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New Vehicle Control System Takes AIM at Fuel Costs

  • Published
  • By TSgt. Dan Heaton
  • 127th Wing Public Affairs
Information is power, they say. And information is helping to power the fleet of ground vehicles at Selfridge Air National Guard Base.

The AIM 2 -- Automated Information Module Fuel Management -- system is in the process of being installed on approximately 130 ground vehicles used by the 127th Wing at Selfridge. Once installed, the system will help track a variety of information which ultimately will save fuel costs for the Air Force at the base.

"The system will allow us to account for fuel usage better and, through the tracking of engine performance, will allow us to better target maintenance on our vehicles," said Mark DeTemple, superintendent of vehicle management for the wing.

The system is being installed on the vehicles at Selfridge over a two-week period in April. During that time, Gregg Lerner, a technician with Syntech FuelMaster, said FuelMaster will install about 60 percent of the AIM 2 devices on the Selfridge vehicle and train local military technicians to install the remainder of the devices and to operate and maintain the system.

The AIM2 is an upgrade from an existing vehicle information tracking system, in which the vehicle's operator had to manually enter a variety of data into a computer every time the vehicle was refueled. One input error during a single refueling could skew the information on a particular vehicle for months. The AIM 2 works on a magnetized transmission system that allows the AIM 2 control box installed on the vehicle to transmit a variety of data to a receiving computer system maintained at the refueling station. While the vehicle is being fueled, the vehicle and pump exchange information, such as registration number, odometer reading, fuel mileage, off-base drive time, speed driven, idle time, and engine diagnostic codes is transmitted wirelessly; the information will be used to enhance vehicle management capabilities and fuel efficiency.

The system is expected to go live at Selfridge over the next several months.

The 130 vehicles the system is being installed on represents about half of the ground vehicle fleet operated by the wing and maintained by the wing's 127th Logistics Readiness Squadron. The system is being installed on all standard vehicles, such as those used by Security Forces, the fire department and as staff vehicles. Specialty vehicles, such as forklifts and bomb loaders, are not getting the system.

The AIM 2 system is being rolled out across the Dept. of Defense.

Comprised of approximately 1,600 personnel and flying both the A-10 Thunderbolt II and the KC-135 Stratotanker, the 127th Wing supports Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command and Air Force Special Operations Command by providing highly-skilled Airmen to missions domestically and overseas. The 127th Wing is the host unit at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, which is also home to units of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection.