Going Green: Osan's commander receives new hybrid vehicle

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Katherine Kordecki
  • 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  The 51st Fighter Wing has officially gotten greener.

Col. Patrick McKenzie, the 51st FW commander, turned over his traditional Air Force blue staff car and received the keys to a more environmentally friendly hybrid here Oct. 21, 2011.

The swap was part of an initiative based on Executive Order 13514, which is federal guidance mandating the reduction of petroleum use and greenhouse gases over the next 20 years in the U.S. government vehicle fleet.

Department of Defense officials set a goal of a 34 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Earlier this year, Headquarters Air Force took a step towards that goal by purchasing six hybrid cars to be integrated into Osan's vehicle fleet.

The new cars are a gasoline-electric hybrid powered version of the mid-size sedan and are designed to run on electric mode or gas mode or a combination of the two. Because of this technology, this model hybrid is estimated to get 41 miles per gallon.

Osan's Fleet Manager, Chief Master Sgt. James Turner from the 51st Logistics Readiness Squadron, is responsible for right-sizing the fleet and rotating vehicles based on predetermined vehicle life expectancy rates.

Upon receipt of the new hybrid cars, Turner and his team suggested wing leadership swap out their staff cars with the hybrids to promote the environmental stewardship campaign for the wing.

Consequently, both the wing commander and vice wing commander, Col. Mark DeLong, are now doing their part to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions with their new hybrid vehicles.

The entire vehicle swap process took approximately two weeks to move over the special communications equipment, lights, and of course the famous Mustang tail fin to the new cars.

The transition to a cleaner tomorrow culminated with McKenzie arriving at the 51st LRS Vehicle Operations section to receive his new car. After a quick tutorial on the hybrid's special features, the wing commander drove off, leading the 51 FW Mustangs' charge towards a greener future.