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Smart thinking saves AF $240K

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Charles
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Everyone hates spring cleaning. Basements, storage spaces, and closets get emptied, and stuff accumulated over the years often gets tossed if no longer needed.

However, spring cleaning in the Air Force is a little different due to the value of aircraft components and equipment. Smart thinking and a little detective work by Airmen in the 379th Maintenance Squadron Armament Flight resulted in saving the Air Force nearly a quarter-million dollars.

While doing a comprehensive sweep of their weapon systems room which had become nearly unusable after years of accumulation, members of the squadron stumbled upon unused equipment, including parts for a universal ammunition loading system.

"Over the years we had accumulated a large amount of system parts that were not needed and not on inventory," said Staff Sgt. Manuel Sanchez, 379th EMXS armament flight lead expeditor. "We set out to organize and clean the room but ended up finding major aircraft components for squadrons who could actually utilize them."

The universal ammunition loading system parts, worth $190,000, are main components of the 20 millimeter universal loading adapter system, and used for fighter aircraft such as the F-15, F-16, and F-22. Airmen here questioned the necessity of these particular parts at this base, which has not hosted Air Force fighter units for years.

"F-16s have been absent from the installation for more than five years," Sanchez added. "We knew the part could not be used for any of the current aircraft here and were thinking of ways to get it to a squadron that could."

Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Gary, 379th EMXS armament flight chief, knew that the F-16 squadrons at Luke AFB, Ariz, where he serves as the wing weapons manager, were in need of the parts. In total, more than $240,000 in equipment was transferred to Luke AFB and other needy units across the installation.

"Carrying out operations whether you're at home or deployed isn't cheap," said Chief Gary. "It takes a lot of resources and maintenance to keep aircraft operational, we're just glad that we were able to help out."

Chief Gary credits the flight's team mindset and effective use of accountability.

"Identifying, assessing and cross-utilize Air Force resources has in turn saved more than $200,000, which can now be used on other critical mission necessities," said Chief. "It's a win-win. And every dollar we save means one less dollar out of taxpayer's wallets."