TMO helps ensure mission success globally

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Areca T. Wilson
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  An Airman's eyes shift from left to right repeatedly, comparing, double checking and ensuring all items to be shipped are accounted for. Outside, tires rolling over gravel and bangs are heard as several people outside load items unto trucks.

These are some of the activities that take place at the 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic management office. These TMO Airmen execute their mission by facilitating the outbound shipping of all government cargo worldwide, from Aviano.

"We support everyone on base by providing the transportation and logistics of the parts or equipment needed [for Team Aviano's] day-to-day jobs," said U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Ashleigh Scienza, 31 LRS TMO journeyman. "Logistics in the Air Force is key to any mission's success; units would not be able to do their jobs without the required equipment or parts."

Being the main Air Force Logistics for Italy, TMO works hand-in-hand with the base supply section and tenant units across Italy, to provide the best logistics support. Together more than $550,000 in routine cargo is shipped per month from Aviano to tenant units and worldwide.

Traffic management office receives a variety of supplies for daily shipment, ranging from anything as small as nuts and bolts to as large as F-16 Fighting Falcon engines. They ship mission-capable or high-visibility priority items, to military bases globally and temporary duty locations where our Airmen work with other nations, such as Estonia. Additionally, these Airmen also help ensure success downrange by providing Airmen in deployed locations, the necessary cargo they may need daily.

"Our process starts once we are notified by the customer to ship cargo," explained Scienza. "From there we input and plan the shipment into our Cargo Movement Operations System and pack it for forward movement by air, water or roadway."

Providing this level of support does not come easy as team members are routinely tasked to complete other missions.

Personnel are often rotated, TDY and deployed. To overcome this challenge, Scienza explained that each member does their best to balance the workload among each other.

Scienza is confident her office is always prepared to support the Air Force mission as expressed by her chant, "TMO ready to go!"