march 2011 NEWSLETTER - Chapter - Society of American Military ...

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march 2011 NEWSLETTER 8 INSTALLATION NEWS Schreiver AFB News Schriever Generates More Power 2nd Lt. Marie Denson, 50th Space Wing Public Affairs Schriever’s central utility plant, run by the 50th Civil Engineer Squadron, is in the process of replacing three of its generators. The current generators have been dutifully providing emergency power to Schriever for more than 25 years. This is no small feat. The outcome will help reduce costs and increase power while conserving energy and resources. In the early 1980s, during President Ronald Reagan’s administration, Schriever became the benefactors of a trade agreement with Britain. Britain traded six Mirrlees Blackstone generators and in return the U.S. traded various Caterpillar equipment. The base added generator seven in 1992 to support the growing demand. Together these generators can provide more than 90 percent of the base’s power which runs the sensitive equipment used to accomplish Schriever’s daily mission. After more than 25 years of operations, three of the generators are being replaced with new Caterpillar brand generators to increase efficiency and reduce resource demand. Three of the generators in the central power plant will be replaced with new generators which will be more energy, fuel and cost efficient. Pictured is a Mirrlees Blackstone generator which was given to Schriever through a trade agreement with the British back in the early 1980s. The project is slated for completion in late fall. (U.S. Air Force photo/ 2nd Lt. Marie Denson) PAGE “The Caterpillar generators have their own electric start radiators which will help gain cooling capacity,” said Richard Coder, base electrical engineer. “They will produce 35 percent more power per unit and they are a third the physical size [compared to Mirrlees Blackstone’s]. We will also gain fuel efficiency, which will be more cost efficient in the end. The new ones are projected to burn 80 gallons per hour where as the old generators burn fuel at 120 gallons per hour.” Since the power plant provides emergency power for the base, 50 CES is working many what if scenarios in case Murphy’s Law occurs during this replacement and installation project. “As a back-up we do have two technical power buses to help support all computer equipment, and two transformers in case one goes down,” said Master Sgt. Eric Knight, central plant superintendent. “Worst case scenario, we have a load-shed plan if we start losing generators, but that is the worst case scenario.” Not only is this going to be better for the environment, and more cost effective for Schriever it will also provide a better working environment for the people who work on the generators. “The parts for the Caterpillar generators will be easier to obtain,” said Roy Bergsholm, plan operator. “Right now just to order a part can take six weeks or more. To get a quote we have to go through Texas, England then Germany. Then it goes back down the line from Germany, England to Texas. The same process occurs to order parts and the parts can be very expensive. With these new generators, Caterpillar has a warehouse in Denver so the process with be faster and cheaper.” Ordering parts isn’t the only thing that can be difficult with the current generators. “You have to have three different size wrenches just to work on the current ones,” said Sergeant Knight. “Tools are needed for British standard, standard and metric, and sometimes we have to make our own custom tools to accommodate the parts because it can be a hard to reach certain places on the generator. It will be a lot easier working on the new Caterpillar brand generators.”
march 2011 NEWSLETTER 9 The first generator being replaced has been cut into three separate pieces using a diamond cutter. The first cut piece is scheduled to be removed from the central power plant this week. Schriever is focusing on green initiatives through this project. In addition to using less fuel, the base expects to recycle an estimated 100 tons of scrap metal from the dismantled generators. Schriever will get credit for the overall goal to increase recycling efforts for the base which will be reported to headquarters and later the Pentagon. Project leads don’t anticipate a noticeable impact to the majority of base members. The project is still in its infancy and is slated to be complete in later fall of this year. USAFA News Af Civil Engineer Visits Academy Staff Sgt. Don Branum, Air Force Academy Public Affairs The Air Force civil engineer visited the Air Force Academy March 4 as the last stop in a two-day tour of Air Force installations along the Front Range. Maj. Gen. Timothy Byers spoke to CE officers and cadets here about the state of CE operations in Afghanistan and the effects of force management on the CE officer corps. General Byers and his staff looked at how they could improve deployments through Silver Flag exercises, which prepare Airmen for deployment by exposing them to scenarios similar to those they will encounter downrange. “The (U.S. Central Command) area of responsibility is not the right place for a team to come together,” he said. Silver Flag allows CE officers to adjust their squadrons before they deploy and also familiarizes Airmen with enemy tactics that currently deployed CE units have encountered. Another challenge in Afghanistan, General Byers said, is educating the nation’s future engineers. “The Iraqis are pretty well-educated: they have a strong field of medical and engineering professionals,” he explained. “Afghanistan doesn’t have that.” So in addition to training and educating Afghans, Air Force CE units are using lowertech solutions in construction and firefighting that will be easier for Afghan civil engineers to maintain after U.S. forces have withdrawn. PAGE Maj. Gen. Timothy Byers speaks with Col. Rick LoCastro, Russ Hume and Col. Gregory Seely during a visit to the Air Force Academy’s solar array March 4, 2011. The array is scheduled to generate its first megawatt of power in March and ramp up to its full 6MW capacity by the end of April. General Byers is the Air Force Civil Engineer and graduate of the University of Kentucky. Colonel LoCastro is the Academy’s 10th Air Base Wing commander. Colonel Seely is the director of Installation and Mission Support, and Mr. Hume is an engineer with the A7 directorate. (U.S. Air Force photo/Bill Evans) Army Gen. David Petraeus, the International Security Assistance Force commander, and Army Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan commander, want to jump-start these and other Afghan civil engineering businesses. General Byers said that civil engineering NCO’s role will change, as it has in Iraq, from performing construction work to becoming quality assurance evaluators and contract technical advisers. The Air Force civil engineer predicted bases would see a decline in military construction, or MILCON, funds as the Defense Department continues to support deployed operations. “Efficiency’s the name of the game,” he said. “We need to look at enhanced use-leasing and partnerships with utilities instead of traditional means of using MILCON money.” Two examples at the Air Force Academy are the solar array near the South Gate, funded by federal stimulus money through Colorado Springs Utilities, and the Holaday Athletic Center, which was paid for through donations from the USAFA Endowment.
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march 2011 NEWSLETTER - Chapter - Society of American Military ...

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