Pallet pursuit nets plentiful return

  • Published
  • By Capt. Mark D. Gibson
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  It is “mission accomplished” for the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron’s pallet and net team. They have returned more than $3.7 million in pallets, nets and other airlift assets to the transportation system in three months.

While these assets are supposed to be returned to the airlift system within three days, many units thought it was OK to leave their cargo sitting on pallets during their entire deployment -- four months to a year.

“Once we explained to units how easy it would be to get their pallets back when it was time to redeploy, they had no problem returning them to the system right away,” said Capt. Jason Kalin, the squadron’s operations officer who was designated to head up pallet and net recovery for all of Afghanistan.

The Airmen on pallet pursuit tracked down pallets lying around the base, often to the puzzlement of those they belonged to.

“Most people were surprised we were retrieving them,” said Tech. Sgt. Milton Spivey, an air transportation craftsman with the squadron. “But they need to be put back into the system and reutilized, otherwise, you have to buy more.”

It was not only the cost, but the critical inventory shortage of pallets and nets -- as little as one week’s supply at some key aerial ports -- that prompted Air Mobility Command officials to issue a call for better pallet accountability.

Over time, the team’s efforts shifted more from pursuing to educating organizations on the process of returning the airlift assets. The squadron’s Airmen told units that contract transportation services were available to return pallets to the Army’s cargo yard, and that it only took a phone call to have them picked up.

“Things got easier when the word started getting out to people,” said Senior Airman Tyler Parenteau, an air transportation journeyman. “Instead of us hunting for pallets, people started looking for us.”

“It’s much better now that they’re coming in on their own,” Captain Kalin said. “The process is in place for the next rotation to simply take over and manage.”

A side benefit was improving the base’s appearance by removing unsightly piles of nets and pallets stuck in the mud or propped up against buildings.

“We’ve pulled pallets from the tops of bunkers, inside Conexes, and even the occasional ‘pallet porch,’” Captain Kalin said. “Basically the only empty pallets still lying around Bagram doing nothing are in minefields, so we won’t be getting to those anytime soon.”

In three months, 2,417 pallets and 4,489 net sets were collected and returned, representing more than $3.7 million in savings.