Airmen combat supply shortage, keep mission alive at Manas

Published Nov. 5, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi
376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

TRANSIT CENTER AT MANAS, Kyrgyzstan -- The vast majority of the time Airmen deploy to a combat zone, their home station usually ensures they are properly equipped before leaving.

But when an unforeseen supply need arises, Airmen and coalition forces transiting through Manas can rest easy because of assistance from a team of Airmen at the Transit Center.

They are the men and women of the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. They are the lifeline behind the supplies that keeps Manas Airmen equipped to accomplish the mission.

Their team ensures that the shelves at the warehouse are fully stocked with supplies to meet Airmen and coalition forces' needs. They are also the focal point for every order arriving here.

"We are the store for parts here at Manas," said Tech. Sgt. Zack Baglia, 376th ELRS Supply non-commissioned officer in charge. "We issue equipment, so that the planes can fly, so that vehicles can run and the troops can keep moving."

After an order has been placed for office supplies and mission-essential parts, there's one thing they all have in common when they arrive here -- they all go through the Supply team.

These Airmen provide supply of equipment 24/7 for members stationed at the Transit Center and those, either U.S. or coalition forces, transiting through, in and out of the area of responsibility.

Everything from wheels, engines, fuel filters, and military uniforms, we have it, said Sergeant Baglia.

A major aspect of Supply Airmen's job is accountability. They keep track of supply equipment, using a standard base supply system.

"The system keeps track of on-hand demands and quantities," said Sergeant Baglia.

The system is a stock-replenishing computer system, which accounts for and restocks an item immediately after it's been issued.

But when the warehouse runs out of a particular part and customers request an order; this is when the Supply customer service section comes into play.

This unit, commonly called the document control and customers service, works hand-in-hand with the Supply warehouse team to accomplish the mission.

"Everyone one knows each other's job and helps each other out," said Staff Sgt. Enestor Villarreal, 376th ELRS. "It is like a big circle here, in which everyone is a small part of the puzzle. Once we put all the pieces together, it combines to form a perfect, bigger picture."

Airmen of the customer service team represent the management and quality control section of the Supply unit. They are responsible for issuing receipts for property, and controlling shipment suspense files and automated documents.

"I monitor supply listings to provide accountability to all Air Force assets on the installation," said Senior Airman Christopher Cahill, 376th ELRS. "As a supply customer-service Airman, I also order supplies for customers, and solve supply-support issues. To date, we have ordered more than $850,000 worth of essential supplies required to meet mission needs - anything ranging from paper in your printer to de-icer for a plane."

Everything in Supply has a national stock number, which is used to identify the item. With this number a customer service Airman can go into the computer to find parts for customers.

When the number is entered into the system, it describes everything about the part. It also lets Supply Airmen know whether they have an item in stock and the quantity of the item.

"If we don't have it, the system tells us where and how to get it," said Sergeant Villarreal.

Being a Supply Airman here is a busy job, said Airman Ivan Hurd, deployed from Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom.

Airman Hurd, who works as a Supply specialist in an aircraft shop at his home station, said being a Supply Airman requires paying attention to details.

"We deal with a lot of different sections here, instead of back home where it's just one section," the Airman said. "I am really learning a lot here. We deal with various sections such as the flight service center, receiving and individual equipment shops here."

The team members enjoy what they do here every day.

They said being in a deployed location is very rewarding because they get to see the end-product of what they do on a daily basis.

"In our job, we get a sense of satisfaction knowing that troops are immediately taken care of so that they can successfully complete the mission," said Sergeant Baglia, 14-year-supply veteran deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy. "Our job significantly impacts the mission here. There is no way planes would fly, vehicles would run or people would move without us here."