In-house repairs keep costs down at Misawa Air Base

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sasha Navarro-Schmidt
  • Detachment 12, Air Force News Agency
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan (AFNEWS) --  The war on terrorism is forcing the U.S. military to take a closer look at its budget and how money is spent. In the quest to maximize resources, three Airmen here are part of program designed to do just. 

Three NCO's of the 35th Maintenance Group are manning Misawa's Repair Enhancement Program shop. 

By increasing wing-level repair capability of aerospace parts and equipment, AFREP optimizes the Air Force's resources. This enables the repair of certain items if the repair is cost effective without risk to mission performance and encourages innovation, ingenuity and resourcefulness. 

Repairs aren't limited to maintenance group, they suit the repair needs of others on base, said Tech. Sgt. Ryan Zamudio the NCO in charge of AFREP.

"One of the things that we do, in addition to repairs for the maintenance group, is repairs across the wing," he said. One of the more common things they repair is paper shredders. They also fix TVs and projectors. Pilots sometimes bring the 8-milimeter tape players they use to review flight footage to get fixed, Sergeant Zamudio said.

The three sergeants were specially trained to increase their knowledge of parts, equipment and repairs to keep maintenance in-house. The Air Force saves money if the AFREP technicians are able to fix a product without having to send it out for repair, whether off base or out of the country.

The technicians are trained in various aspects of the maintenance career field. Sergeant Zamudio is originally a crew chief. Staff Sgt. Daniel Mayo is an avionics technician by trade and Staff Sgt. Keith Hall is an avionics backshop technician.

"One of the key things that we look for in a candidate for a position is motivation. There are only three people in the shop. We don't have time to be watching over people's shoulders, making sure they're doing right. You have to have motivation, you have to have discipline, and you have to have integrity," Sergeant Zamudio said.

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