Element supplies the force

By Staff Sgt Zachary Hassay
43rd AG PAO

March 31, 2011

	Courtesy photo Tech. Sgt. Dwayne Bell, 43rd Airlift Group judge advocate paralegal, prepares for a mission while stationed at Kabul Compound, Afghanistan.

Team Pope’s mission is to provide worldwide air mobility capabilities across the spectrum of military operations, but the fact of the matter is, without the Airmen of the 43rd Logistics Readiness Equipment Accountability Element, that mission wouldn’t even get off the ground.
Members analyze and operate supply systems and equipment, conduct inventories and distribution control, as well as inspection and identification of property to enhance Pope readiness.

Throughout Base Realignment and Closure, the EAE provided guidance to the 43rd Communications Squadron, Force Support Squadron and the Security Forces Squadron. The EAE closed more than 20 equipment accounts and shipped and transferred $50,000 of assets to the 440th Airlift Wing and Fort Bragg while making proper annotation of equipment whereabouts.

“Supply is a fast paced and challenging career field,” said Senior Airman Manuel Deluna, 43rd LRS equipment journeyman. “You have to stay in constant communication with the customers and be prepared for any situation.”

According to Deluna, the EAE manages 142 equipment accounts with a net worth of more than $63 million. They supply squadrons with support, providing tools and guidance with the assets to successfully execute their tasks.

“The planes don’t fly without supply,” said Deluna.

On a daily basis, the EAE team coordinates with the Air Mobility Command Directorate of Logistics, manages equipment assets and consults with equipment custodians on issues and movements.

“We are the main support squadron for all base logistics activities,” said Tech. Sgt. Bruce Williams, 43rd LRS EAE noncommissioned officer in charge. “We are the liaison between Air Force Headquarters and the equipment custodians.”

According to Williams, the EAE team utilizes numerous tools such as the Base Equipment Account Management System, Air Force Equipment Management System, Enterprise Solution Supply and various inventory listings to accomplish their mission.

The primary tool EAE uses is a document produced annually or when requested by the equipment custodian known as the R14. The R14 is a report that lists all the equipment accounts on base as well as each asset individual custodians have under their control. This list is used for inventory purposes and helps the custodian keep track of Air Force assets.

Recently, the EAE was tasked by Air Force Headquarters to initiate the item unique identification marking program. This program enables a marking and tracking system known as the IUID, which once fully integrated, the system will provide total asset visibility for all marked equipment within the Air Force.

The system consists of labels, encoded with a bar code, placed on the item and a handheld scanner linked to a virtual database. It discloses all information on the item to include the condition, location, nomenclature and scheduled maintenance when scanned.

“The project was a success,” said Deluna. “This will make it easier for the Air Force to track all accountable items.”

The EAE coordinated with more than 200 equipment custodians and processed 199 accounts with this system. Now able to be readily tracked, more than $13,000 of equipment assets were marked with the unique identification labels.

“These guys are working extremely hard to get the job done,” said 1st Lt. Robbie Walsh, 43rd LRS material manager. “I’m really proud of them. The equipment accountability for BRAC is still ongoing and getting equipment out of here in a timely manner is our number one goal. Right now the equipment office is the absolute center of gravity for that operation.”

According to Walsh, the equipment office is working together as a team to get the job done. They are doing everything they can to get that equipment processed out as soon as possible.
“Failure is not an option here,” he said.

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