Cope Thunder supply mission diverse Published Oct. 14, 2005 By Tech. Sgt. William Farrow 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) -- As aircraft lift from the flightline and roar into the low-lying clouds, two 353rd Combat Training Squadron supply liaisons are busy helping customers with the supply process. Tech. Sgt. Devandis Smith and Staff Sgt. Normajean Glossan know first-hand that its the behind-the-scene efforts that makes Cope Thunder 06-1 happen. This is no easy task because the exercise often includes participants from different services and nations. As liaisons, the duo sets up their supply accounts, assisting them with orders and coordinates their deliveries. “That’s the best part of the job,” Sergeant Glossan said. “I’m a people person, so I like to rub elbows with them because it’s our differences -- our uniqueness -- that never gets old.” Five minutes after making that statement, Sergeant Glosson was busy explaining why the Air Force supply system doesn’t necessarily transmit into an immediate arrival of O-rings for Navy counterparts. “Our (Navy) supply system seems to expedite quicker at home than it does here,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeffrey Nelson, from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. “We’re working well together, but sometimes we don’t speak the same language, so it can be a challenge.” Petty Officer Nelson said he believed Alaska’s remoteness presents supply challenges, too. “Since we’re located in the lower 48 we get our parts expedited very quickly,” he said. Operating from Alaska explains why it may take longer to get parts. However, not being in the “lower 48” is the reason Cope Thunder operates out of Eielson. The 53-year-old Air Force base is nestled against a vast military range that offers military aviators from across the planet the perfect environment to throttle their aircraft above some of the most remote real estate in the world. An area of more than 62,000 square miles (roughly the size of Kansas) makes up the Pacific Alaska Range Complex. Keeping those planes flying is the bread and butter for the maintainers who launch and recover and inspect and repair the different aircraft at Cope Thunder for nearly three weeks. And if maintainers don’t have the resources needed to do their jobs, the aircraft do not leave their parking spots. That’s where Sergeants Smith and Glosson come in. “These guys (Sergeants Smith and Glosson) are the back bone of the ‘Cope T’ mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Dan Hudson, the squadron’s superintendent. “The other bases, services and countries that participate rely on these two, not only for their supply needs, but for so much more.” But Sergeant Hudson’s “more” refers to the additional duties the sergeants have. Sergeants Smith and Glosson also have titles like “unit training monitors,” “file records custodians” and “vehicle control officers.” They also provide visitors their flightline orientation and other safety briefings and even assisting with processing personnel through the squadron. “We’ve even picked up guest’s luggage pallets on a forklift and drove it to billeting for them,” Sergeant Glosson said. Her vehicle controller job takes up a lot of Sergeant Glosson’s time. With a fleet of 73 vehicles, she and Sergeant Smith stay busier tracking the location and status of vehicles than they are with aircraft parts. “When the phone rings, it’s usually someone saying the truck’s heating coil won’t heat or the tail light’s out or they need tire chains to get them out to the range,” she said. Sometimes vehicles return with missing parts and one vehicle disappeared. “We had some guys go out to the range and when they returned, their tailgate was missing,” Sergeant Glosson said. “Then there was the guy who jumped into an older truck, put his key into the ignition, started it and drove off -- but it wasn’t his truck. A guy called me and said his truck disappeared -- I had to hunt it down.” She said because the truck was an older model, the key just happened to fit the ignition. The truck was in the billeting parking lot. “I don’t think people are malicious, it’s just that things happen when you get this many people in for a Cope T -- there’s a lot that goes on besides the flying.”