that are
removed from direct combat operations so that two
fuel distribution and storage systems are easier to
implement. The Army and Marine Corps would be
affected more because they require one fuel distribution
system for ground equipment and a second for
helicopters and both systems require intense protection
and support. This dual-system option is complicated
further by doctrine calling for highly
mobile, distributed, autonomous combat units.
Another, albeit more complicated, approach would
be to require that the rotary-distribution, fuel-injection
pumps be replaced with pumps that are less sensitive
to fuel viscosity and lubricity, such as the common rail
or pump-line nozzle systems.
Failure to recognize and act on the problems
inherent in the use of kerosene-based fuel with
rotary-distribution, fuel-injection pumps will only
serve to decrease operational readiness and increase
maintenance costs over time. ALOG
MAURICE E. LE PERA IS THE PRESIDENT OF LE PERA AND
ASSOCIATES OF HARRISONBURG, VIRGINIA. HE IS A
GRADUATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE AND HAD
36 YEARS OF GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
THE AUTHOR WISHES TO THANK EMILIO S. ALFARO OF
THE AIR FORCE PETROLEUM OFFICE AND EDWIN C.
OWENS OF THE SOUTHWEST RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR
THEIR ASSISTANCE IN DEVELOPING THIS ARTICLE.
ARMY LOGISTICIAN PROFESSIONAL BULLETIN OF UNITED STATES ARMY LOGISTICS 43