LRS making the mission possible Published Dec. 8, 2006 By Tech. Sgt. Vicki Johnson 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The 43rd Logistics Readiness Squadron provides premier supply, transportation, and logistical planning support to create, sustain, and protect combat capability. These Airmen ensure sustainment of forward theater contingency operations through precision deployment of all parts, personnel, vehicle maintenance capability and support equipment. They also assume command and control for readiness, deployment, and equipment of logistical operations for contingencies and exercises. "Our squadron is made up of seven flights in 25 facilities spread throughout the base. No one person can know everything all the time. What we have here is leadership at all levels looking to do the right thing and make things happen everyday," said Lt. Col. Daniel Bradley, 43rd LRS commander. "That's what sets us apart." From the time parts enter the supply system to the time they are delivered to the customer, it takes the whole LRS team to make it all happen. Each of the seven flights that make up the "Cobras" has a unique piece to the LRS puzzle. The Material Management Flight is the squadron focal point for receiving, storage and issue and managing more than 23,600 line items valued in excess of $74 million. They are responsible for making sure supplies are on hand when they are needed. "We were able to boost our Mobility Readiness Spares Packages re-supply and C-130 readiness fill rate to 92.4 percent, besting the AMC standard by more than 12 percent for the first time in four years," said Capt. Julio Delanoy, Material Management Flight commander. "Supply is a valuable asset to the aircraft maintenance business," said Senior Master Sgt. John Howerton, 23rd Maintenance Squadron Maintenance Flight Chief. "There is no way we could maintain these aging airframes to the high standard we do without the exceptional support from our supply folks here at Pope. The demands put upon the supply system keep them busy. We all pull together here at Team Pope to fight the War on Terror, and the 43rd LRS has an important role to play in putting airplanes in the air." The mission of the Management and Systems Flight is to provide the training, resources, and systems required to ensure effective and efficient operation of squadron processes. Their flight includes resource management, procedures and accountability, training, systems management and customer service. "We are the primary liaison between our base customers and the Logistics Support Center," said Ms. Brenda George, Management and Systems Flight commander. The Traffic Management Flight, the smallest flight in LRS, with 21 employees, is responsible for moving all freight. If an item is coming to or leaving Pope, it travels through the TMO flight. "We send shipments worldwide using different carriers based on the priority," said Tech. Sgt. Jordi Sancho, Traffic Management Flight superintendent. They are also responsible for scheduling rotator flights for deploying Airmen. "We schedule the commercial aircraft to arrive during the deployment window, so our Airmen can meet their in-place date," said Mr. Jimmie Powell, logistics manager. "Our job is very important; if we don't get them there in time there will be a delay in someone else leaving." The Readiness Flight coordinates deployments for the whole base and maintains mobility bags and weapons. The Logistics Planners work closely with the Unit Deployment Managers to ensure the deploying Airmen have everything they need. "We are constantly moving people to the war, and we see how what we do affects the mission and there's a lot of job satisfaction in that," said Master Sgt. Jeff Steffani, deployments superintendent. The War Readiness section provides storage and security for more than 4,000 weapons and also maintains more than 11,700 A, B and C bags for deployments. One of the most vital parts of their job is monitoring the chemical bags. "The chemical bags have shelf-life items in them and we maintain and monitor expiration dates on these items," said Mr. Neil Buchanon, War Readiness chief. "That can be the difference in life and death when you are deployed. We have a great bunch of Airmen working hard to make sure it's right." Vehicle Maintenance Flight members are responsible for the management of Pope's vehicle fleet. They also support the U.S. Marine Corps at Cherry Point, N.C., with material handling equipment training for their mechanics. "We were able to set up training for the MHE, and help them establish a working benchstock which permitted Cherry Point to maintain an extremely high operations tempo solidifying the relationship between Marines at Cherry Point and the Airmen at Pope," said 1st Lt. John Henson, Vehicle Maintenance Flight Commander. The Vehicle Operations Flight is responsible for transporting people and cargo. They drive the aircrew buses, provide transportation for base tours and all distinguished visitor tours. These Airmen planned and executed 136 convoys in Afghanistan. They moved more then 2,000 assets to help keep 26 Forward Operation Bases and the Afghan Army ready. They support the entire base, including our warfighting partners. "We also transport equipment and supplies in support of contingency exercises as far away as Florida," said 1st Lt. Lee Holfert, Vehicle Operations Flight commander. Providing fuel for the force is the task at hand for the Fuels Management Flight. Here at Pope they issue more than 19 million gallons of JP-8 fuel to 11,000 aircraft each year. While deployed to Manas, they issued more than 25 million gallons in just four months. "Pope is unique in that we support movements of the XVIII Airborne Corps, Golden Knights, 23rd Fighter Group, 43rd Airlift Wing and all transient aircraft, " said 1st Lt. Mitchell Parker, Fuels Management Flight commander. "We have maintained an excellent fuel request to aircraft ratio time, despite having 50 percent of our flight deployed throughout the year." "The 43rd LRS represents the very best of Pope, AMC, and the Air Force. Every one of their Airmen has directly contributed to the Global War on Terror," said Col. Timothy Zadalis, 43rd Airlift Wing commander. "Our C-130 and A-10 aircrews and maintenance personnel would be unable to perform their mission without the tremendous support they receive each and every day. It's their people and pride that have made our mission and motivation second to none." As a result of the outstanding work of the 43rd LRS they have been selected as one of three finalists for the 2006 Daedalian Maj. General Warren R. Carter Logistics Effectiveness Award. They are competing against Travis AFB, Calif., and Dover AFB, Del. Results are scheduled to be announced early next year.