Logistics command extends reach of U.S. seventh fleet.

• Author: Tiron, Roxana

Tucked away behind blocks of concrete at the Sembawang Terminal on Singapore's northern tip is the small office of the Logistics Group, Western Pacific. It is the engine supporting the 7th Fleet--the Navy's largest forward-deployed force.

The command, under the helm of Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn, provides everything from the re-supply of food to fuel and ordnance to repair parts for U.S. Navy ships deployed to the 7th Fleet area of operations. This area stretches from the mid-Pacific to the cast coast of Africa, and from Russia's Kuril Islands in the north to the Antarctic in the south.

The command also plans and manages the funding for ship repairs at U.S. Facilities in Guam, as well as at commercial repair facilities in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia.

To be able to keep up with the operational tempo of the past couple of years, the command, or Comlog Westpac as it's called, needs to stay flexible, Quinn told National Defense at his headquarters.

Quinn has a staff of 60 Navy personnel and five civilians. Last year alone, Quinn's command supported 250 ship port visits. Busy times come in spurts, he said, depending on whether a battle group is in the area.

"When we are between battle groups, we still have sort of a recurring workload, as ships come through on their way to the Arabian Gulf or on their way back," he said. Additionally, the ships that are forward-deployed in Japan often leave that country to participate in regional exercises, so they make several port visits.

Last year, Comlog transferred at sea about 83 million of gallons of fuel mid about 41,000 pallets of cargo.

Even though Singapore is not the command's largest fuel centre, "we turn the inventory here more than may other fuel depot in the Pacific," said Quinn. The fuel is stored several miles away from headquarters. It is pumped from huge storage tanks through a pipeline to the piers by the South China Sea.

"One of my oilers would pull up to this pier. We would hook up several hoses to it and fill it up with fuel just like you would fill up your car at a gas station," he explained. The command has about four tankers throughout the Asian region.

Singapore has become a strategic location when it comes to fuel, according to Quinn. "There is great fuel capacity here, and the location is strategic, being at the month of the Malacca Straits," he said. Singapore also has proven supportive of the U.S. presence in the area, he added.

Supplies come from a web of distribution...