Hooker POL Section
Mogas and JP-4, Service with a Smile
Our POL crew really shined during our annual training summer camps. They made the long convoys from Paine Field to places like Boise, Orchard Training Range, many road marches to the Yakima Firing Center. Their work wasn't done after arriving. Refuel points had to be set up and manned. tankers had to be constantly refueled to keep up with the high -tempo flight operations.
It was no fun driving a fully loaded JP-4 tanker over Snoqualmie Pass or up the narrow and twisty road to Kautz Creek Hooker Basecamp to keep our Mount Rainier mission Chinooks flying.
During our annual Mount Rainier Mission our POL section played a critical role in supplying our two Chinooks with fuel. Flying up to 16 hours a day with the two CH-47s consumed a lot of fuel. POL drivers had to make runs to the military fuel depot at Fort Lewis every couple of days to keep up with demand. The photo on left taken at Kautz Hooker helibase where we worked out of. Five fillups with our D Models drained a 5,000 gallon HEMTT.
Army 5000 gallon HEMTT tanker
Refueling Our OH-23 at Sand Point NSA in Seattle, 1972
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