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380AEW Article

Vehicle management flight moves 380th AEW mission

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The flight crew is ready to board the aircraft and the refueling technician is waiting to refuel it.

Without the 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron Vehicle Management flight, neither will get the mission off the ground.

The vehicle management flight is in charge of the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's vehicle fleet.

"It gets everybody where they need to go," said Senior Master Sgt. Todd Stout, vehicle management chief. "It gets the fuel to the aircraft, (it's) the staircase trucks, so people can get (on and) off the aircraft ... it's what puts the cargo on the aircraft. Nothing moves without us."

Vehicle management includes managing and maintaining the wing's fleet of more than 500 registered vehicles, and managing its more than 300 leased vehicles. The flight is separated into sections which include vehicle management analysis, the main maintenance shop, fire truck maintenance, refueling maintenance, and material control.

The main maintenance shop, fire truck maintenance section and refueling maintenance section are in charge of maintaining the fleet.

Staff Sgt. Justin Schichler, vehicular and vehicle equipment maintenance journeyman, said the importance of his job is what he loves the most.

"Without vehicle maintenance, no base operates," said Schichler, a Kendall, N.Y., native deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill. "You can't fly planes without fuel, you can't deliver parts without trucks. Without us, nothing moves on the base."

Staff Sgt. Spencer Hughes, aircraft refueling maintainer, said he enjoys the variety as well as the importance.

"We keep the (aircraft refueling) fleet running, which gets the fuel to the aircraft," said Hughes, a Colome, S.D., native deployed from Cannon AFB, N.M. "Every once in a while I get something ... that isn't routine; I like that."

The vehicle management analysis section, led by Master Sgt. John Bowles, is responsible for the administrative and financial responsibilities of the flight. This includes tracking vehicle authorizations, rotations of vehicles and the flight's budget.

"I get to see everything in the big picture," said Bowles, a Cincinnati native deployed from Blue Ash Air National Guard Station, Ohio. "I like actually making a difference in what's going on as far as managing the shop and the fleet.

"I always tell people, 'I'm a taxpayer too.' If we can get more efficient, that's money that we're going to be saving, and that's kind of what we're tasked to do."

Staff Sgt. Steffan Gray is the NCO in charge of material control, which is responsible for ordering the tools and parts the mechanics require to maintain the wing's fleet.

Gray, a Chanute, Kan., native deployed from Hill AFB, Utah, said he enjoys getting the right parts and tools to the mechanics as fast as possible so they can return the vehicles to the mission. A vehicular and vehicle equipment maintenance technician by trade, he also loves being a mechanic.

"I grew up a mechanic's son," he said. "As far back as I can remember I was always in a mechanics shop.

"For me, being a vehicle mechanic is something that I enjoy. I not only do it as a job, but I also like to do it with my personal time too."

Stout said it's the people of his flight combined that ensure their mission runs smoothly.

"Any time you deploy, you're bringing people from all over different bases, with different experiences, and then gelling them all together in a short amount of time," said the flight chief, a Warrensburg, Ill., native, deployed from Dover AFB, Del.

"The guys are doing great," he said. "They hit the ground running. They all came together very quickly, and then they all just started knocking stuff out."