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The Signature
NAVSUP at NAS Sigonella Leverages Logistics Story and Photos by Joe Yanik, NAVSUP FLCSI Public Affairs
s thousands of Special Immigration Visa (SIV) applicants transited A from Afghanistan through Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella, Italy and Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain during Operation Allies Welcome (OAW), Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Sigonella (NAVSUP FLCSI) leveraged its logistics support capacities and resources to support the humanitarian effort. Fueling and Refueling For OAW, NAVSUP’s military and civilian logisticians adjusted focus of their logistics support mission sets temporarily to the evacuees, including refueling aircraft that land at and depart from NAS Sigonella. During the weeks-long humanitarian operation, the command’s fuels department refueled 90 commercial and military aircraft carrying SIV applicants and mission equipment so they could depart on schedule to their final destination. “With this operation’s high tempo, we’ve had to optimize our processes for obtaining and delivering fuel to NAS Sigonella,” said Rey Santos, Regional Fuels deputy director. “Our fuels team set up an intuitive program which enabled a more proficient dispatching system. This forward posture allowed trucks to have a hose on the aircraft within 10 minutes of the fuel ladder being in place.” Santos added that NAVSUP FLCSI’s fuels division delivered more than 511,000 gallons of aircraft fuel and 3,900 gallons of diesel fuel used to power the generators that had been placed around the installation. Camp 720 One of the command’s resources at NAS Sigonella re-purposed in support of OAW was building 720, a 16,000-square-foot warehouse facility that is under construction to become the installation’s future fleet mail center. During September 2021, the building was used as a temporary lodging facility for evacuees, then later converted into a storage location for operation-related supplies.
