Logisticians track down $1 million in pallets

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Andrew Gates
  • 407th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs
ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  More than $1 million worth of pallets have been recovered over the past month by a team from the 407th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron here.

The team, led by Senior Airman Randy Walgren, has recovered more than 900 pallets used to carry cargo during military airlift.

"When I arrived at Ali, I was given the additional duty to be the pallet and net monitor," Airman Walgren said. "I was also told that Ali possessed more than 80 percent of the pallets in the theater. I felt it was my responsibility to put my efforts into recovering them and getting them back into use."

Initially, the team drove around the base searching for pallets.

"In just a few hours, we found well above 350 pallets," Airman Walgren said. "We knew we had to do something to put these pallets back into use since they have one official use -- carrying cargo."

After that initial drive, the 10-person team followed leads from other logisticians to find additional pallets, Airman Walgren said. The team found various stashes -- including some used as a wash rack floor, three stuck in a rock pile and one left in a field.

"When these aren't being used to move cargo, they are often being used for something they aren't designed for," the senior airman said. "What often happens is the pallets arrive with cargo on them, and that cargo stays on the pallet until the customer picks up the cargo.

"The customer takes the pallet and cargo to the work center and may forget to return (the pallet)," Airman Walgren said. "When the pallet sits for a while, people come up with ‘good' ideas to use them. We've seen generators bolted to pallets and pallets used as garage or tent floors."

When the team discovered an unrecovered pallet, they sprang into action, Airman Walgren said.

"This mission couldn't have been completed without the help of my fellow Airmen," he said. "Airman 1st Class (Alex) Hoover was my partner on wheels. When we found pallets, we would go mobile in two 10,000-pound, all-terrain forklifts, recover the pallets and return them to the work center."

Once returned, the team cleaned, inspected, stacked and restrained the pallets for airlift, Airman Walgren said.

"This was an important challenge to us," said Airman Walgren. "There is a huge demand for these pallets and if we can get them back into service hauling cargo, we can help save the Air Force millions of dollars.

"It was amazing how a small group of Airmen can make such a huge difference," said Airman Walgren. "I feel great about the whole deal."