31st LRS powers the movement at Aviano

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Matthew Lotz
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Two weeks prior to an aircraft taking off, Airmen from the 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron are working behind the scenes to ensure the work they do on the ground enables the aircraft to complete accomplish its objective.

Whether an aircraft maintainer needs a part to prepare an aircraft for a mission, a unit needs specialized equipment at a deployed location, or an Airman is departing for his next duty station, the men and women of the 31st LRS are called into action.

The 31st LRS is comprised of four flights; fuels management, materiel management, vehicle management and deployment and distribution. Each flight is responsible for critical steps in completing the mission.

The mission starts with the deployment and distribution flight. Before cargo can come onto base for distribution, it must go through customs and inbound cargo for inspection. Within this section, ordered parts are matched up to the local inventory. D-flight is the most customer-service oriented, as one section is completely dedicated to approximately 3,600 permanent change of station cycles, which includes moving personal property, household goods and passengers' travel. They are also responsible for ensuring Airmen are properly outfitted for deployment operations.

When coordinating a move or leave, "We try to make everything go as smooth as possible," said Athanasia Austin, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron traffic manager flight chief. "We coordinate everything, including people's household goods, emergency leave, PCS, and parts arriving through customs to the [materiel management flight]."

Once the shipment has been through customs and inbound cargo, it is then sent to the materiel management flight for storage. From here, all parts, broken or new, that any squadron on base may need are stored and catalogued. All broken parts are then assessed to determine whether they can be repaired or need to be properly disposed, a process that saved the Air Force nearly $34 million last year.

"We are responsible for taking the bad parts but also giving out the good parts. We ensure assets are ordered so whoever needs them, can make sure their mission can still continue." said Staff Sgt. Joel Barrott, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron flight service center supervisor. "We make sure the mission stays consistent."

After a part has been stored and provided to a maintainer, it is then the vehicle management flight's responsibility to ensure the vehicles that escort jets and pilots are up to par. The V-flight manages and maintains more than 900 vehicles, worth more than $80 million, located throughout seven different countries including Greece, Spain and Hungary.

"Our vehicles help transport things such as food going to the dining facilities, fuel, and passengers and pallets of cargo make it to their destination," said Master Sgt. John Thompson, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle maintenance superintendent. "I like to think we are the backbone to the Fighter Wing mission."

To complete the LRS mission the fuels management flight assists with the refueling of jets and all government vehicles on base. This flight maintains the storage, issue and use of all fuel at Aviano which includes unleaded, diesel and jet fuel. With two fighter squadrons training regularly, they pump more than 500,000 gallons of fuel into an aircraft each month. They also help store and test liquid oxygen used by pilots to breathe during missions.

"If our Airmen weren't out on the flightline doing what we do, our pilots could not stay combat ready and it would affect the entire Aviano mission," said Senior Master Sgt. Bruce Dollard, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels superintendent.

While the workload for the 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron takes place at all hours of the day, the camaraderie and rivalry between each flight helps motivate the Airmen, according to Dollard.

"We are competitive; therefore it makes the other flights competitive causing the entire squadron to operate at the highest standard to see who's the best," said Dollard "We make each other better."

With great camaraderie and positive moral, the leadership for the 31st LRS makes sure all Airmen are taken care of.

"The men and women of the LRS are the lifeblood that flows through the fighter wing body," said Capt. Ayana Tuchscherer, 31st Logistics Readiness Squadron deployment and distribution flight commander. "From peacetime tempo to war fighting operations--fueling jets, fixing vehicles, supplying parts, deploying and transporting personnel and cargo--LRS powers every major muscle movement to ensure the fighter wing can fly, fight, and win."