Lindsey Hicks Reflects on 40 Years of Service, Fuel Innovation and DLA Camaraderie

FORT BELVOIR, Va. -

When Strategic Energy Program Manager Lindsey Hicks retires from the Defense Logistics Agency Energy Quality Technical Support Directorate on Oct. 31, he will close the chapter on a 40-year federal journey.

Spanning both military and civilian service, Hicks helped shepherd military bulk petroleum from the days of typewriters and basic specification testing into the era of advanced synthetic fuels and cutting-edge logistics research and development.

In this conversation, Hicks looks back on his dual military-civilian career, solving high-stakes fuel mysteries for the warfighter, and why building genuine connections across the agency matters more than ever.

Q: You are wrapping up a 40-year career across both military uniform and civilian service. How did your journey with fuel and the military begin?

A: I graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond with a chemistry degree in 1982. Needing resources to continue my education, someone suggested the Army. Because of my degree, I was slotted into the Quartermaster Corps as a petroleum laboratory specialist.

After completing Advanced Individual Training at Fort Lee, Virginia, I was asked to stay on as an instructor at the Salmon Petroleum Laboratory. For two and a half years, I trained soldiers in laboratory operations and specification compliance testing - analyzing flash points, vapor pressure, distillation, and particulate contamination in jet fuels, diesels, and gasolines.

After completing Active-Duty service in 1985, I transitioned to the Army Reserve. Years later in 2003, I deployed to the Middle East for 15 months during Operation Iraqi Freedom with the 444th Personnel Services Battalion. My active and reserve military background and experiences largely mirrored the quality surveillance and fuel integrity mission I stepped into when I joined the Defense Fuel Supply Center - now Defense Logistics Agency Energy - as a civilian chemist on Oct. 2, 1989.

Q: You helped solve a mysterious fuel crisis nicknamed "apple jelly." What on earth was that?

A: In 1998, military and DLA field personnel started seeing fuel filters clogged with this thick, dark brown goo. Some bases called it iced tea or coffee, but the name that stuck was "apple jelly" because it looked just like what you spread on toast given its gel-like consistency.

Alongside my colleague Harry Faulkner in quality operations, we spent three years investigating the root cause with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. We traced the contamination back to superabsorbent polymers used in refueler monitor elements - a material similar to what absorbs liquid in diapers - that was sloughing off and getting into the fuel systems. That research led to reconfiguring filtration protocols across the services to protect aircraft fuel systems.

Q: From the 1999 Energy Policy Act to certifying alternative fuels, you were on the front lines of energy transformation. How did that evolve?

A: In the late 1990s, federal mandates required government vehicle fleets to adopt alternative fuels. I served as DLA's focal point on the multi-agency Interfuel Group, integrating B20 biodiesel and E85 ethanol into service operations.

By the mid-2000s, the focus expanded to aviation and tactical fuels. When I stepped into the role of program manager for the Energy Readiness Program under DLA Logistics Research and Development in 2009, we worked hand-in-hand with the military services technical offices to evaluate and certify alternative drop-in fuel blends.

Because petroleum supply chains are fungible, commercial supply streams inevitably integrate alternative blend stocks. Our mission has been ensuring that military specifications accept these blends safely - up to current 50-50 limits - while safeguarding critical properties like thermal stability, filtration performance, and storage life so the warfighter never experiences engine degradation.

Q: You started at DLA when typewriters and fax machines ruled. What was that tech shock like?

A: When I started at Cameron Station, personal computers were standalones shared among three or four people. Everything was typed on a typewriter, filed in physical cabinets, and sent by phone, fax, or dedicated secretaries. Before PowerPoint, we used Harvard Graphics, and printing graphics required a specialized plotter that slowly drew each color on transparencies for overhead projectors!

Adapting to email, high-speed internet, and modern analytical software took time for everyone. In fact, back when dial-up and America Online chatrooms were brand new, that is actually how I met my wife. Technology transformed how quickly we coordinate, but the core mission of technical vigilance remains unchanged.

Q: What is the most important piece of advice you would pass on to new employees and the next generation joining DLA?

A: Don't be an island.

The greatest asset at DLA is the family aspect of the people you work with. Throughout my years here, I have been blessed to be part of a quality and technical family - both with the colleagues down the hall and the quality assurance representatives stationed all around the world.

Maintain your professionalism, but take time to build camaraderie, share a laugh, and support one another. We are not just cogs in a machine; mission success comes from allowing yourself to be part of the team and building relationships that carry you through every challenge.