Chemical engineers deployed in Southwest Asia with the 379th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron are helping to ensure the quality of both fuel and gases used in the AOR by running tests at a forward laboratory. The lab analyzes fuel samples of JP8—a common aircraft fuel—as well as the high-altitude fuel used in UAVs. They test fuel density, flash point, and distillation to determine weight and volume, flammability, and proper molecular makeup before giving their stamp of approval. The lab technicians also check out the viability of the oxygen, nitrogen, and compressed air used by deployed firefighters.
A dozen and a half Air Force Reservists formally transferred to the Space Force on July 15, becoming the new service’s first 18 part-time Guardians. The move is the culmination of more than two and a half years of work to create a system unlike any other military branch.