Cargo Movement Puts Bread, Bullets in War Fighter's Hands
By Senior Airman Benjamin Stratton8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea - Many flights in the 8th Logistics Readiness Squadron perform a number of challenging tasks while supporting the Wolf Pack's vital mission. However, one "Wraith" flight goes a step further providing unmatched customer service for Kunsan's Airmen.
The traffic management flight, or TMO, tries to make the stresses of moving as seamless as possible while taking care of military members on a daily basis. The flight uses military and commercial transportation to move personnel, eligible dependents, material and property across the globe to meet Air Force mission requirements, which includes packaging, classifying and arranging cargo from one place to the next.
TMO works under three distinct sections to get the job accomplished: cargo movement, personal property and passenger travel. Each section is as equally important as the next; together they form a tight knit family of mostly traffic management specialists with a few supply specialists in the mix.
"The Wolf Pack relies on us daily to execute and complete the mission," said Tech. Sgt. Tanya Falcon, 8th LRS outbound cargo operations NCO in charge. "If maintenance is in need of an engine, we make that happen. When units order goods with their government purchase cards, those items come through our warehouse for processing and delivery."
The cargo movement section also works closely with other units by coordinating transportation from the unit to the Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office.
"Whether items need to be shipped around the peninsula or back stateside, all the coordination is handled through our office," Falcon said. "Shipping options include anything from ground and air to water."
Her section is also there to inspect shipments to determine condition, to verify carrier services, handle deliveries and initiate discrepancy reports when necessary. For items that require special attention, the 8th LRS packing and crating section is there to assist, explained Staff Sgt. Zackary Rosthauser, 8th LRS packing and crating NCO in charge.
"We assist the maintenance squadrons by supplying them with whatever parts they need to complete the mission. Without us, that equipment and those parts wouldn't be available."
Rosthauser and his Korean comrade, Kwangmin Ko, an 8th LRS wood working specialist, facilitate these requests by building shipping crates in their wood shop using special packing instructions or blueprints developed by other Air Force professionals.
"These SPI's show us exactly how to build a crate for shipping items like an F-16's [Fighting Falcon] wing or engine or anything the jet needs to take the fight north," Rosthauser said.
"Having our own wood working shop here is really convenient for us and saves the Air Force time and money," said Master Sgt. Jose Pasion, 8th LRS cargo movement's section chief.
Saving time and money is paramount in today's Air Force as the defense budget is continually cut and molded to produce a leaner fighting force, said the service's top leadership recently. Cargo movement helps save money by coordinating pickup and delivery of cargo shipments. They also coordinate with base activities to control the flow of inbound and outbound cargo providing transportation data and support to contracting.
"We get these packages into our warehouse and it's up to us to contact the various carriers based on its transportation control number," said Airman 1st Class Giovanna Cusimano, 8th LRS traffic management journeyman.
Cargo movement personnel also operate and maintain material handling equipment, such as forklifts and pallet and hand-trucks. They also operate equipment including machines that weigh, band, staple, tape and seal shipments. In the office, these TMO Airmen operate automated data processing equipment to prepare, transmit and receive transportation transaction data.
"When we look back in history we find the importance logistics have played and their vital role," Pasion said. "When Germany tried invading Russia, their supply lines were poor and it didn't work. We bring the bread and bullets to the war fighters so they can complete our mission as the Wolf Pack."
This article was originally published at: http://www.pacaf.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123286520
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