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332nd ECS takes on 'monumental task'

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amber R. Kelly-Herard
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq --  Joint Base Balad currently has more than 10,000 pieces of equipment that 332nd Expeditionary Communications Squadron has to remove by Oct. 15.

Nine Airmen from various Air Force Specialty Codes have been tasked to accomplish this.

"This is the most forward deployed wing in U.S. Central Command and the Air Force has never done something like this as big as this, so this is a monumental task," said 1st Lt. Nate Kane, Asset Management officer in charge, who is deployed from Maxwell-Gunner Air Force Base, Ala.

Some of the items being collected include computers, monitors, laptops, printers, televisions, routers, switches and firewalls.

"When equipment is brought here we categorize it, then sanitize it inside and out, like getting the dirt out and then we wipe it clean internally of all its information," said Tech. Sgt. Juan Diaz, Assets Management NCO-in-charge, who is deployed from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. "It takes about 15 minutes per item."

"It feels great to be here to help disperse the inventory and be part of history," added the sergeant who is a native of Ocala, Fla.

All items that are three years old or more will be sent to the Defense Reutilization Management Office.

The rest of the items will be redistributed via military aircraft or convoy to Air Force Central Command Headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., or Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar.

Some of the equipment will also be left here for the Iraqi government to use.

About 60 percent of the equipment will be sent to DRMO, while 40 percent will be redistributed.

"It's a challenge to collect equipment while the mission continues," said Lieutenant Kane, who is a native of Rock Hill, S.C. "To assist with that each month, each unit's equipment manager has to turn in 10 percent of their equipment."

Since all the Airmen are from different AFSCs there are some pieces of equipment that others are unfamiliar with.

Airman BLANK, who is deployed from Maxwell AFB, augments the flight three days a week to assist with that.

"I help them identify the equipment and label it," said the Hartselle, Ala., native. "I also identify extra equipment that may be needed elsewhere such as antennas for radios."

The flight is also making preparations for the combat communications unit that will deploy here to sustain operations until the end of the mission.