From beans to bullets, cargo movement flight keeps Desert Eagle Team in parts

Published Aug. 10, 2007
By Senior Airman Clark Staehle
379th Air Expeditionary Wing

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- You can think of them as the Air Force's own moving vans.

The Cargo Movement Flight with the 379th Logistics Readiness Squadron here, receives and ships supplies in and out of the base to and from anywhere in the world.

"We support the Global War on Terrorism by sustaining the mission to all of the (areas of responsibility) and beyond," said Master Sgt. Eric Smith, 379th Logistics Readiness Squadron, cargo movements section chief. "If a shipment needs to get somewhere to repair a down (broken) aircraft, we get it there by the fastest means. If our warriors need supplies to keep them in the fight, we ship it to them."

The flight ships items that run the gamut from any aircraft part to supplies purchased by the 379th Expeditionary Contracting Squadron.

"If the military uses it, we'll ship it, no matter how big or how small," said Sergeant Smith, who is deployed here from Fort Dix, N.J.

The flight plays a big role in supporting airfield operations by moving mission capable parts. Mission capable parts mean a plane is broken down somewhere and maintainers need that part to fix it. If the part needed to fix the problem isn't in stock or kept on base, the cargo movement flight ships the mission capable part in with the highest priority. This ensures the plane is airworthy as soon as possible.

The cargo movement flight, the largest in the AOR, also supports operations throughout the GWOT by serving as a hub of sorts for other bases throughout the combat theater.

"(We provide) unlimited capability," Sergeant Smith, a Los Angeles native, said. "We find the means of shipping cargo, if it's through commercial or military means and get it there. We do have our challenges so we find the best and quickest way to get it to where it needs to go to sustain the ongoing GWOT mission."

The flight moves parts in one of two ways. The first way involves commercial shipping companies, like the companies any one might use to send a birthday present to a relative.

The second way involves the military aircraft. If customs issues preclude commercial shipping, the flight works hand in hand with the 816th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron and the 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron to arrange airlift.

The Airmen with the cargo movement flight serve as force multipliers by ensuring anything the Air Force needs gets to the proper place at the proper time.