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380AEW Article

380th ELRS equipment provides individual protection

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 380th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Being individually prepared for the possible threats in a deployed region is an important part of inprocessing upon arriving.

Airmen deploying to the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing are issued individual protective equipment by the 380th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron's IPE section.

Airman 1st Class Lee Gary, IPE technician, said the squadron issues improved outer tactical vests, ballistic plates, helmets, Individual First Aid Kits and other equipment. This equipment is issued within three days of an Airman's arrival.

"IPE is important because (of) threats within the (region), we want to make sure we have all the individual body armor readily accessible to all of our Airmen just in case we have to bunker dive or be ready for a wartime environment," said Tech. Sgt. Jose Ross, IPE NCO in charge.

Protecting the Airmen of the 380th AEW is also important as they are here to support warfighters in Afghanistan.

"If we're not protected, how are we going to protect those guys in the combat environment?" said Master Sgt. Jerry Dail, flight chief. "We need to protect everyone here before we can protect those in actual combat."

Receiving IPE here recently became a faster process due to the section's efforts to more closely mirror the ETDCs' processes.

"We've streamlined the process for when people get here ... coordinating with their squadrons, coordinating with their first sergeants, to make sure that as soon as they arrive here it's a quick and easy process to be able to ... get right out to the mission directly," said Ross, a New York City native deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

Streamlining the process was almost a necessity with the wing's influx of additional forces since earlier this year. Ross said the IPE section has seen as many as 400 people in one day.

"Some squadrons come in with 250-300 people at one time, some come in pieces, 10-15 at a time," Ross said. "We constantly adjust to every squadron to be able to support them directly."

In addition to IPE, the section also maintains gas masks, gas mask filters, chemical protection suits, and sleeping bags to issue should the need arise.

Dail said the section has done an outstanding job with streamlining the IPE issue process and other section improvements, especially with its small staff. The team consists of only four Airmen and two NCOs.

"They've cleaned up the process; they handled the surge very well when we had increased numbers of personnel, incoming and outgoing," said Dail, a Cleveland native deployed from Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, N.J. "They handle more than just the equipment locally, they also handle equipment transitioning throughout the AOR (Area of Responsibility) to give lateral support to other bases and ETDCs, and they do this all with minimum numbers.

"Real ETDCs have triple the amount of numbers these guys have, and these guys do the same job with much less people. It's a phenomenal job, from Airmen to NCOs."

Ross, who is very passionate about his part in the wing's mission, said he is thankful for his leadership supporting his section in their improvements.

"The mission impact we've had and the opportunities our senior leaders gave us feels good," he said. "We've had full 100-percent support from them. They have supported us not only professionally, but as brothers and Airmen together. I'm just so happy and thankful that our leadership had enough faith in us and believed in us to be able to handle this."

Gary also likes knowing how important his job is.

"It provides protection for the entire AOR, and the base as well," said Gary, a New York City native deployed from Barksdale AFB, La. "It makes me feel good to know that each and every person walking around this base, we're supporting and we're helping to stay protected."