18th LRS keeps Airmen geared up

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Marcus Morris
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Is it faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive? No, but individual protection equipment will keep an Airman safe to complete their mission.

The materiel management flight is one of four flights here that make up the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron, the largest of its kind in the Air Force. They are in charge of issuing IPE and mobility bags to Airmen for local operation readiness exercises and real-world deployments while maintaining more than 52,000 line items valued at $974 million in their warehouse.

With so many squadrons relying on IPE, the materiel management flight is constantly postured to ensure equipment is not expired, is in working condition and is properly issued to Airmen.

"Everything has to be serviceable and accounted for," said Tech. Sgt. Dawnique Coles, 18th LRS NCO in charge of IPE. "If equipment isn't serviceable then people's lives are in danger."

The materiel management flight impacts the wing's readiness as a whole and can have more than 8,000 personnel issued IPE.

Being trained and ready for every situation is critical to the materiel management flight's mission, so they shut down every Thursday to inspect inventory and review upgrade training, IPE training, as well as how to inventory equipment, maintain shelf life and repair equipment in the field.

More than half of the items in the warehouse have an expiration date, so IPE technicians inspect the shelves for items that need to be replaced or thrown out. They also perform gas mask leak tests every two years to guarantee the masks are still operational and issue mission oriented protective posture gear. They are also in charge of issuing weapons to deploying Airmen.

Kadena's central location enables it to serve as a staging base for humanitarian and disaster-relief efforts throughout the western Pacific, and between maintaining and issuing equipment to Airmen and working with humanitarian efforts, the material management flight is constantly working.

"We are constantly busy," Ortega said. "We have so much to accomplish daily and the only day we have off is Thursday, which is used for training and inventory checks."

While issuing weapons is normally a job for an NCO, Airman 1st Class Natalie Ortega, 18th LRS individual protection equipment technician, is one of two Airmen who have taken a month-long training course to become certified to issue and maintain more than 4,000 weapons in the 18th LRS's vault, while also still working in the other IPE sections.

Whether it is getting Airmen prepared for a LORE, a humanitarian operation or deployment, the 18th LRS material management flight's posture is always at the ready.