376th ELRS Airmen run a tight ship

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Jerome C. Baysmore
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) --  Acronyms like FRA, BWI and ORF don't amount to much to the untrained eye. However, for a small group of transit center Airmen, it's all about location.

Airmen assigned to the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron cargo section here ensure incoming and outgoing shipments reach the correct destinations. And to them, FRA, BWI, and ORF mean Frankfurt International Airport, Germany; Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Va.; and Norfolk International Airport, Va., all of which are shipping locations.

Over the past year, Airmen assigned to the cargo movement section have moved more than  23,000 items and more than 8,500 short tons. This new rotation's six-person section is expected to significantly move that and more through the additional northern distribution network -- shipping lower priority freight by truck instead of air, officials said. This approach has saved the Air Force almost $5 million so far.

"Once the outbound cargo gets sorted, we work to find carriers to truck it in," said Senior Airman Angela Duff, a 376th ELRS cargo Airman. "It's saved about $5 million."

Senior Airman Linette Nosim, the 376th ELRS cargo section NCO in charge of operations, said that she feels this job is exciting and important.

"It's important because everyone needs cargo," she said. "Overall, the traffic management office does a lot. We get you home, (and) we move your household goods; TMO is one of the most important jobs."

Airman Nosim runs the entire section composed of six Airmen that move approximately 50,000 pounds of cargo per week. Three Airmen are assigned to work outbound and three more keep watchful eyes on the inbound cargo. 

Airman Nosim is assigned to the inbound section, but she also maintains everyday operations.

"We're doing pretty well for being all Airmen -- senior airmen and airmen first classes," she added.

Senior Master Sgt. Juan Benavidez, the 376th ELRS section superintendent, said he's proud of Airman Nosim because she's running a section that should be run by an NCO and the shop for keeping up with the wing workload.

Most of the shop Airmen are also first-time deployers and furthering the wing mission by preparing the shipments, cargo and even fabricating shipping pallets or containers when necessary, he said.

"We build skids, wooden pallets or we can make custom-built pallets," said Airman 1st Class Bradlee Daugherty, a 376th ELRS outbound cargo and in-house carpenter. "I can enter the part number of the item in our database, and it will give me about six dimensions of how to build it."

Other Airmen are using this deployment as a learning experience.

"I came here to learn cargo, and I'm picking it up pretty well," said Airman 1st Class Danielle Davis, a 376th ELRS inbound cargo Airman. "We all have our own unique personalities."