Loggies keep aircraft, parts flowing to field Published July 14, 2004 By Tech. Sgt. Carl Norman Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- In the war on terrorism, Air Force fighter, tanker and cargo aircraft are flying 200 to 250 sorties per day average, which is tasking mechanical functions to the extreme. Crew chiefs and unit-level maintainers know certain maintenance procedures, which are beyond their scope, are needed to keep the aircraft, engines, spare parts and munitions running at full capacity.That is where Air Force Materiel Command's three air logistics centers and the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center come into play.The 22,220 military and civilian workers that make up these entities repair and overhaul airframes and engines based on a planned timetable for each weapon system, said Col. Eugene Collins, AFMC depot maintenance division chief. They also repair any of 36,000 spare parts from the field. Missiles and electronic systems are repaired through depot maintenance as well.Depot workers also develop or modify software used to operate weapon systems, as well as software designed for diagnostic purposes, the colonel said. Finally, they store and regenerate aircraft for all military services at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz.Logistics and regeneration center workers help Air Force warfighters as well as those from other U.S. service components and foreign countries. "Since 1990, the Air Force has been involved in significant and continuous engagements from (Operation) Desert Storm to (Operation Enduring Freedom)," Colonel Collins said. "As the national military strategy evolves to meet new threats, the role of the Air Force changes to meet those challenges. Our ALCs and AMARC are vital to the Air Force's ability to rapidly project, sustain and redeploy aerospace power around the globe to accomplish that mission."Recognizing the criticality of that role, command officials overhauled the way they do business, and today air logistics centers are reaping the rewards, Colonel Collins said.For instance, in 2001, command maintainers provided about 64.5 percent of their expected depot maintenance and spare engine work back to the owning units on time, he said. Today, 92.6 percent of the products are returned to the warfighters on time.There are more Air Force tanker aircraft in the air at any one time now than ever before because of the workers at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., said Debora Meredith, AFMC depot maintenance division deputy chief. They cut the aircraft's programmed depot maintenance time in half. It takes 215 days today versus 400 in past years. They also have more spare fighter aircraft engines available for maintainers worldwide than at any time in the past decade.At the Ogden Air Logistics Center at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, workers at the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft wing shop reduced flow days by 80 percent. And it now takes only two weeks versus two months for airborne generator repairs there. That saved the Air Force $1.7 million in overtime costs and reduced down-for-maintenance rates for those parts by 40 percent.At Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., workers reduced C-5 Galaxy programmed depot maintenance flow days by more than two months -- from 339 to 268 days. And by reorganizing work space, their mechanics travel 108 hours less to get parts and tools, Ms. Meredith said.Colonel Collins said, "2003 was a banner year for the Air Force Materiel Command's depot maintenance community. Our organic work force produced 696 aircraft -- six more than our goal; we produced 475 engines -- surpassing our goal by 31; and our production hours of nearly 23.5 million exceeded our plan by some 1.4 million hours."Additionally, he said depot maintenance quality-defect rates fell well within established goals, and the $5.1 billion in actual fiscal 2003 depot maintenance organic revenue exceeded the planned $4.2 billion by about 22 percent.AFMC leaders are proud of these successes, but the improvement journey has just begun, said Debra Walker, AFMC depot maintenance deputy director."We're going to continue our efforts to reduce the cost of sustaining and producing airplanes," Mrs. Walker said.