Joint Petroleum Course at Fort Lee unites military branches in fuel logistics

FORT Lee, Va. -

The Joint Petroleum Course, critical training for the War Department's fuel logistics operators, highlights ongoing collaboration between military branches to ensure energy lethality.

Established in 2022, the formal agreement between the Defense Logistics Agency Energy and the Petroleum and Water Executive Development program has turned Fort Lee into the central hub for Army, Navy and Marine Corps energy education.

"In collaboration with the Military Service and Joint Staff Petroleum Offices, a foundational training course in joint petroleum operations was developed," said Douglas R. Thomas Jr., joint petroleum training program manager with DLA Energy.

Under the partnership, Fort Lee provides training support locations, including classrooms and information technology infrastructure, while DLA Energy serves as the Integrated Material Manager and educational lead.

Tommy Grais, course manager for the Petroleum Warrant Officers Course, noted that this dynamic gives students a distinct advantage. "This situation provides a bonus to our students as DLA Energy educators help provide clarity and insights into the roles and responsibilities within DLA Energy," Grais said.

This integrated approach benefits petroleum operators at every stage of their military careers.

"What DLA Energy and PWED educators do together is unique," said Reed Hudgins, director of the Petroleum Water and Energy Department. "Together, DLA Energy and PWED ensure an end-to-end lifelong learning continuum for petroleum officers, warrant officers and NCOs are coordinated from tactical to operational and strategic levels that is unlike any other commodity or community within the Department of War."

"Having DLA Energy in the middle of this educational hub is critical to ensuring the supported services have access to the best educational partners," he said. "DLA Energy is the most crucial partner in that mix."

The synergy of the joint environment is strengthened by Fort Lee's proximity to key regional petroleum assets. Thomas noted that DLA Energy Headquarters, the Craney Island Defense Fuel Support Point, Fort Barfoot, and a naval master jet base are all within a two-hour drive.

Thomas described the joint petroleum operations course as both "art and science." The art, he explained, lies in building communication networks to bridge the gaps between the different training, equipment and terminology used by various service branches. The science focuses on precise logistics, ensuring the right amount of fuel arrives at the exact time and place it is needed, without spills or shortages.

The JPC 200 curriculum focuses on the safe and accountable management of petroleum and teaching students how roles are distributed across the enterprise from DLA Energy to combatant commands. To date, the course has graduated 676 students, including its first civilian GS-15 and its first O-6, Army Col. Tina Kilpatrick.

"During my command of the 475th Quartermaster Group, applying petroleum logistics training to real-world missions like Talisman Saber solidified my need to deepen my expertise," Kilpatrick said. "The course introduced me to strategic-level bulk petroleum logistics, piquing my interest in how these roles and responsibilities integrate."

For students like Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Phong Le, a reservist with the 413th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion out of upstate New York, the joint environment is eye-opening. With 20 years of experience in fuel operations and three combat deployments, Le emphasized the necessity of cross-branch knowledge.

"We all have to learn how to work together on equipment, the way we test fuel, our supply system, and for us to do that, we have to understand each other," Le said. "It's all about linking everything for all three services together to become one as a strong force, so we can deliver fuel faster, and more efficiently."