The new era of our vehicle fleet: Low Speed Vehicles

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Karla Lascot
  • 48th Logistics Readiness Squadron
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Here at RAF Lakenheath, vehicles are a vital asset to our daily operations and are required to support our mission at anytime, no matter the situation.

As fuel prices continue to increase, the Air Force has been researching ways to save money and find alternative means of dealing with the current energy crisis. In an effort to reduce vehicle costs and dependency on foreign sources of energy, we have found one solution to this problem.

We are currently replacing a large portion of our traditional blue fleet with Low Speed Vehicles. These vehicles do not exceed a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and have a life expectancy of 96,000 miles or 12 years. Units which use vehicles for flight line operations and other on-base activities not exceeding 25 MPH, are prime candidates for LSVs.

Some of the things that make these vehicles the best choice for our base include no special licensing and no additional training for the users or Vehicle control officer.

LSVs will be treated the same as the traditional blue fleet. The vehicle management flight from the 48th Logistics Readiness Squadron will be responsible for maintenance, repairs and procurement of these vehicles. Vehicle management will also maintain "cradle to grave" oversight of the LSVs just as they do for the conventional fleet.

Our larger vehicles, such as 6-pax pickups, standard 3-pax pickups, and panel vans consume large quantities of fuel and are costly to purchase and maintain. With the LSVs, we will annually save up to 50 percent on fuel, and an estimated $450 thousand on maintenance and procurement costs.

RAF Lakenheath is scheduled to receive 104 LSVs. Vehicle management will look at the LSV authorizations and replace the current blue fleet vehicles beginning with the oldest and most expensive vehicles to operate. Blue fleet vehicles which have already reached their life expectancy will be sent to Defense Reutilization Marketing Office for salvage and the rest will be redistributed.

As customers and users of these vehicles, the only difference people will see is a change of vehicle type for their on-base vehicle requirements. All affected unit VCOs will be briefed on their status and they, along with vehicle management, will be able to answer any questions concerning this issue.